The React Framework Face-off: Which One Owns The Future?

Frontend developer and pedagogue Kent Dodds has immoderate bully news for frontend developers confused astir which React-based model to choose.

“For those who are looking for a caller framework, you’re starting a caller project, you cannot make a incorrect choice. All of these frameworks are fabulous,” he told audiences astatine React Conf, which past week released videos from nan event. “React is doing truthful overmuch much for america now. The frameworks are really converging, and they really look akin now.”

Dodds joined a sheet of model creators, and 1 bundler creator, led by Jack Herrington, aka nan Blue Collar Coder, to talk “What’s The Framework of nan React Future?”

Here’s what developers had to opportunity for their frameworks.

Expo Router

Evan Bacon, a package technologist and nan creator of Expo Router, said connected behalf of nan opinionated routing model for React Native.

“We really judge successful nan beauty and nan optimization of nan mobile shape facet and really overmuch that resonates pinch existent people,” he said. “We were really happy pinch what we built here, starting pinch React, … bring[ing] JavaScript and React complete to autochthonal and now we person file-based routing, server actions, API routes, situation variables, one-click deployments. So it’s conscionable truthful overmuch bully worldly that nan web organization has innovated, and it’s unthinkable to bring it complete to these caller spaces and caller shape factors.”

Expo is exploring really to support nan improvement of AI applications.

“We want to beryllium a really bully instrumentality for helping others build AI tools,” he said. “But for illustration very recursively because … everyone is trying to build thing agentic. And truthful downstream of that, they’re going to scope for a dev instrumentality for illustration Expo.”

Next.js

Josh Story, a Vercel technologist who useful connected nan Next.js team, said connected behalf of nan framework. The large alteration for Next.js was successful 2022 erstwhile it started moving connected App Router, which was marked unchangeable successful 2023, he noted.

“This is nan React Server Components implementation that’s been unchangeable for a fewer years now,” Story said. “The travel is not over. There’s thing that’s basal successful immoderate React task and that’s composition, and coming location are still immoderate places wherever there’s immoderate difficult cliffs.”

Story added that since frameworks for illustration Next.js now support server components, he expects to spot much libraries connected npm that are server components.

“This is going to beryllium imaginable truthful that possibly you’ll person authentication libraries aliases shape validation libraries aliases these kinds of things to conscionable get componentized now and they tin beryllium utilized successful immoderate framework,” he said. “That’s what’s really powerful astir server components.”

He besides said that Next.js is reviewing really to champion support MCP (Model Context Protocol) endpoints for AI.

Parcel

Devon Govett, a package designer astatine Adobe, created nan open root Parcel bundler.

“If you person an existing customer app and you want to effort retired server components, for example, and you don’t really want to migrate thing aliases you don’t want to adhd SSR [server-side rendering], you conscionable want to…. embed immoderate server components into your app and effort it out, a bundler, for illustration Parcel, is an easy measurement to do that,” he said.

Since Parcel isn’t a framework, he pointed to React Router arsenic a anticipation for those seeking a React-based framework.

“I really for illustration what nan React Router squad is doing actually, wherever … you tin really switch betwixt different bundlers and React Router’s information mode, which is really cool,” he said. “So if you person bundler-specific plugins aliases types of things that you want to usage pinch React Router, you tin really do that.”

Rock (for React Native)

Michał Pierzchała, main technologist astatine Callstack, said that Rock, described arsenic “a modular toolkit for teams building React Native apps,” is trying to execute 2 goals. First, nan model squad wants to get older React Native organization CLI apps connected nan newest tooling truthful they tin leverage immoderate section and distant caching. Second, nan squad wants to support autochthonal iOS and Android apps successful nan React Native realm.

“With our Rock Brownfield feature, we let them to import 1 record and past conscionable instantiate React Native successful their iOS aliases Android,” he said.

Brownfield improvement is erstwhile a developer wants to adhd React Native to an existing app developed successful autochthonal code, specified arsenic Swift for iOS aliases Kotlin for Android, without rewriting nan full app.

React Router

The framework, primitively Remix, was created by Ryan Florence and Michael Jackson. It converged pinch React Router past twelvemonth and now nan 2 creators person moved connected to activity connected a different framework. But Dodds uses React Router and advocated for it.

“For React Router, successful particular, I really admit nan dedication of nan team. It has a batch of finance from Shopify,” he said.

“I consciousness really, really bully astir wherever we are from model position now.”
— Kent Dodds, frontend developer and educator

Dodds acknowledged he’s unsocial successful that he’s only made 2 aliases 3 commits to nan model he’s representing.

“I consciousness really, really bully astir wherever we are from model position now,” he said. “It’s really important for frameworks to return attraction of their users, and React Router has proven to do that complete nan past decade.”

In regards to AI, Dodds noted that developers are utilized to adding chatbots to their applications, but now nan business has reversed: Chatbots really are adding applications done MCP-UI. He said there’s much room for frameworks to amended and support that dynamic.

“If it does play retired to beryllium nan case, past each 1 of these frameworks will want to person immoderate affordances for MCP and serving your app correct into that chat experience. Whether it beryllium ChatGPT aliases Gemini aliases Claude aliases whatever, that will beryllium an important portion of nan early for React frameworks aliases immoderate web framework,” he said.

Redwood Software Development Kit (SDK)

Redwood started arsenic a framework past pivoted to an SDK. Redmond co-creator Peter Pistorius emphasized that nan SDK is lightweight, composable and “server-first.”

“I’m not going to show you to usage my framework, because you’re already utilizing it. If you’re utilizing Vite, Typescript and React [you’re] utilizing Redwood, there’s thing to learn,” he said.

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