Global State in Next.js App Router — Zustand Over Context for Most Use Cases

Short summary

React Context triggers re-renders in every consumer whenever the context value changes, even if a component only uses one field. Zustand solves this with selector-based subscriptions, letting components re-render only when their specific state updates. The article demonstrates practical patterns: persistence with middleware, memoized selectors, derived state, and clean server/client boundaries for Next.js.

• •Context causes cascade re-renders across all consumers; Zustand uses selectors to prevent them
• •Components subscribe only to state they need, improving performance and avoiding unnecessary updates
• •Real patterns shown: persist middleware, server/client boundaries, derived state computation, useShallow memoization

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