Zustand State Management

Last Updated: 2026-01-21 Latest Version: zustand@5.0.10 (released 2026-01-12) Dependencies: React 18-19, TypeScript 5+

Quick Start

bash
1npm install zustand

TypeScript Store (CRITICAL: use create<T>()() double parentheses):

typescript
1import { create } from 'zustand'
2
3interface BearStore {
4  bears: number
5  increase: (by: number) => void
6}
7
8const useBearStore = create<BearStore>()((set) => ({
9  bears: 0,
10  increase: (by) => set((state) => ({ bears: state.bears + by })),
11}))

Use in Components:

tsx
1const bears = useBearStore((state) => state.bears)  // Only re-renders when bears changes
2const increase = useBearStore((state) => state.increase)

Core Patterns

Basic Store (JavaScript):

javascript
1const useStore = create((set) => ({
2  count: 0,
3  increment: () => set((state) => ({ count: state.count + 1 })),
4}))

TypeScript Store (Recommended):

typescript
1interface CounterStore { count: number; increment: () => void }
2const useStore = create<CounterStore>()((set) => ({
3  count: 0,
4  increment: () => set((state) => ({ count: state.count + 1 })),
5}))

Persistent Store (survives page reloads):

typescript
1import { persist, createJSONStorage } from 'zustand/middleware'
2
3const useStore = create<UserPreferences>()(
4  persist(
5    (set) => ({ theme: 'system', setTheme: (theme) => set({ theme }) }),
6    { name: 'user-preferences', storage: createJSONStorage(() => localStorage) },
7  ),
8)

Critical Rules

Always Do

✅ Use create<T>()() (double parentheses) in TypeScript for middleware compatibility ✅ Define separate interfaces for state and actions ✅ Use selector functions to extract specific state slices ✅ Use set with updater functions for derived state: set((state) => ({ count: state.count + 1 })) ✅ Use unique names for persist middleware storage keys ✅ Handle Next.js hydration with hasHydrated flag pattern ✅ Use useShallow hook for selecting multiple values ✅ Keep actions pure (no side effects except state updates)

Never Do

❌ Use create<T>(...) (single parentheses) in TypeScript - breaks middleware types ❌ Mutate state directly: set((state) => { state.count++; return state }) - use immutable updates ❌ Create new objects in selectors: useStore((state) => ({ a: state.a })) - causes infinite renders ❌ Use same storage name for multiple stores - causes data collisions ❌ Access localStorage during SSR without hydration check ❌ Use Zustand for server state - use TanStack Query instead ❌ Export store instance directly - always export the hook

Known Issues Prevention

This skill prevents 6 documented issues:

Issue #1: Next.js Hydration Mismatch

Error: "Text content does not match server-rendered HTML" or "Hydration failed"

Source:

• DEV Community: Persist middleware in Next.js
• GitHub Discussions #2839

Why It Happens: Persist middleware reads from localStorage on client but not on server, causing state mismatch.

Prevention:

typescript
1import { create } from 'zustand'
2import { persist } from 'zustand/middleware'
3
4interface StoreWithHydration {
5  count: number
6  _hasHydrated: boolean
7  setHasHydrated: (hydrated: boolean) => void
8  increase: () => void
9}
10
11const useStore = create<StoreWithHydration>()(
12  persist(
13    (set) => ({
14      count: 0,
15      _hasHydrated: false,
16      setHasHydrated: (hydrated) => set({ _hasHydrated: hydrated }),
17      increase: () => set((state) => ({ count: state.count + 1 })),
18    }),
19    {
20      name: 'my-store',
21      onRehydrateStorage: () => (state) => {
22        state?.setHasHydrated(true)
23      },
24    },
25  ),
26)
27
28// In component
29function MyComponent() {
30  const hasHydrated = useStore((state) => state._hasHydrated)
31
32  if (!hasHydrated) {
33    return <div>Loading...</div>
34  }
35
36  // Now safe to render with persisted state
37  return <ActualContent />
38}

Issue #2: TypeScript Double Parentheses Missing

Error: Type inference fails, StateCreator types break with middleware

Source: Official Zustand TypeScript Guide

Why It Happens: The currying syntax create<T>()() is required for middleware to work with TypeScript inference.

