State Management

Use this skill when the real question is:

What packet is this state, who should own it, and what tempting wrong owner should we avoid?

Do not start with a library debate. Start by naming one primary packet, then choose the smallest owner that matches its lifecycle.

Read references/ownership-packets-and-route-outs.md before handling a mixed or ambiguous request. Read references/decision-matrix.md when the packet is clear and you need to compare likely owners. Read references/handoff-boundaries.md when the request may actually belong to react-best-practices, api-design, debugging, ui-component-patterns, design-system, or responsive-design.

When to use this skill

• Decide whether a frontend problem is local UI state, shared subtree state, URL/navigation state, form state, server state, or long-lived client workflow state.
• Turn vague requests like “we need state management” into a concrete ownership recommendation.
• Choose between Context, Zustand, Redux Toolkit, Jotai, TanStack Query, or router-native ownership without treating them as interchangeable.
• Stop “one store for everything” proposals before implementation starts.
• Produce a short ownership brief for implementation or review.