/react-best-practices

name: react-best-practices
description: React best-practices reviewer for TSX files. Triggers after editing multiple TSX components to run a condensed quality checklist covering component structure, hooks usage, accessibility, performance, and TypeScript patterns.
metadata:
  priority: 4
  docs:
    - "https://react.dev/reference/react"
    - "https://react.dev/learn"
  pathPatterns:
    - 'src/components/**/*.tsx'
    - 'src/components/**/*.jsx'
    - 'app/components/**/*.tsx'
    - 'app/components/**/*.jsx'
    - 'components/**/*.tsx'
    - 'components/**/*.jsx'
    - 'src/ui/**/*.tsx'
    - 'lib/components/**/*.tsx'
  bashPatterns: []
  importPatterns:
    - 'react'
    - 'react-dom'
validate:
  -
    pattern: 'from\s+[''"](styled-components|@emotion/styled|@emotion/react|@mui/material|@chakra-ui/react)[''"]|styled\.'
    message: 'Legacy CSS-in-JS or component library detected. Consider shadcn/ui + Tailwind for modern Vercel-native UI.'
    severity: warn
    upgradeToSkill: shadcn
    upgradeWhy: 'Migrate from CSS-in-JS/MUI/Chakra to shadcn/ui + Tailwind CSS for better SSR performance and Vercel ecosystem alignment.'
    skipIfFileContains: '@/components/ui|shadcn|tailwindcss'
retrieval:
  aliases:
    - react review
    - component quality
    - tsx linter
    - react patterns
  intents:
    - review react code
    - improve component quality
    - check accessibility
    - optimize react
  entities:
    - hooks
    - accessibility
    - React
    - TSX
    - component
chainTo:
  -
    pattern: 'from\s+[''\"](styled-components|@emotion/styled|@emotion/react|@mui/material|@chakra-ui/react)[''"]|styled\.'
    targetSkill: shadcn
    message: 'Legacy CSS-in-JS or component library detected — loading shadcn/ui guidance for modern Vercel-native UI.'

Vercel React Best Practices

Comprehensive performance optimization guide for React and Next.js applications, maintained by Vercel. Contains 70 rules across 8 categories, prioritized by impact to guide automated refactoring and code generation.

When to Apply

Reference these guidelines when:

• Writing new React components or Next.js pages
• Implementing data fetching (client or server-side)
• Reviewing code for performance issues
• Refactoring existing React/Next.js code
• Optimizing bundle size or load times

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-cheap-condition-before-await` - Check cheap sync conditions before awaiting flags or remote values
• `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-analyzable-paths` - Prefer statically analyzable import and file-system paths to avoid broad bundles and traces
• `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-auth-actions` - Authenticate server actions like API routes
• `server-cache-react` - Use React.cache() for per-request deduplication
• `server-cache-lru` - Use LRU cache for cross-request caching
• `server-dedup-props` - Avoid duplicate serialization in RSC props
• `server-hoist-static-io` - Hoist static I/O (fonts, logos) to module level
• `server-no-shared-module-state` - Avoid module-level mutable request state in RSC/SSR
• `server-serialization` - Minimize data passed to client components
• `server-parallel-fetching` - Restructure components to parallelize fetches
• `server-parallel-nested-fetching` - Chain nested fetches per item in Promise.all
• `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
• `client-passive-event-listeners` - Use passive listeners for scroll
• `client-localstorage-schema` - Version and minimize localStorage data

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-memo-with-default-value` - Hoist default non-primitive props
• `rerender-dependencies` - Use primitive dependencies in effects
• `rerender-derived-state` - Subscribe to derived booleans, not raw values
• `rerender-derived-state-no-effect` - Derive state during render, not effects
• `rerender-functional-setstate` - Use functional setState for stable callbacks
• `rerender-lazy-state-init` - Pass function to useState for expensive values
• `rerender-simple-expression-in-memo` - Avoid memo for simple primitives
• `rerender-split-combined-hooks` - Split hooks with independent dependencies
• `rerender-move-effect-to-event` - Put interaction logic in event handlers
• `rerender-transitions` - Use startTransition for non-urgent updates
• `rerender-use-deferred-value` - Defer expensive renders to keep input responsive
• `rerender-use-ref-tra