Introduction
In a recent announcement on the React blog, the React team shared a significant update: Create React App (CRA) is being deprecated. This decision marks the end of an era for one of the most popular tools for bootstrapping React applications. If you’re a React developer, this news is important—it signals a shift in how the React ecosystem is evolving and what tools you should use moving forward.
In this article, we’ll break down the key points from the blog post, explore why this decision was made, and discuss what it means for your current and future projects.
What’s Happening to Create React App?
The React team has officially announced that Create React App (CRA) is being deprecated for new projects. While CRA will continue to work in maintenance mode, it will no longer be actively developed or recommended for new apps. Instead, the React team encourages developers to migrate to modern frameworks like Next.js, React Router, or Expo, or to use build tools like Vite, Parcel, or Rsbuild.
Key Points from the Announcement
- Deprecation Warning: Starting now, if you try to create a new app with CRA, you’ll see a deprecation warning.
- Maintenance Mode: CRA will still work and has been updated to support React 19, but it won’t receive new features or improvements.
- Migration Guides: The React team has provided detailed guides for migrating to frameworks or build tools.
You can read the full announcement here: Sunsetting Create React App.
Why Was Create React App Deprecated?
CRA was introduced in 2016 to solve a major pain point for React developers: setting up a new React app was complicated and error-prone. Developers had to manually configure tools for JSX, linting, and hot reloading, which led to fragmented boilerplates and inconsistent setups. CRA provided a standardized, zero-configuration solution that made it easy to get started with React.
However, over time, CRA’s limitations became apparent. While it was great for beginners and small projects, it struggled to meet the demands of modern, production-grade applications. Here are some of the key reasons for its deprecation:
1. Lack of Advanced Features
CRA doesn’t include solutions for routing, data fetching, or code splitting, which are essential for building performant apps. Developers had to rely on external libraries and custom configurations, which often led to inefficiencies and complexity.
2. No Active Maintainers
CRA no longer has active maintainers, making it difficult to address issues or add new features. This lack of support has made it less viable for modern development.
3. The Rise of Frameworks
Modern frameworks like Next.js, React Router, and Expo provide integrated solutions for routing, data fetching, and performance optimization. These frameworks offer a better developer experience and are better suited for production apps.
What Should You Do Now?
If you’re currently using CRA or planning to start a new React project, here’s what you need to know:
1. For New Projects
- Use a Framework: The React team recommends using frameworks like Next.js, React Router, or Expo. These tools provide built-in solutions for routing, data fetching, and performance optimization.
- Explore Build Tools: If you prefer more control over your setup, consider using build tools like Vite, Parcel, or Rsbuild.
2. For Existing Projects
- Migrate to a Framework: If your app is growing in complexity, consider migrating to a framework. The React team has provided migration guides for Next.js, React Router, and Expo.
- Switch to a Build Tool: If a framework isn’t a good fit, you can migrate to a build tool like Vite or Parcel. These tools offer more flexibility and better performance than CRA.
3. Learn React from Scratch
If you’re interested in understanding how React works under the hood, the React team has published new docs on Building a React App from Scratch. This is a great way to deepen your knowledge and gain more control over your projects.
Why Frameworks Are the Future
Frameworks like Next.js and React Router are designed to solve the challenges that CRA couldn’t address. They provide integrated solutions for:
- Routing: Built-in routing solutions make it easy to structure your app and share links.
- Data Fetching: Frameworks optimize data fetching to avoid network waterfalls and improve performance.
- Code Splitting: Advanced code splitting ensures users only download the code they need, reducing load times.
- Server-Side Rendering (SSR): Frameworks make it easy to implement SSR, which improves performance and SEO.
By using a framework, you can focus on building your app instead of solving tooling and configuration issues.
Conclusion
The deprecation of Create React App is a significant moment for the React ecosystem. While CRA served its purpose well for many years, the demands of modern web development have outgrown its capabilities. By migrating to frameworks or build tools, you can take advantage of better performance, more features, and a smoother developer experience.
If you’re still using CRA, now is the time to start planning your migration. Check out the official React blog post for more details and migration guides: Sunsetting Create React App.
Top comments (7)
They sure took their time to do what we've known that will happen for at least one year. Now all that remains is for them to realize that React itself needs to be deprecated.
This was expected, but CRA served its role until better tools emerged. React is still evolving—features like Server Components and RSC show the team’s commitment to keeping it relevant.
The problem is committing to such a subpar product by today's standards.
What makes you say that React itself needs to be deprecated?
It is slow, has inherent design flaws, it is complex, etc.
8 years ago was the bomb. Today, the bomb exploded. :-) It's been surpassed by other frameworks and libraries, most notably SolidJS and Svelte.
nice
Nice article wafa .. waiting for more..