Simplifying State Management in Next.js with Jotai

The Problem with Traditional State Management

Traditional state management libraries like Redux and MobX can be cumbersome to set up and use, especially in smaller applications. They often require a lot of boilerplate code and can be overkill for simple state management needs. Additionally, they can lead to performance issues if not used carefully.

Introducing Jotai

Jotai is a lightweight state management library that aims to simplify state management in React applications. It’s designed to be easy to use and requires minimal setup. Jotai uses a bottom-up approach, where state is stored in a tree-like structure, making it easy to manage and access.

Core Principles of Jotai

• Atomicity: Jotai stores state in small, atomic units, making it easy to manage and update.
• Tree-like structure: Jotai’s state is stored in a tree-like structure, making it easy to access and manage.
• No boilerplate code: Jotai requires minimal setup and no boilerplate code, making it easy to get started.

Using Jotai with Next.js

Using Jotai with Next.js is straightforward. Here’s an example of how to create a simple counter component using Jotai:

import { atom, useAtom } from 'jotai';

const countAtom = atom(0);

function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useAtom(countAtom);

  return (
    <div>
      <p>Count: {count}</p>
      <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>Increment</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Hydrating SSR Pages with Jotai

When using Server-Side Rendering (SSR) with Next.js, we need to hydrate the pages with the initial state. Jotai provides a useHydrateAtoms hook that makes it easy to hydrate the pages with the initial state.

Here’s an example of how to use useHydrateAtoms to hydrate a page with the initial state:

import { useHydrateAtoms } from 'jotai';
import { countAtom } from '../atoms';

function Page() {
  useHydrateAtoms([[countAtom, 10]]);

  return (
    <div>
      <p>Initial count: 10</p>
    </div>
  );
}