react-best-practices skill

---
name: react-best-practices
description: "**IMPORTANT**: Any change to React or Next.js code must read through this skill first. React and Next.js guidelines from Vercel Engineering covering visual instability, layout shifts, CLS, flickering, hydration issues, and font loading."
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: vercel
  version: "1.0.0"
---

# Vercel React Best Practices

Comprehensive performance optimization guide for React and Next.js applications, maintained by Vercel. Contains 45 rules across 8 categories, prioritized by impact to guide automated refactoring and code generation.

## When to Apply

Reference these guidelines when:

- Refactoring existing React/Next.js code
- Writing new React components or Next.js pages
- Fixing visual instability or layout shift (CLS) issues
- Preventing flickering when reading from localStorage or cookies
- Handling hydration mismatches with client-only data
- Optimizing font loading (FOIT/FOUT prevention)
- Adding proper dimensions to images and dynamic content

## Rule Categories by Priority

| Priority | Category | Impact | Prefix |
|----------|----------|--------|--------|
| 1 | Eliminating Waterfalls | CRITICAL | `async-` |
| 2 | Bundle Size Optimization | CRITICAL | `bundle-` |
| 3 | Server-Side Performance | HIGH | `server-` |
| 4 | Client-Side Data Fetching | MEDIUM-HIGH | `client-` |
| 5 | Re-render Optimization | MEDIUM | `rerender-` |
| 6 | Rendering Performance | MEDIUM | `rendering-` |
| 7 | JavaScript Performance | LOW-MEDIUM | `js-` |
| 8 | Advanced Patterns | LOW | `advanced-` |

## Quick Reference

### 1. Eliminating Waterfalls (CRITICAL)

- `async-defer-await` - Move await into branches where actually used
- `async-parallel` - Use Promise.all() for independent operations
- `async-dependencies` - Use better-all for partial dependencies
- `async-api-routes` - Start promises early, await late in API routes
- `async-suspense-boundaries` - Use Suspense to stream content

### 2. Bundle Size Optimization (CRITICAL)

- `bundle-barrel-imports` - Import directly, avoid barrel files
- `bundle-dynamic-imports` - Use next/dynamic for heavy components
- `bundle-defer-third-party` - Load analytics/logging after hydration
- `bundle-conditional` - Load modules only when feature is activated
- `bundle-preload` - Preload on hover/focus for perceived speed

### 3. Server-Side Performance (HIGH)

- `server-cache-react` - Use React.cache() for per-request deduplication
- `server-cache-lru` - Use LRU cache for cross-request caching
- `server-serialization` - Minimize data passed to client components
- `server-parallel-fetching` - Restructure components to parallelize fetches
- `server-after-nonblocking` - Use after() for non-blocking operations

### 4. Client-Side Data Fetching (MEDIUM-HIGH)

- `client-swr-dedup` - Use SWR for automatic request deduplication
- `client-event-listeners` - Deduplicate global event listeners

### 5. Re-render Optimization (MEDIUM)

- `rerender-defer-reads` - Don't subscribe to state only used in callbacks
- `rerender-memo` - Extract expensive work into memoized components
- `rerender-dependencies` - Use primitive dependencies in effects
- `rerender-derived-state` - Subscribe to derived booleans, not raw values
- `rerender-functional-setstate` - Use functional setState for stable callbacks
- `rerender-lazy-state-init` - Pass function to useState for expensive values
- `rerender-transitions` - Use startTransition for non-urgent updates

### 6. Rendering Performance (MEDIUM)

- `rendering-animate-svg-wrapper` - Animate div wrapper, not SVG element
- `rendering-content-visibility` - Use content-visibility for long lists
- `rendering-hoist-jsx` - Extract static JSX outside components
- `rendering-svg-precision` - Reduce SVG coordinate precision
- `rendering-hydration-no-flicker` - Use inline script for client-only data
- `rendering-activity` - Use Activity component for show/hide
- `rendering-conditional-render` - Use ternary, not && for conditionals

### 7. JavaScript Performance (LOW-MEDIUM)

- `js-batch-dom-css` - Group CSS changes via classes or cssText
- `js-index-maps` - Build Map for repeated lookups
- `js-cache-property-access` - Cache object properties in loops
- `js-cache-function-results` - Cache function results in module-level Map
- `js-cache-storage` - Cache localStorage/sessionStorage reads
- `js-combine-iterations` - Combine multiple filter/map into one loop
- `js-length-check-first` - Check array length before expensive comparison
- `js-early-exit` - Return early from functions
- `js-hoist-regexp` - Hoist RegExp creation outside loops
- `js-min-max-loop` - Use loop for min/max instead of sort
- `js-set-map-lookups` - Use Set/Map for O(1) lookups
- `js-tosorted-immutable` - Use toSorted() for immutability

### 8. Advanced Patterns (LOW)

- `advanced-event-handler-refs` - Store event handlers in refs
- `advanced-use-latest` - useLatest for stable callback refs

## How to Use

Read individual rule files for detailed explanations and code examples:

```
rules/async-parallel.md
rules/bundle-barrel-imports.md
rules/_sections.md
```

Each rule file contains:
- Brief explanation of why it matters
- Incorrect code example with explanation
- Correct code example with explanation
- Additional context and references