React Query is often described as the missing data-fetching library for React, but in more technical terms, it makes fetching, caching, synchronizing and updating server state in your React applications a breeze.
Out of the box, React applications do not come with an opinionated way of fetching or updating data from your components so developers end up building their own ways of fetching data. This usually means cobbling together component-based state and effect using React hooks, or using more general purpose state management libraries to store and provide asynchronous data throughout their apps.
While most traditional state management libraries are great for working with client state, they are not so great at working with async or server state. This is because server state is totally different. For starters, server state:
Once you grasp the nature of server state in your application, even more challenges will arise as you go, for example:
If you're not overwhelmed by that list, then that must mean that you've probably solved all of your server state problems already and deserve an award. However, if you are like a vast majority of people, you either have yet to tackle all or most of these challenges and we're only scratching the surface!
React Query is hands down one of the best libraries for managing server state. It works amazingly well out-of-the-box, with zero-config, and can be customized to your liking as your application grows.
React Query allows you to defeat and overcome the tricky challenges and hurdles of server state and control your app data before it starts to control you.
On a more technical note, React Query will likely:
In the example below, you can see React Query in its most basic and simple form being used to fetch the GitHub stats for the React Query GitHub project itself:
import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider, useQuery } from 'react-query'
const queryClient = new QueryClient()
export default function App() {
return (
<QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>
<Example />
</QueryClientProvider>
)
}
function Example() {
const { isLoading, error, data } = useQuery('repoData', () =>
fetch('https://api.github.com/repos/tannerlinsley/react-query').then(res =>
res.json()
)
)
if (isLoading) return 'Loading...'
if (error) return 'An error has occurred: ' + error.message
return (
<div>
<h1>{data.name}</h1>
<p>{data.description}</p>
<strong>👀 {data.subscribers_count}</strong>{' '}
<strong>✨ {data.stargazers_count}</strong>{' '}
<strong>🍴 {data.forks_count}</strong>
</div>
)
}
import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider, useQuery } from 'react-query'
const queryClient = new QueryClient()
export default function App() {
return (
<QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>
<Example />
</QueryClientProvider>
)
}
function Example() {
const { isLoading, error, data } = useQuery('repoData', () =>
fetch('https://api.github.com/repos/tannerlinsley/react-query').then(res =>
res.json()
)
)
if (isLoading) return 'Loading...'
if (error) return 'An error has occurred: ' + error.message
return (
<div>
<h1>{data.name}</h1>
<p>{data.description}</p>
<strong>👀 {data.subscribers_count}</strong>{' '}
<strong>✨ {data.stargazers_count}</strong>{' '}
<strong>🍴 {data.forks_count}</strong>
</div>
)
}
“This course is the best way to learn how to use React Query in real-world applications.”—Tanner LinsleyGet the course