DEV Community

Cover image for Swapping Redux and Jotai Without Touching UI: A Production-Grade Frontend Pattern
Nitin N.
Nitin N.

Posted on

Swapping Redux and Jotai Without Touching UI: A Production-Grade Frontend Pattern

Introduction

Frontend teams often debate Redux vs Jotai vs Zustand.

The real problem is not which library you choose — it’s how hard it is to change later.

This article demonstrates a compile-time state swap pattern using a frontend template I built, validated with a real demo app.


The Usual Problem

In most projects:

  • UI components import store-specific hooks
  • Business logic leaks into reducers or atoms
  • Changing state libraries means rewriting half the app

That is not scalable.


The Core Idea

UI should depend on contracts, not implementations.

In this template:

  • UI consumes a single useCounter() hook
  • That hook is the only swap boundary
  • Redux and Jotai both conform to the same outward shape
{
  count: number
  increment(): void
  decrement(): void
}
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

No UI changes.
No page-level changes.
No runtime assumptions.


State Swap in Action

The demo app contains:

  • One Counter page
  • One hook boundary
  • Two implementations:
    • Redux Toolkit
    • Jotai

Swapping engines means changing one import, nothing else.


Why This Matters in Real Teams

This pattern:

  • Reduces long-term technical risk
  • Makes architectural decisions reversible
  • Allows teams to adopt new libraries safely
  • Fits enterprise and startup codebases alike

Closing Thoughts

Libraries will change. Frameworks will evolve.

Your architecture must survive those changes.

This template is my attempt to codify that principle. If this resonates, I’d love to hear your thoughts.


Other articles in this series

Top comments (0)