Epic React Articles

React Router's take on React Server Components

React Router is adding React Server Components support! Learn how to enable RSC, use server components in routes and loaders, and leverage server functions.

Use React <ViewTransition /> to Smoothly Transition Images and Titles

Create smooth, animated page transitions in React 19 with the ViewTransition component. Wrap elements with matching names and React handles the rest.

How a “Useless” Tip Saved Ben's Sanity in Production

A developer shares how a tiny tip from Epic React—using the key prop to reset component state—saved him from a gnarly state bug in a complex React Native app.

React Server Components: How We Got Here

How web app architecture evolved from full page reloads to React Server Components, and why each step in this journey mattered for developers and users.

How React Suspense Works Under the Hood: Throwing Promises and Declarative Async UI

Discover how React Suspense leverages thrown promises and the `use` hook to simplify async UI, manage loading and error states, and improve user experience.

useSyncExternalStore: Demystified for Practical React Development

Stop UI tearing in React! useSyncExternalStore safely syncs external data. Get best practices for this advanced hook (like stable functions) at EpicReact.dev.

Why React Error Boundaries Aren't Just Try/Catch for Components

A deep dive into how React error boundaries work, why they're different from try/catch, and how to use them effectively in your apps.

Composing Server and Client Components: The Modern React's Superpower

How React's new model lets you build interactive, data-rich UIs without the pain of old-school script tags and prop drilling.

Mastering Focus Management in React with `flushSync`

Master focus management in React with flushSync. Learn why batching matters, when to use flushSync, and how to create accessible, keyboard-friendly UIs.

Preserving and Resetting State in React

How React preserves or resets state depends on component position and keys. Learn why state disappears and how to fix it as well as links to more resources!

Just Use React

Generating Unique IDs for Client-Only Data in React

Learn how to generate unique IDs for client-only data in React using the Web Crypto API, ensuring stable keys and accessible, dynamic UI components.

Improving React Accessibility with `useId`

Learn how React’s useId hook ensures unique, accessible form field IDs, avoids SSR bugs, and improves usability in reusable components. Boost accessibility!

`useOptimistic` to Make Your App Feel Instant

Make your React apps feel instant with the new useOptimistic hook from React 19. Improve UX by updating UI immediately while async actions complete.

Compound Components: Truly Flexible React APIs

Build flexible, declarative UIs like native HTML with Compound Components—a powerful React pattern you’ll master at EpicReact.dev.

Control Props: Give Your React Components Superpowers

Control Props let you hand over component state to your users—just like a controlled input. Learn to build ultra-flexible UIs at EpicReact.dev.

The Big "Server Waterfall Problem" with RSCs

Understanding server-side waterfalls with RSCs and client-side waterfalls we're familiar with and why server-side waterfalls are probably better.

A deep dive on forms with modern React

React 19 introduces terrific primitives for building great forms. Let's dive deep on forms for the web with React.

React Server Components: The Future of UI

React Server Components are going to improve the way we build web applications in a huge way... Once we nail the abstractions...

Can you modify React Props?

React components should not modify props directly. Learn why encapsulation is important and explore different approaches to handle props correctly in React, ensuring your components remain reusable and your application's data flow stays predictable.

What is React?

Whether you're brand new to building dynamic web applications or you've been working with React for a long time, let's contextualize the most widely used UI framework in the world: React.

Improve the Performance of your React Forms

Forms can get slow pretty fast. Let's explore how state colocation can keep our React forms fast.

Why you shouldn't put refs in a dependency array

If you use a ref in your effect callback, shouldn't it be included in the dependencies? Why refs are a special exception to the rule!

Why React needs a key prop

Why can't React just magically know what to do without a key?

How to type a React form onSubmit handler

Excellent TypeScript definitions for your React forms

The Latest Ref Pattern in React

How to improve your custom hook APIs with a simple pattern.

How to Test React.useEffect

Testing React.useEffect is much simpler than you think it is.

How React Uses Closures to Avoid Bugs

The sneaky, surreptitious bug that React saved us from by using closures.

Importing React Through the Ages

How and why I import react using a namespace

Use CSS Variables instead of React Context

How and why you should use CSS variables (custom properties) for theming instead of React context.

Memoization and React

A basic introduction memoization and how React memoization features work.

Stop Stumbling Around in React Learning Darkness

Epic React is your learning spotlight so you can ship harder, better, faster, stronger.

One React mistake that's slowing you down

Simplify and speed up your app development using React composition

Render as you fetch (with and without suspense)

Speed up your app's loading of code/data/assets with "render as you fetch" with and without React Suspense for Data Fetching

My State Management Mistake

It wasn't a library. It was the way I was thinking about and defining state.

Requisite React

When was the last time you saw an error and had no idea what it meant (and therefore no idea what to do about it)? Today? Yeah, you're not alone... Let's talk about how to fix that.

Avoid soul-crushing components

Truly maintainable, flexible, simple, and reusable components require more thought than: "I need it to do this differently, so I'll accept a new prop for that". Seasoned React developers know this leads to nothing but pain and frustration for both the maintainer and user of the component.

Myths about useEffect

Some common mistakes I see people make with useEffect and how to avoid them.

Why you've been bad about Profiling React Apps

Is your app as fast as you think it is for your users?

Why I Love React

I still remember when I first heard about React. It was January 2014. I was listening to a podcast. Pete Hunt and Jordan Walke were on talking about this framework they created at Facebook that with no support for two way data-binding, no built-in HTTP library, no dependency injection, and in place of templates it had this weird XML-like syntax for the UI. And to top it all off, I was listening to it while driving to the first ever ng-conf.