Jotai vs Recoil: Modern Atomic State Management for React
Both Jotai and Recoil are state management libraries for React that use an atomic approach, meaning they break down state into small, independent pieces. They help developers manage complex application state without the boilerplate of Redux. These libraries are especially good for when you need to share data between different components without prop drilling.
Detailed Comparison
Technical Analysis
featureComparison
Both jotai and recoil are state management libraries for React. They provide a way to manage global state by creating atoms (in jotai) or recoil state (in recoil). jotai is more lightweight and flexible, while recoil is more powerful and feature-rich.
typescriptSupport
Both jotai and recoil have excellent TypeScript support, with jotai having a slight edge in terms of type inference.
browserCompatibility
Both libraries are compatible with modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
dependencies
jotai has no dependencies, while recoil depends on react and react-dom.
performance
jotai is generally faster and more lightweight than recoil, due to its smaller bundle size and simpler architecture.
Ecosystem Analysis
frameworkCompatibility
Both jotai and recoil are designed specifically for React, and are compatible with most React frameworks and libraries.
communityActivity
recoil has a more active community, with more contributors and a higher number of open issues.
documentationQuality
Both libraries have high-quality documentation, with recoil's documentation being more comprehensive and detailed.
maintenanceStatus
Both libraries are actively maintained, with regular updates and bug fixes.
Performance Comparison
bundleSizeAnalysis
runtimePerformance
loadingTime
memoryUsage
Code Examples
Basic jotai Example
1import { atom, useAtom } from 'jotai';
2
3const countAtom = atom(0);
4
5function Counter() {
6 const [count, setCount] = useAtom(countAtom);
7 return (
8 <div>
9 <p>Count: {count}</p>
10 <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>Increment</button>
11 </div>
12 );
13}
This example creates a simple counter using jotai's atom and useAtom hooks.
Basic recoil Example
1import { atom, selector, useRecoilState } from 'recoil';
2
3const countState = atom({
4 key: 'count',
5 default: 0,
6});
7
8function Counter() {
9 const [count, setCount] = useRecoilState(countState);
10 return (
11 <div>
12 <p>Count: {count}</p>
13 <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>Increment</button>
14 </div>
15 );
16}
This example creates a simple counter using recoil's atom and useRecoilState hooks.
Recommendation
Summary
Both jotai and recoil are excellent state management libraries for React, but they have different strengths and weaknesses. jotai is a better choice for smaller applications or those with strict bundle size constraints, while recoil is a better choice for larger, more complex applications that require more features and power.
Details
- jotai is more lightweight and flexible, while recoil is more powerful and feature-rich.
- jotai has a smaller bundle size and is generally faster than recoil.
Similar Packages
zustand
A small, fast state management solution that uses hooks. It's super simple to learn and doesn't require much setup code like other state managers.
Like Jotai and Recoil, it's modern and hook-based. It's becoming very popular because it's easier to learn than Redux and has a tiny bundle size. Perfect for small to medium React apps.
State Managementvaltio
A proxy-based state management tool that makes your React state work like regular JavaScript objects. You can update state directly without special actions or reducers.
It's made by the same team as Jotai and shares similar principles of simplicity. Great for developers who want their state management to feel more natural and less framework-specific.
State Managementnanostores
A tiny state manager that works with any framework, not just React. It's super lightweight and focuses on simplicity and speed.
While not as React-specific as Jotai or Recoil, it offers atomic state management in a similar way. It's perfect for those who want something extremely lightweight or might work with multiple frameworks.
State Managementmobx
A battle-tested state management library that makes state management as simple as working with plain JavaScript objects. It uses a reactive programming approach.
While it's older than Jotai and Recoil, it offers similar benefits of simple state management with less boilerplate than Redux. Good for larger applications that need more features.
State Managementvisit jotai.org or npm i jotai
Jotai scales from a simple useState replacement to an enterprise TypeScript application.
- Minimal core API (2kb)
- Many utilities and extensions
- No string keys (compared to Recoil)
First, create a primitive atom
An atom represents a piece of state. All you need is to specify an initial value, which can be primitive values like strings and numbers, objects, and arrays. You can create as many primitive atoms as you want.
import { atom } from 'jotai' const countAtom = atom(0) const countryAtom = atom('Japan') const citiesAtom = atom(['Tokyo', 'Kyoto', 'Osaka']) const mangaAtom = atom({ 'Dragon Ball': 1984, 'One Piece': 1997, Naruto: 1999 })
Use the atom in your components
It can be used like React.useState
:
import { useAtom } from 'jotai' function Counter() { const [count, setCount] = useAtom(countAtom) return ( <h1> {count} <button onClick={() => setCount((c) => c + 1)}>one up</button> ...
Create derived atoms with computed values
A new read-only atom can be created from existing atoms by passing a read
function as the first argument. get
allows you to fetch the contextual value
of any atom.
const doubledCountAtom = atom((get) => get(countAtom) * 2) function DoubleCounter() { const [doubledCount] = useAtom(doubledCountAtom) return <h2>{doubledCount}</h2> }
Creating an atom from multiple atoms
You can combine multiple atoms to create a derived atom.
const count1 = atom(1) const count2 = atom(2) const count3 = atom(3) const sum = atom((get) => get(count1) + get(count2) + get(count3))
Or if you like fp patterns ...
const atoms = [count1, count2, count3, ...otherAtoms] const sum = atom((get) => atoms.map(get).reduce((acc, count) => acc + count))
Derived async atoms <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/-needs_suspense-black" alt="needs suspense" />
You can make the read function an async function too.
const urlAtom = atom('https://json.host.com') const fetchUrlAtom = atom(async (get) => { const response = await fetch(get(urlAtom)) return await response.json() }) function Status() { // Re-renders the component after urlAtom is changed and the async function above concludes const [json] = useAtom(fetchUrlAtom) ...
You can create a writable derived atom
Specify a write function at the second argument. get
will return the current
value of an atom. set
will update the value of an atom.
const decrementCountAtom = atom( (get) => get(countAtom), (get, set, _arg) => set(countAtom, get(countAtom) - 1) ) function Counter() { const [count, decrement] = useAtom(decrementCountAtom) return ( <h1> {count} <button onClick={decrement}>Decrease</button> ...
Write only derived atoms
Just do not define a read function.
const multiplyCountAtom = atom(null, (get, set, by) => set(countAtom, get(countAtom) * by), ) function Controls() { const [, multiply] = useAtom(multiplyCountAtom) return <button onClick={() => multiply(3)}>triple</button> }
Async actions
Just make the write function an async function and call set
when you're ready.
const fetchCountAtom = atom( (get) => get(countAtom), async (_get, set, url) => { const response = await fetch(url) set(countAtom, (await response.json()).count) } ) function Controls() { const [count, compute] = useAtom(fetchCountAtom) return ( <button onClick={() => compute('http://count.host.com')}>compute</button> ...
Note about functional programming
Jotai's fluid interface is no accident — atoms are monads, just like promises! Monads are an established pattern for modular, pure, robust and understandable code which is optimized for change. Read more about Jotai and monads.