role-frontend:state-management

State Management

When to use

• Deciding where state lives — local, global, server cache, URL, or form
• Setting up Zustand, Jotai, or Redux Toolkit stores
• Replacing axios+useState patterns with TanStack Query
• Implementing optimistic updates for mutations
• Building complex UI flows with XState state machines
• Migrating from Redux to Zustand, or Context to a proper store
• Diagnosing unnecessary re-renders from over-broad state subscriptions

Core principles

1. Server state belongs in TanStack Query or SWR — never duplicate API data in a client store
2. URL is state too — pagination, filters, search: use nuqs or router search params
3. Keep it local as long as possible — global state is a last resort, not a default
4. Selectors prevent re-renders — subscribe to slices, not the whole store
5. XState for impossible states — if "loading" and "error" can't coexist, the machine enforces it

Reference Files

• references/react-state-primitives.md — state category decision table, useState/useReducer patterns, useContext (when/when not), useSyncExternalStore, React 19 use(), stale closure prevention
• references/server-state-tanstack-query.md — TanStack Query v5 queries, optimistic mutations with onMutate/onError/onSettled, infinite queries, prefetch on hover, SWR alternative
• references/global-state-zustand-jotai-redux.md — Zustand with immer/persist/devtools middleware, granular selectors, Jotai atom composition, RTK createSlice/createEntityAdapter, URL state with nuqs, React Hook Form + Zod, XState machines, Preact signals, anti-patterns