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

npm install zustand

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

import { create } from 'zustand'

interface BearStore { bears: number increase: (by: number) => void }

const useBearStore = create<BearStore>()((set) => ({ bears: 0, increase: (by) => set((state) => ({ bears: state.bears + by })), }))

Use in Components:

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

Core Patterns

Basic Store (JavaScript):

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

TypeScript Store (Recommended):

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

Persistent Store (survives page reloads):

import { persist, createJSONStorage } from 'zustand/middleware'

const useStore = create<UserPreferences>()( persist( (set) => ({ theme: 'system', setTheme: (theme) => set({ theme }) }), { name: 'user-preferences', storage: createJSONStorage(() => localStorage) }, ), )

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:

import { create } from 'zustand' import { persist } from 'zustand/middleware'

interface StoreWithHydration { count: number _hasHydrated: boolean setHasHydrated: (hydrated: boolean) => void increase: () => void }

const useStore = create<StoreWithHydration>()( persist( (set) => ({ count: 0, _hasHydrated: false, setHasHydrated: (hydrated) => set({ _hasHydrated: hydrated }), increase: () => set((state) => ({ count: state.count + 1 })), }), { name: 'my-store', onRehydrateStorage: () => (state) => { state?.setHasHydrated(true) }, }, ), )

// In component function MyComponent() { const hasHydrated = useStore((state) => state._hasHydrated)

if (!hasHydrated) { return <div>Loading...</div> }

// Now safe to render with persisted state return <ActualContent /> }

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:

// ❌ WRONG - Single parentheses const useStore = create<MyStore>((set) => ({ // ... }))

// ✅ CORRECT - Double parentheses const useStore = create<MyStore>()((set) => ({ // ... }))

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:

// ✅ CORRECT imports for v5 import { create } from 'zustand' import { persist, createJSONStorage } from 'zustand/middleware'

// Verify versions // zustand@5.0.9 includes createJSONStorage // zustand@4.x uses different API

// Check your package.json // "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:

import { useShallow } from 'zustand/shallow'

// ❌ WRONG - Creates new object every time const { bears, fishes } = useStore((state) => ({ bears: state.bears, fishes: state.fishes, }))

// ✅ CORRECT Option 1 - Select primitives separately const bears = useStore((state) => state.bears) const fishes = useStore((state) => state.fishes)

// ✅ CORRECT Option 2 - Use useShallow hook for multiple values const { bears, fishes } = useStore( useShallow((state) => ({ bears: state.bears, fishes: state.fishes })) )

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:

import { create, StateCreator } from 'zustand'

// Define slice types interface BearSlice { bears: number addBear: () => void }

interface FishSlice { fishes: number addFish: () => void }

// Create slices with proper types const createBearSlice: StateCreator< BearSlice & FishSlice, // Combined store type [], // Middleware mutators (empty if none) [], // Chained middleware (empty if none) BearSlice // This slice's type

= (set) => ({ bears: 0, addBear: () => set((state) => ({ bears: state.bears + 1 })), })

const createFishSlice: StateCreator< BearSlice & FishSlice, [], [], FishSlice

= (set) => ({ fishes: 0, addFish: () => set((state) => ({ fishes: state.fishes + 1 })), })

// Combine slices const useStore = create<BearSlice & FishSlice>()((...a) => ({ ...createBearSlice(...a), ...createFishSlice(...a), }))

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.

npm 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):

import { persist, createJSONStorage } from 'zustand/middleware'

const useStore = create<MyStore>()( persist( (set) => ({ data: [], addItem: (item) => set((state) => ({ data: [...state.data, item] })) }), { name: 'my-storage', partialize: (state) => ({ data: state.data }), // Only persist 'data' }, ), )

Devtools (Redux DevTools):

import { devtools } from 'zustand/middleware'

const useStore = create<CounterStore>()( devtools( (set) => ({ count: 0, increment: () => set((s) => ({ count: s.count + 1 }), undefined, 'increment') }), { name: 'CounterStore' }, ), )

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):

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

Common Patterns

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

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

Async Actions:

const useAsyncStore = create<AsyncStore>()((set) => ({ data: null, isLoading: false, fetchData: async () => { set({ isLoading: true }) const response = await fetch('/api/data') set({ data: await response.text(), isLoading: false }) }, }))

Resetting Store:

const initialState = { count: 0, name: '' } const useStore = create<ResettableStore>()((set) => ({ ...initialState, reset: () => set(initialState), }))

Selector with Params:

const 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):

import { createStore } from 'zustand/vanilla'

const store = createStore<CounterStore>()((set) => ({ count: 0, increment: () => set((s) => ({ count: s.count + 1 })) })) const unsubscribe = store.subscribe((state) => console.log(state.count)) store.getState().increment()

Custom Middleware:

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

Immer Middleware (Mutable Updates):

import { immer } from 'zustand/middleware/immer'

const useStore = create<TodoStore>()(immer((set) => ({ todos: [], addTodo: (text) => set((state) => { state.todos.push({ id: Date.now().toString(), text }) }), })))

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).

import { unstable_ssrSafe } from 'zustand/middleware'

const useStore = create<Store>()( unstable_ssrSafe( persist( (set) => ({ /* state */ }), { name: 'my-store' } ) ) )

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