No-boilerplate global state management in React

When your React application reaches a certain size and scope, attempting to manage state within component instances adds too much complexity, prop drilling, and code smell. Developers inevitably turn to global state management tools, such as MobX or Redux, to solve these problems and make their lives simpler. I strongly endorse Redux and use it in my personal projects, but not all developers share my sentiment.

I have worked on quite a few large projects that have demanded a global state powerhouse behind the React UI. No matter application size, team size, or member seniority, the almost universal opinion of these global state management packages has been overwhelmingly negative.

The top two complaints? Boilerplate and learning curve. While these packages solve a lot of problems and solve them well, it is not without cost. Developers are not happy with how many files, code blocks, and copy-pasting is required to set up or modify their global states. More importantly, junior developers have a hard time overcoming the learning curve required of them. Creating a global store is a nightmare for some, and extending it with functionality, such as developer tooling and asynchronous features, was a task that took too much company time and caused too many employee headaches.