Hey guys,
Welcome to another edition of Import React by Cosden Solutions!
Discover how Shopify made React 30% faster with Remix, learn the key skill that makes AI agents actually useful (hint: it’s not prompting), and find out why cushy dev jobs might be disappearing. Plus: smart patterns for data fetching, promise racing, and evaluating AI tools that actually help.
I’m really happy to have PropelAuth as today’s sponsor, a great option for devs looking to simplify auth in React apps.
Let's get into the newsletter! 🤙
PropelAuth: Authentication built for B2B React Apps
If you’re searching for an auth provider that…
can keep up with your growing B2B business
provides everything from MFA to user impersonation
is cost effective
then you’ll want to check out PropelAuth. PropelAuth is the auth provider of choice for thousands of B2B businesses, from small scale startups to series C scale ups.
⚡️ The Latest In React
📖 Study guide: Data fetching in React
A structured walkthrough of data‑fetching strategies, tailored to different experience levels: starting with useEffect basics, graduating to React Query for production apps, and exploring how to handle race conditions and waterfall requests.
🏇 Next.js Promise Racing
Corbin Crutchley demonstrates a clever server/client pattern: race a data‑fetch promise against a timeout in Next.js. If the server resolves quickly, the client skips the loading spinner, if not, suspense kicks in client‑side. A cool way to improve perceived performance using React Server Components.
🐌 How remix made Shopify 30% faster and AI ready
Shopify rebuilt its massive Admin (serving ~67 million daily page‑views and ~350 PRs/day) using Remix to standardise routing, eliminate duplicate data loading, and boost consistency. The result? A 30% speed improvement and architecture optimised for future AI features.
🧠 JavaScript Future: TC39 Updates
Want to know what features might land in JavaScript soon? This update from the Deno team summarizes new proposals like immutable arrays, Observables, and Temporal, all of which could shape the way we write React apps.
🧠 AI & General Programming
🥇 Why Senior Developers Are More Valuable Than Ever
A thoughtful revisit of Peter Naur’s idea that code is just the surface, what really matters is the mental model behind it. Without preserving that theory, software becomes fragile and opaque. A great read for devs who think AI will replace senior developers.
🤔 3 Tips from Engineering Leaders for Evaluating AI Coding Tools
Builder.io offers three smart strategies: test with junior devs (they gain the most), set up a Slackbot to gather lightweight feedback, and watch unedited coding sessions to uncover real friction. A refreshing, practical take on rolling out AI tools in dev teams.
🫵 You need to learn Context Engineering
Philipp Schmid reframes the AI landscape: success isn’t about smarter models or clever prompts, it’s about designing rich, dynamic context systems. He shows how topping prompts with relevant data (like calendars, emails, tool schemas) turns mediocre agents into “magical” assistants, and why context is increasingly the true skill for builders
🤌 The software engineering "squeeze"
Anton Zaides argues we’re entering a new era: the days of cushy, code‑only roles are over. With market saturation and AI automating boilerplate work, mediocrity is getting squeezed out, while ambitious "product engineers" who blend coding, PM, and design skills are thriving. A tough truth, but also a huge opportunity for those willing to level up.
Quick Links
Reactylon, a framework designed to create interactive and immersive XR experiences.
A time picker component built with React and Shadcn UI.
How to take screenshots of your statically exported Next.js site in GitHub Actions workflow.
A more critical take on React but one that took the ecosystem by storm this week. React Still Feels Insane And No One Is Talking About It
See you next week!
Darius Cosden