Building Scalable State Management in React Using Zustand

Building Scalable State Management in React Using Zustand

Managing global state in React applications has long been a contended topic. While the Context API and more powerful solutions like Redux have dominated the landscape, newer, lighter state management libraries are steadily gaining traction. One such sleek yet powerful solution is Zustand, a minimalistic state store for React developed by the creators of Jotai and React Three Fiber.

In this blog post, we'll deep-dive into Zustand, explore its core features, and demonstrate how you can build a scalable global state management system in a modern React application.

Why Zustand?

Zustand (German for "state") brings simplicity and flexibility to application state management without the boilerplate and ceremony of Redux. So why consider Zustand?

• 🚀 Zero-boilerplate API
• 🪶 Lightweight (~1kb gzipped)
• 🔄 Built-in reactivity
• 🔥 Supports asynchronous actions
• 📦 TypeScript support
• ⚛️ Works seamlessly with React’s Concurrent Mode

Getting Started

Let's start with installation and set up a simple example.

npm install zustand

Or using Yarn:

yarn add zustand

Basic Store Setup

Zustand uses a hook-based approach to create and consume state. Here's how you can create a basic store:

// store.js
import create from 'zustand';

const useStore = create((set) => ({
  bears: 0,
  increasePopulation: () => set((state) => ({ bears: state.bears + 1 })),
  removeAllBears: () => set({ bears: 0 }),
}));

export default useStore;

You can then use this store in your React components like so:

import React from 'react';
import useStore from './store';

function BearCounter() {
  const bears = useStore((state) => state.bears);
  return <h1>{bears} bears around here...</h1>;
}

function Controls() {
  const increasePopulation = useStore((state) => state.increasePopulation);
  return <button onClick={increasePopulation}>Increase</button>;
}

Derived & Computed State

Zustand allows the creation of derived state via selectors. This helps prevent unnecessary re-renders.

const bearCountSelector = (state) => state.bears;
const areThereBears = (state) => state.bears > 0;

You can even compose selectors to build more complex logic. Your component will only re-render if the selected state changes.

Asynchronous Actions

Need to fetch some data or perform async work? Just make your action async:

const useStore = create((set) => ({
  bears: 0,
  fetchBears: async () => {
    const response = await fetch('/api/bears');
    const data = await response.json();
    set({ bears: data.length });
  },
}));

Middleware Support

Zustand supports middleware like logging and persistence. For instance, adding persistence:

import create from 'zustand';
import { persist } from 'zustand/middleware';

const useStore = create(persist(
  (set) => ({ count: 0, inc: () => set((state) => ({ count: state.count + 1 })) }),
  { name: 'counter-storage' }
));

Zustand supports other middlewares like devtools for Redux DevTools integration:

import { devtools } from 'zustand/middleware';

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

Zustand in Scaled Applications

When you build a large-scale application, splitting your states into isolated stores boosts maintainability. Zustand allows you to define multiple stores, each isolated and specific to a slice of your app.

Example: Auth Store

import create from 'zustand';

const useAuthStore = create((set) => ({
  user: null,
  login: (userData) => set({ user: userData }),
  logout: () => set({ user: null })
}));

Example: UI Store

const useUIStore = create((set) => ({
  modalOpen: false,
  toggleModal: () => set((state) => ({ modalOpen: !state.modalOpen }))
}));

This separation ensures better scalability and less chance for bugs caused by shared, mutable state.

TypeScript Support

Zustand has full TypeScript support. Declare types for your store like so:

interface BearState {
  bears: number;
  increase: () => void;
}
const useStore = create<BearState>((set) => ({
  bears: 0,
  increase: () => set((state) => ({ bears: state.bears + 1 })),
}));

When using selectors, types help avoid runtime errors and improve developer experience with autocomplete.

Comparing Zustand to Other State Management Solutions

The key takeaway? Zustand provides a perfect balance of simplicity and performance, ideal for both small and large-scale applications.

Real-World Use Cases

You can use Zustand for various types of state:

• Authentication state
• Theme toggling
• UI component visibility (modals, sidebars)
• Notification system
• Persistent shopping cart

Final Thoughts

In a world overloaded with state management libraries, Zustand shines by offering a nimble solution that is easy to implement, scalable, and developer-friendly. It fits seamlessly into modern React apps and is well-suited for both beginners and advanced developers.

If you’re tired of Redux's boilerplate or finding Context struggling with complex apps, Zustand might be the state management solution you’ve been looking for.

Resources & References

• Zustand GitHub: https://github.com/pmndrs/zustand
• Zustand Documentation: https://docs.pmnd.rs/zustand/
• React Docs: https://reactjs.org

State management doesn't have to be painful or verbose. With Zustand, you get simplicity, power, and performance—all in one.

👉 If you're building a web product and need expert help with React and scalable frontend architectures like Zustand, we offer such services.