React Native State Management: A Step-by-Step Guide to Redux Persist

Preserving State in React Native with Redux Persist

Developing a seamless user experience is crucial for any mobile application. One aspect of this is preserving state, even when the app is closed or the user switches between apps. In this article, we’ll explore how to use Redux Persist to achieve this in a React Native application.

What is Redux Persist?

Redux Persist is a library that enables you to persist your Redux store, allowing your app to retain its state even when it’s closed or restarted. This is particularly useful for storing login sessions, user preferences, or other data that should be preserved between app launches.

Setting up Redux in a React Native App

Before diving into Redux Persist, let’s set up a basic Redux store in our React Native app. We’ll create a simple to-do list app to demonstrate the process.

First, install the required packages:

bash
npm install redux react-redux


Next, create a redux folder and add an action.js file to define our action types and creators:

“`javascript
// actions.js
export const ADDTODO = ‘ADDTODO’;

export function addTodo(text) {
return { type: ADD_TODO, text };
}
“`

Create a reducer.js file to handle our state updates:

“`javascript
// reducer.js
import { ADD_TODO } from ‘./actions’;

const initialState = [];

export default function todoReducer(state = initialState, action) {
switch (action.type) {
case ADD_TODO:
return […state, { text: action.text }];
default:
return state;
}
}
“`

Finally, create a store.js file to configure our Redux store:

“`javascript
// store.js
import { createStore } from ‘redux’;
import todoReducer from ‘./reducer’;

const store = createStore(todoReducer);

export default store;
“`

Integrating Redux Persist

Now that our Redux store is set up, let’s integrate Redux Persist to preserve our state. Install the required packages:

bash
npm install redux-persist react-native-async-storage


Import the necessary modules and configure Redux Persist:

“`javascript
// store.js
import { createStore } from ‘redux’;
import { persistStore, persistReducer } from ‘redux-persist’;
import AsyncStorage from ‘@react-native-async-storage/async-storage’;
import todoReducer from ‘./reducer’;

const persistConfig = {
key: ‘todo’,
storage: AsyncStorage,
};

const persistedReducer = persistReducer(persistConfig, todoReducer);

const store = createStore(persistedReducer);
const persistor = persistStore(store);

export { store, persistor };
“`

Wrap your app with the PersistGate component to ensure the store is persisted:

“`javascript
// App.js
import React from ‘react’;
import { Provider } from ‘react-redux’;
import { PersistGate } from ‘redux-persist/integration/react’;
import { store, persistor } from ‘./store’;

const App = () => {
// …
};

export default () => (



);
“`

With Redux Persist integrated, your app’s state will be preserved even when the app is closed or restarted, providing a seamless user experience.