/riˈækt riˈdʌks/
n. “Bridging React and Redux with sanity intact.”
React-Redux is the official binding library that connects React components to a Redux store. It provides a set of utilities and hooks that allow React components to read from the Redux state and dispatch actions without manually subscribing to the store, keeping the UI and state in sync with minimal boilerplate.
Traditionally, managing global state in React required either prop drilling or manually subscribing components to a store. React-Redux solves this by offering two primary mechanisms: the Provider component and the connect() function (as well as hooks like useSelector and useDispatch in modern React).
The Provider wraps your React application and exposes the Redux store to all nested components. Once wrapped, components can use useSelector to read specific slices of state or useDispatch to send actions that modify the state. This avoids unnecessary re-renders and ensures a consistent state tree across the app.
For example, in a to-do application, a component displaying the list of tasks could use const tasks = useSelector(state => state.tasks) to access the current tasks. To add a new task, it could call dispatch(addTask(newTask)). React-Redux ensures that any state changes trigger re-renders only where necessary, keeping performance optimal.
React-Redux also works seamlessly with middleware like Redux Thunk or Redux Saga, allowing asynchronous actions to be dispatched without breaking the React component flow. This is essential for modern applications that interact with APIs or perform side-effect-heavy operations.
Beyond the technical connection, React-Redux encourages a predictable state architecture. Components focus on rendering, actions encapsulate “what happened,” and reducers compute the new state. The combination reduces bugs, improves testability, and simplifies debugging.
Essentially, React-Redux acts as the glue between React’s declarative UI and Redux’s deterministic state container. It abstracts away manual subscription logic, provides efficient reactivity, and lets developers manage complex state in a clear and scalable way.