Prevention:

typescript
1// ❌ WRONG - Single parentheses
2const useStore = create<MyStore>((set) => ({
3  // ...
4}))
5
6// ✅ CORRECT - Double parentheses
7const useStore = create<MyStore>()((set) => ({
8  // ...
9}))

Rule: Always use create<T>()() in TypeScript, even without middleware (future-proof).

Issue #3: Persist Middleware Import Error

Error: "Attempted import error: 'createJSONStorage' is not exported from 'zustand/middleware'"

Source: GitHub Discussion #2839

Why It Happens: Wrong import path or version mismatch between zustand and build tools.

Prevention:

typescript
1// ✅ CORRECT imports for v5
2import { create } from 'zustand'
3import { persist, createJSONStorage } from 'zustand/middleware'
4
5// Verify versions
6// zustand@5.0.9 includes createJSONStorage
7// zustand@4.x uses different API
8
9// Check your package.json
10// "zustand": "^5.0.9"

Issue #4: Infinite Render Loop

Error: Component re-renders infinitely, browser freezes

Uncaught Error: Maximum update depth exceeded. This can happen when a component repeatedly calls setState inside componentWillUpdate or componentDidUpdate.

Source:

• GitHub Discussions #2642
• Issue #2863

Why It Happens: Creating new object references in selectors causes Zustand to think state changed.

v5 Breaking Change: Zustand v5 made this error MORE explicit compared to v4. In v4, this behavior was "non-ideal" but could go unnoticed. In v5, you'll immediately see the "Maximum update depth exceeded" error.

Prevention:

typescript
1import { useShallow } from 'zustand/shallow'
2
3// ❌ WRONG - Creates new object every time
4const { bears, fishes } = useStore((state) => ({
5  bears: state.bears,
6  fishes: state.fishes,
7}))
8
9// ✅ CORRECT Option 1 - Select primitives separately
10const bears = useStore((state) => state.bears)
11const fishes = useStore((state) => state.fishes)
12
13// ✅ CORRECT Option 2 - Use useShallow hook for multiple values
14const { bears, fishes } = useStore(
15  useShallow((state) => ({ bears: state.bears, fishes: state.fishes }))
16)

Issue #5: Slices Pattern TypeScript Complexity

Error: StateCreator types fail to infer, complex middleware types break

Source: Official Slices Pattern Guide

Why It Happens: Combining multiple slices requires explicit type annotations for middleware compatibility.

Prevention:

typescript
1import { create, StateCreator } from 'zustand'
2
3// Define slice types
4interface BearSlice {
5  bears: number
6  addBear: () => void
7}
8
9interface FishSlice {
10  fishes: number
11  addFish: () => void
12}
13
14// Create slices with proper types
15const createBearSlice: StateCreator<
16  BearSlice & FishSlice,  // Combined store type
17  [],                      // Middleware mutators (empty if none)
18  [],                      // Chained middleware (empty if none)
19  BearSlice               // This slice's type
20> = (set) => ({
21  bears: 0,
22  addBear: () => set((state) => ({ bears: state.bears + 1 })),
23})
24
25const createFishSlice: StateCreator<
26  BearSlice & FishSlice,
27  [],
28  [],
29  FishSlice
30> = (set) => ({
31  fishes: 0,
32  addFish: () => set((state) => ({ fishes: state.fishes + 1 })),
33})
34
35// Combine slices
36const useStore = create<BearSlice & FishSlice>()((...a) => ({
37  ...createBearSlice(...a),
38  ...createFishSlice(...a),
39}))

Issue #6: Persist Middleware Race Condition (Fixed v5.0.10+)

Error: Inconsistent state during concurrent rehydration attempts

Source:

• GitHub PR #3336
• Release v5.0.10

Why It Happens: In Zustand v5.0.9 and earlier, concurrent calls to rehydrate during persist middleware initialization could cause a race condition where multiple hydration attempts would interfere with each other, leading to inconsistent state.

Prevention: Upgrade to Zustand v5.0.10 or later. No code changes needed - the fix is internal to the persist middleware.

bash
1npm install zustand@latest  # Ensure v5.0.10+

Note: This was fixed in v5.0.10 (January 2026). If you're using v5.0.9 or earlier and experiencing state inconsistencies with persist middleware, upgrade immediately.

