Contents
In brief
Starting a new React project in 2026 still means choosing among dozens of “de facto standards.” A Habr roundup maps the current ecosystem: what survived from 2022 and what gave way to Vite, Next.js, Zustand, and the TanStack family.
What happened
The author reviewed more than 60 libraries and tools and grouped them by category: build, framework, routing, UI, state, forms, tables, tests, styling. The main thesis: the ecosystem moved noticeably in 2–3 years.
Typical shift from 2022 → 2026:
| Category | Often in 2022 | More common now |
|---|---|---|
| Build | Webpack | Vite (or wrappers like Next) |
| Framework / SSR | CRA, custom setup | Next.js for full-stack and production |
| Client state | Redux Toolkit | Zustand, sometimes Jotai |
| Server state | manual fetch + store | TanStack Query |
| UI | Material UI by default | shadcn/ui, Radix, Mantine |
| Forms | Formik | React Hook Form, TanStack Form |
| Tables | ad-hoc | TanStack Table, AG Grid for heavy grids |
| Styling | styled-components | Tailwind, CSS Modules |
Redux, MUI, and Webpack are still here — but for new greenfield work they are chosen deliberately, not “because that is how we always did it.”
Why it matters
The wrong stack on day one is expensive: migrations, hiring, feature velocity. If a team by inertia ships Redux + CRA + Formik in 2026, you pay for complexity where the ecosystem already offers simpler paths.
A category map helps you:
- align on stack quickly as a team;
- avoid mixing “legacy by habit” and “modern default” without discussion;
- match tools to the product (SaaS dashboard, realtime app, marketing site, internal admin).
Regional preferences and corporate standards still matter — there is no single universally correct bundle.
In practice
A reasonable baseline for a new commercial React project in 2026 (without hard constraints):
- Vite + React + TypeScript — fast dev and predictable builds.
- Next.js — when you need SEO, SSR, API routes, and an all-in-one deploy story.
- TanStack Query — server data, cache, invalidation.
- Zustand (or Context for simple UI state) — less Redux boilerplate until client store logic gets very heavy.
- React Hook Form + Zod — forms and validation.
- shadcn/ui + Tailwind — UI kit with owned component code.
Before locking choices, write a 1–2 page ADR: why each category, what you skip and why. That is cheaper than debating every PR.
Takeaway
React stack 2026 is not “one correct combo” but conscious defaults per layer. The original Habr article is a solid cheat sheet before an empty package.json; revisit it when you bootstrap again.