Open source tools dominate the React ecosystem, with TanStack Query retaining the top spot in the State of React 2025 survey as developers show limited enthusiasm for newer server-side APIs.
Open source tools continue to dominate the React ecosystem, according to the State of React 2025 survey conducted by Devographics. The findings show that mature open-source libraries remain developers’ top choice, while newer server-side features in React struggle to gain traction.
Leading the rankings once again is TanStack Query, which retained its position as the most popular React library after overtaking Next.js last year. The survey shows that 42 per cent of TanStack Query users rate the library positively.
Open-source tools dominate the ecosystem’s top tier. Following TanStack Query, the state management library Zustand ranks second, while the UI library shadcn/ui takes third place. The latter also gained more than 26,000 GitHub stars in 2025 and ranked second in the JavaScript Rising Stars study.
Meanwhile, Next.js has seen a notable decline in developer sentiment. The framework dropped from third place in last year’s survey to ninth place, with only 27 per cent of users reporting a positive opinion, compared with 42 per cent for TanStack Query.
New React capabilities such as Server Components and Server Functions have also struggled to gain acceptance. The features rank third and fourth among the most negatively rated React APIs and show limited adoption, with only 45 per cent and 37 per cent of respondents reporting usage respectively. Developers cite compatibility challenges and excessive complexity as key barriers.
Among established APIs, <Fragment> and createContext maintain strong approval, with 54 per cent and 48 per cent positive sentiment respectively. <Fragment> has been used by 97 per cent of respondents.
The survey, conducted between November 19, 2025, and January 13, 2026, gathered responses from 3760 developers worldwide. Sponsors included Google and JetBrains, though organisers note the results are not intended to represent the entire React ecosystem.