Middleware

Persist (localStorage):

typescript
1import { persist, createJSONStorage } from 'zustand/middleware'
2
3const useStore = create<MyStore>()(
4  persist(
5    (set) => ({ data: [], addItem: (item) => set((state) => ({ data: [...state.data, item] })) }),
6    {
7      name: 'my-storage',
8      partialize: (state) => ({ data: state.data }),  // Only persist 'data'
9    },
10  ),
11)

Devtools (Redux DevTools):

typescript
1import { devtools } from 'zustand/middleware'
2
3const useStore = create<CounterStore>()(
4  devtools(
5    (set) => ({ count: 0, increment: () => set((s) => ({ count: s.count + 1 }), undefined, 'increment') }),
6    { name: 'CounterStore' },
7  ),
8)

v4→v5 Migration Note: In Zustand v4, devtools was imported from 'zustand/middleware/devtools'. In v5, use 'zustand/middleware' (as shown above). If you see "Module not found: Can't resolve 'zustand/middleware/devtools'", update your import path.

Combining Middlewares (order matters):

typescript
1const useStore = create<MyStore>()(devtools(persist((set) => ({ /* ... */ }), { name: 'storage' }), { name: 'MyStore' }))

Common Patterns

Computed/Derived Values (in selector, not stored):

typescript
1const count = useStore((state) => state.items.length)  // Computed on read

Async Actions:

typescript
1const useAsyncStore = create<AsyncStore>()((set) => ({
2  data: null,
3  isLoading: false,
4  fetchData: async () => {
5    set({ isLoading: true })
6    const response = await fetch('/api/data')
7    set({ data: await response.text(), isLoading: false })
8  },
9}))

Resetting Store:

typescript
1const initialState = { count: 0, name: '' }
2const useStore = create<ResettableStore>()((set) => ({
3  ...initialState,
4  reset: () => set(initialState),
5}))

Selector with Params:

typescript
1const todo = useStore((state) => state.todos.find((t) => t.id === id))

Bundled Resources

Templates: basic-store.ts, typescript-store.ts, persist-store.ts, slices-pattern.ts, devtools-store.ts, nextjs-store.ts, computed-store.ts, async-actions-store.ts

References: middleware-guide.md (persist/devtools/immer/custom), typescript-patterns.md (type inference issues), nextjs-hydration.md (SSR/hydration), migration-guide.md (from Redux/Context/v4)

Scripts: check-versions.sh (version compatibility)

Advanced Topics

Vanilla Store (Without React):

typescript
1import { createStore } from 'zustand/vanilla'
2
3const store = createStore<CounterStore>()((set) => ({ count: 0, increment: () => set((s) => ({ count: s.count + 1 })) }))
4const unsubscribe = store.subscribe((state) => console.log(state.count))
5store.getState().increment()

Custom Middleware:

typescript
1const logger: Logger = (f, name) => (set, get, store) => {
2  const loggedSet: typeof set = (...a) => { set(...a); console.log(`[${name}]:`, get()) }
3  return f(loggedSet, get, store)
4}

Immer Middleware (Mutable Updates):

typescript
1import { immer } from 'zustand/middleware/immer'
2
3const useStore = create<TodoStore>()(immer((set) => ({
4  todos: [],
5  addTodo: (text) => set((state) => { state.todos.push({ id: Date.now().toString(), text }) }),
6})))

v5.0.3→v5.0.4 Migration Note: If upgrading from v5.0.3 to v5.0.4+ and immer middleware stops working, verify you're using the import path shown above (zustand/middleware/immer). Some users reported issues after the v5.0.4 update that were resolved by confirming the correct import.

Experimental SSR Safe Middleware (v5.0.9+):

Status: Experimental (API may change)

Zustand v5.0.9 introduced experimental unstable_ssrSafe middleware for Next.js usage. This provides an alternative approach to the _hasHydrated pattern (see Issue #1).

typescript
1import { unstable_ssrSafe } from 'zustand/middleware'
2
3const useStore = create<Store>()(
4  unstable_ssrSafe(
5    persist(
6      (set) => ({ /* state */ }),
7      { name: 'my-store' }
8    )
9  )
10)

Recommendation: Continue using the _hasHydrated pattern documented in Issue #1 until this API stabilizes. Monitor Discussion #2740 for updates on when this becomes stable.

Official Documentation

• Zustand: https://zustand.docs.pmnd.rs/
• GitHub: https://github.com/pmndrs/zustand
• TypeScript Guide: https://zustand.docs.pmnd.rs/guides/typescript
• Context7 Library ID: /pmndrs/zustand