I built a 20 kB React hook that doesn't care which AI you use — here's how streaming actually works

Short summary

Author built react-ai-stream, a 20 kB backend-agnostic React library for streaming AI chat via Server-Sent Events, eliminating tight coupling to OpenAI or other providers. Post explains SSE networking fundamentals, common buffering pitfalls, React performance optimization using Zustand to decouple mutation and render rates, and how abort signals propagate end-to-end. Includes working code examples, interactive demo, and MIT-licensed GitHub repository.

• •Built a 20 kB React hook that works with any AI provider via backend-agnostic SSE streaming
• •Explains server-sent events streaming, buffering pitfalls, and React performance optimization patterns
• •Shows why decoupling providers from UI improves architecture and enables multiple simultaneous providers

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.