The React team has officially announced the deprecation of Create React App (CRA) in favor of more modern and efficient tools like Vite and Next.js. If you’ve been using CRA to bootstrap your React applications, now is the time to explore better alternatives that provide improved performance, developer experience, and scalability.
Why is Create React App Being Deprecated?
Create React App was introduced in 2016 as a simple way to set up a new React project without dealing with complex configurations. It came with a built-in Webpack-based development server and was widely adopted due to its simplicity. However, as the JavaScript ecosystem evolved, CRA started falling behind in performance and features compared to newer alternatives.
Some of the key reasons for its deprecation include:
- Slow build times: CRA relies on Webpack, which is slower compared to newer bundlers like esbuild and Vite.
- Lack of flexibility: CRA’s opinionated setup makes it harder to customize without ejecting, leading to complex configurations.
- Better alternatives available: Frameworks like Vite and Next.js provide much faster development environments, built-in optimizations, and better support for modern React features.
- No longer actively developed: While CRA will still receive maintenance updates, new features will not be added. This means it will become outdated over time.
What Should You Use Instead?
To ensure your projects remain future-proof and efficient, the React team recommends using Vite or Next.js as alternatives. Let’s explore what each of these frameworks offers:
1. Vite – A Fast and Modern Development Environment
Vite is a next-generation front-end build tool that provides blazing-fast development and instant Hot Module Replacement (HMR). It’s an excellent choice if you want a lightweight, fast, and modern alternative to CRA.
Why Choose Vite?
✔ Lightning-fast startup times due to esbuild, which is 10–100x faster than traditional JavaScript bundlers.
✔ Optimized for React with automatic JSX support and out-of-the-box TypeScript handling.
✔ Better developer experience with instant updates and a simpler configuration.
✔ Tree-shaking and code-splitting for optimized production builds.
How to Get Started with Vite
Migrating to Vite is straightforward. If you are starting a new project, you can run:
npm create vite@latest my-app --template reactcd my-appnpm installnpm run devFor existing CRA projects, you’ll need to manually adjust dependencies and configurations, but the migration is fairly simple.
2. Next.js – The Best Framework for React Applications
Next.js is a full-featured React framework that offers built-in optimizations, powerful routing, and excellent server-side rendering (SSR) support. It is a great choice for larger applications that need performance optimizations and scalability.
Why Choose Next.js?
✔ Automatic Static Optimization and Server-side Rendering (SSR) for better performance.
✔ API Routes allow you to build backend functionality directly in your React app.
✔ Image Optimization for improved page load times.
✔ Built-in Routing and Middleware for easier navigation and handling of requests.
✔ Edge and Serverless Deployment Options with Vercel, making it easy to scale.
How to Get Started with Next.js
To create a new Next.js project, run:
npx create-next-app@latest my-appcd my-appnpm run devFor those migrating from CRA, Next.js provides better performance and flexibility, but you may need to update your project structure to follow Next.js conventions.
How to Migrate from Create React App?
If you already have an app built with Create React App, you should consider migrating to either Vite or Next.js. Here’s a general migration approach:
Migrating from CRA to Vite
Install Vite and required dependencies:
npm install --save-dev vite @vitejs/plugin-reactReplace CRA scripts in package.json:
- Remove react-scripts.
- Update scripts to use Vite:
"scripts": { "dev": "vite", "build": "vite build", "preview": "vite preview"}
Update the entry point in index.html and move it to the root of your project.
Adjust environment variables (CRA uses REACT_APP_, while Vite uses VITE_).
Test and fix any compatibility issues.
Migrating from CRA to Next.js
Install Next.js and required dependencies
npm install next react react-domMove pages into the
/pagesdirectory.Replace React Router with Next.js’s built-in routing.
Update API calls to use Next.js API routes if needed.
Configure any necessary SSR or static optimizations.
While Next.js offers more powerful features, the migration may require more adjustments compared to Vite.
Conclusion
Create React App has served the React community well for years, but it’s time to move forward. Whether you choose Vite for speed or Next.js for full-stack capabilities, both options provide significant improvements over CRA.
If you’re still using Create React App, now is the perfect time to migrate and future-proof your projects with modern tools.
For more details, check out the official React announcement and start planning your migration today! 🚀
Original Article Source: Create React App is Now Deprecated: Time to Migrate to Vite or Next.js written by Chris Pietschmann (If you're reading this somewhere other than Build5Nines.com, it was republished without permission.)
