Zustand Patterns

Modern state management with Zustand 5.x - lightweight, TypeScript-first, no boilerplate.

Overview

• Global state without Redux complexity
• Shared state across components without prop drilling
• Persisted state with localStorage/sessionStorage
• Computed/derived state with selectors
• State that needs middleware (logging, devtools, persistence)

Upstream coverage (do not restate)

Zustand's own docs are the source for the mechanics. This skill carries only the OrchestKit delta on top of them, in references/ork-delta.md, the rules/ files, and the checklist.

Topic	First-party source
Basic store, create<State>()(), actions, async actions	https://github.com/pmndrs/zustand/blob/main/docs/reference/apis/create.md
Slices pattern (splitting and combining stores)	https://github.com/pmndrs/zustand/blob/main/docs/learn/guides/slices-pattern.md
Typing slices and middleware mutator tuples	https://github.com/pmndrs/zustand/blob/main/docs/learn/guides/advanced-typescript.md
Immer middleware (draft mutations)	https://github.com/pmndrs/zustand/blob/main/docs/reference/middlewares/immer.md
persist: partialize, version, migrate, onRehydrateStorage, storage adapters	https://github.com/pmndrs/zustand/blob/main/docs/reference/middlewares/persist.md
devtools: action names, enabled, serialize, trace	https://github.com/pmndrs/zustand/blob/main/docs/reference/middlewares/devtools.md
subscribeWithSelector and non-React subscriptions	https://github.com/pmndrs/zustand/blob/main/docs/reference/middlewares/subscribe-with-selector.md
Selectors and useShallow re-render control	https://github.com/pmndrs/zustand/blob/main/docs/learn/guides/prevent-rerenders-with-use-shallow.md
v4 to v5 migration (createWithEqualityFn, React 18 floor)	https://github.com/pmndrs/zustand/blob/main/docs/reference/migrations/migrating-to-v5.md
SSR and hydration	https://github.com/pmndrs/zustand/blob/main/docs/learn/guides/ssr-and-hydration.md
Store testing and reset	https://github.com/pmndrs/zustand/blob/main/docs/learn/guides/testing.md
Server-state ownership (use TanStack Query, not Zustand)	https://tanstack.com/query/latest/docs/framework/react/guides/does-this-replace-client-state

Quick Reference

// ✅ Create typed store with double-call pattern
const useStore = create<State>()((set, get) => ({ ... }));

// ✅ Use selectors for all state access
const count = useStore((s) => s.count);

// ✅ Use useShallow for multiple values (Zustand 5.x)
const { a, b } = useStore(useShallow((s) => ({ a: s.a, b: s.b })));

// ✅ Middleware order: immer → subscribeWithSelector → devtools → persist
create(persist(devtools(immer((set) => ({ ... })))))

// ❌ Never destructure entire store
const store = useStore(); // Re-renders on ANY change

// ❌ Never store server state (use TanStack Query instead)
const useStore = create((set) => ({ users: [], fetchUsers: async () => ... }));

Key Decisions

Decision	Option A	Option B	Recommendation
State structure	Single store	Multiple stores	Slices in single store - easier cross-slice access
Nested updates	Spread operator	Immer middleware	Immer for deeply nested state (3+ levels)
Persistence	Manual localStorage	persist middleware	persist middleware with partialize
Multiple values	Multiple selectors	useShallow	useShallow for 2-5 related values
Server state	Zustand	TanStack Query	TanStack Query - Zustand for client-only state
DevTools	Always on	Conditional	Conditional - enabled: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development'

Anti-Patterns & Integration

Forbidden patterns (store destructuring, derived state, server state, direct mutation) and React Query integration guidance.

Load Read("references/anti-patterns-and-integration.md") for anti-pattern examples and TanStack Query separation patterns.

Related Skills

• react-server-components-framework - RSC hydration considerations with Zustand
• Server state: https://tanstack.com/query/latest/docs/framework/react/guides/does-this-replace-client-state
• Form state: https://react-hook-form.com/docs/useform

Capability Details

store-creation

Keywords: zustand, create, store, typescript, state Solves: Setting up type-safe Zustand stores with proper TypeScript inference

slices-pattern

Keywords: slices, modular, split, combine, StateCreator Solves: Organizing large stores into maintainable, domain-specific slices

middleware-stack

Keywords: immer, persist, devtools, middleware, compose Solves: Combining middleware in correct order for immutability, persistence, and debugging

selector-optimization

Keywords: selector, useShallow, re-render, performance, memoization Solves: Preventing unnecessary re-renders with proper selector patterns

persistence-migration

Keywords: persist, localStorage, sessionStorage, migrate, version Solves: Persisting state with schema migrations between versions

References

Load on demand with Read("references/<file>"):

File	Content
ork-delta.md	OrchestKit-specific rules: the corrected zustand/shallow label, the v5 floor, secret handling, graded slice typing
anti-patterns-and-integration.md	Forbidden patterns and React Query integration

Other resources:

• Load: Read("scripts/store-template.ts") - Production-ready store template
• Load: Read("checklists/zustand-checklist.md") - Implementation checklist