The New Model
State management in 2026
Lesson 3 of 4
What you'll learn
- Split "server state" from "client state" — the key reframe
- Pick the right tool for each
- Understand why Redux stopped being the default
In 2021 the answer to "how do I manage state?" was often "Redux." Today the better first question is what kind of state is this? — because the two kinds have different best tools.
Server state vs. client state
Server state is data that lives in a database and you cache on the client — lists, profiles, search results. It's async, shared, and can go stale. Most of what people stuffed into Redux was actually this. The modern tools:
- TanStack Query (React Query) — caching, background refetch, stale-while-revalidate.
- Or, increasingly, no client cache at all — fetch on the server in an RSC and pass it down.
Client state is UI state that only the browser cares about — a modal's open/closed, a wizard step, a theme. Lightweight tools:
- Zustand — a tiny hook-based store; the current default.
- Jotai (atomic), Valtio (proxy).
useState+ Context for small, local cases.
// Client state with Zustand — no provider, no boilerplate.
import { create } from "zustand";
const useUI = create((set) => ({
sidebarOpen: false,
toggle: () => set((s) => ({ sidebarOpen: !s.sidebarOpen })),
}));
Why Redux fell out of default
Redux solved global, synchronous client state — but most apps' hardest state was server state, which Query handles better, and RSC removed a lot of global state entirely. Redux isn't dead (it's Redux Toolkit now), it's just no longer the reach-for-it default.
The challenge models the server-state pattern that replaced manual Redux caching: stale-while-revalidate — serve the cached value instantly, refetch in the background. Run it.
Run it. A cached value is served immediately; a background refetch updates it for next time.
A cached list of user profiles fetched from a database is best described as which kind of state?
Next: a fast tour of the wider landscape — frameworks, CSS, and databases.
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