Breaking Free from Redux: 3 State Management Tools I Love

Let's face it - Redux has been the go-to choice for React state management for years. And while it's great for handling complex state in larger apps, I've often found myself drowning in boilerplate code and explaining concepts like reducers and actions to new team members. If you're looking for something different, I've got three fantastic alternatives that might just make your next project a lot more enjoyable to build.

Zustand: State Management That Just Makes Sense

I fell in love with Zustand (German for "state") the moment I tried it. It's like Redux went on a diet and came back with a much friendlier personality. What makes it special? It's built around hooks, which means you can forget about all that Redux boilerplate we've been writing for years.

Here's what I really appreciate about Zustand:

• It's refreshingly simple - you define your state and actions in one place, no jumping between files to track down action creators
• It's tiny (around 2kB gzipped) but packs a punch
• It plays nicely with React's hooks and context
• You still get all the good stuff like middleware support for things like persistence and logging
• You're not locked into any specific patterns - structure things how you want

Here's a quick example that shows just how clean Zustand can be:

import create from 'zustand';

const useStore = create((set) => ({
  count: 0,
  increment: () => set((state) => ({ count: state.count + 1 })),
}));

function Counter() {
  const { count, increment } = useStore();
  return (
    <div>
      <p>Count: {count}</p>
      <button onClick={increment}>Increment</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Nanostores: The Tiny State Manager That Could

Speaking of tiny, let me introduce you to Nanostores. I actually used this in my recent project, Happy Inbox, and it was a game-changer. Instead of having one massive state store (looking at you, Redux), Nanostores encourages you to break things down into smaller, focused pieces - kind of like how we break down components.

What got me excited about Nanostores:

• It's incredibly small - we're talking 300 bytes. That's not a typo!
• The atomic approach means you can organize state in a way that actually makes sense for your app
• It's smart about re-rendering - components only update when they need to
• You're not locked into React - it works with other frameworks too
• Great TypeScript support if that's your thing (it's definitely mine)

Here's what it looks like in action:

import { atom, useStore } from 'nanostores';

const count = atom(0);

function Counter() {
  const $count = useStore(count);
  return (
    <div>
      <p>Count: {$count}</p>
      <button onClick={() => count.set($count + 1)}>Increment</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Recoil: Facebook's Take on Modern State Management

Recoil is interesting because it comes from the React team at Facebook. They took a fresh look at state management and came up with something that feels natural in the React ecosystem. It introduces concepts like atoms and selectors, which might sound fancy but actually make a lot of sense once you start using them.

What stands out about Recoil:

• The learning curve is surprisingly gentle
• It's smart about updates - components only re-render when their specific piece of state changes
• The selector concept is brilliant for derived state
• It's built specifically for React, so everything just fits
• It works great with React's concurrent features

Here's a taste of Recoil's simplicity:

import { atom, useRecoilState } from 'recoil';

const countState = atom({
  key: 'countState',
  default: 0,
});

function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useRecoilState(countState);
  return (
    <div>
      <p>Count: {count}</p>
      <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>Increment</button>
    </div>
  );
}

The Bottom Line

Look, Redux isn't going anywhere, and it's still a solid choice for many projects. But these alternatives solve real problems that many of us have faced with Redux. If you're starting a new project, I'd seriously consider giving one of these a try. Zustand is my go-to for most projects now - it hits that sweet spot of simplicity and power. If bundle size is keeping you up at night, Nanostores might be your new best friend. And if you're all-in on React and want something that feels like it was built specifically for your needs, Recoil could be exactly what you're looking for.

The best part? They're all much easier to explain to your teammates than Redux. And isn't that worth considering on its own?