SolidJS Production Intelligence & Decision Guide

Critical Status Information

SolidJS 2.0 Reality Check

• Status: Experimental only (as of September 2025)
• Production Ready: No - experimental builds break weekly
• API Stability: APIs change without warning
• Migration Path: Does not exist
• Timeline: No concrete dates given, estimated 2026-2027

SolidJS 1.x Production Status

• Current Stable: 1.9.9 (August 2025)
• Production Ready: Yes - battle-tested in real applications
• Performance: Measurably superior to React in specific scenarios

Performance Specifications with Real-World Impact

Bundle Size Reduction

• React to SolidJS Migration: 380KB → 180KB (53% reduction)
• Typical Savings: 30-50% smaller bundles
• Impact: Faster loading on mobile networks, better Core Web Vitals

Memory Usage Improvements

• Dashboard App Example: 180MB → 120MB (33% reduction)
• General Range: 30-40% less memory usage
• Critical Impact: Noticeable performance on older laptops, better mobile experience

Update Performance

• Mechanism: Fine-grained reactivity (no virtual DOM diffing)
• Visible Impact: Complex table updates that stuttered in React become smooth
• Real-time Data: Superior performance for live updating interfaces

Ecosystem Reality & Limitations

Missing Critical Components

• Date Picker: Build yourself (no mature alternatives)
• Form Libraries: No React Hook Form equivalent
• Complex Tables: No AG-Grid equivalent
• Animation: No Framer Motion equivalent
• Rich Text: No Slate.js equivalent
• Drag & Drop: No libraries available
• Chart Libraries: Only basic Chart.js wrappers

Available Component Libraries

• Kobalte: Headless UI components (best maintained option)
• Hope UI: Decent coverage, not complete
• Solid UI: Smaller but usable
• Quality Assessment: All significantly less mature than React ecosystem

Critical Implementation Gotchas

Props Destructuring Failure

// BREAKS - Props lose reactivity
function BadComponent({ name, email }) {
  return <div>{name}</div>; // Won't update when props change
}

// WORKS - Keep props object intact
function GoodComponent(props) {
  return <div>{props.name}</div>; // Updates correctly
}

Severity: Critical - Silent failures, hard to debug
Frequency: Affects 90% of React developers during migration

Side Effects API Differences

// React pattern doesn't work
createEffect(() => {
  // This runs on EVERY reactive value change
  console.log(user.name, user.email, user.age);
});

// Need explicit dependency management
createEffect(() => {
  console.log(user.name); // Only runs when name changes
});

Impact: Unexpected re-renders, performance degradation
Learning Curve: 1-2 weeks for React developers to adapt

Development Experience Reality

Hot Module Replacement

• Functionality: Works most of the time
• Failure Rate: Breaks randomly 3-4 times daily
• Recovery: Requires dev server restart
• Performance: Faster than React when working

Debugging & Tools

• Error Messages: Decent, usually actionable
• DevTools: Basic Chrome extension, less polished than React DevTools
• Stack Overflow: Limited answers, rely on Discord community
• Community Support: Small but responsive (Ryan Carniato personally answers)

Migration Cost Analysis

Time Investment

• Component Rewrite: 30-50% of existing components
• Learning Curve: 2-4 weeks for team comfort
• Missing Libraries: Additional 20-30% development time

Team Prerequisites

• Team Size: Works better with small teams (< 8 developers)
• Skill Level: Comfortable building custom components
• Risk Tolerance: Can handle ecosystem friction

Hiring Impact

• Developer Availability: Very limited SolidJS-specific talent
• Training Required: Budget for React → SolidJS education
• Recruitment: Hire based on JavaScript skills, not framework experience

Production Architecture Patterns

Context Performance

function AppProvider(props) {
  const [user, setUser] = createSignal(null);
  const [settings, setSettings] = createStore({});
  const [notifications, setNotifications] = createStore([]);

  // Large contexts don't kill performance (unlike React)
  const value = { user, setUser, settings, setSettings, notifications, setNotifications };

  return (
    <AppContext.Provider value={value}>
      {props.children}
    </AppContext.Provider>
  );
}

Advantage: Large contexts perform well, no provider hell

Store Management

const [user, setUser] = createStore({
  profile: { name: '', email: '' },
  preferences: { theme: 'light' }
});

// Correct nested updates
setUser('profile', 'name', 'John');

// React patterns DON'T work
setUser(prev => ({ ...prev, profile: { ...prev.profile, name: 'John' } })); // Wrong

Learning Curve: Different mental model from React setState

Decision Matrix

Choose SolidJS When:

• Performance Critical: Data dashboards, real-time applications
• Memory Constraints: Mobile web applications
• Bundle Size Matters: Core Web Vitals requirements
• Small Team: < 8 developers comfortable with ecosystem gaps
• Custom Components: Team capable of building missing libraries

Choose React When:

• Large Teams: Need predictable hiring pipeline
• Extensive Integrations: Require many third-party libraries
• Tight Deadlines: Cannot afford ecosystem friction
• Enterprise Requirements: Client demands "industry standard"
• Complex Forms: Heavy form validation requirements

Testing Configuration

Setup Complexity

• Framework: No create-react-app equivalent
• Configuration: Manual Jest/Vitest setup required
• Learning Curve: More involved than React testing setup

Testing API

import { render, fireEvent } from '@solidjs/testing-library';

test('component updates when clicked', async () => {
  const { getByText } = render(() => <Counter />);
  const button = getByText('Count: 0');

  fireEvent.click(button);
  expect(getByText('Count: 1')).toBeInTheDocument();
});

Similarity: API similar to React Testing Library
Maturity: Less mature ecosystem, more manual configuration

Deployment & Build

Build Performance

• Tool: Vite integration works well
• Build Times: Fast compilation
• Bundle Output: Smaller than equivalent React apps

Production Deployment

• Process: Standard SPA deployment (build, copy to CDN)
• Performance: Faster loading due to smaller bundles
• SSR Option: SolidStart available but less mature than Next.js

Risk Assessment

High Risk Scenarios

• Large Team Projects: Hiring and knowledge sharing difficulties
• Complex UI Requirements: Missing component libraries
• Tight Deadlines: Ecosystem friction causes delays
• Enterprise Sales: Client technology approval processes

Low Risk Scenarios

• Performance-Critical Apps: Clear ROI on optimization
• Small Teams: Can handle custom development
• Green Field Projects: No migration complexity
• Technical Leadership: Team comfortable with bleeding edge

Resource Requirements

Development Time Multipliers

• Initial Setup: 1.2x standard React project
• Component Development: 1.3x due to missing libraries
• Team Training: 2-4 weeks additional onboarding
• Debugging: 1.2x due to smaller community

Ongoing Maintenance

• Library Updates: More manual tracking required
• Security Patches: Smaller community, slower discovery
• Knowledge Transfer: Limited external resources

Breaking Points & Failure Modes

Critical Failure Scenarios

• Library Dependencies: No alternatives when libraries become unmaintained
• Team Scaling: Knowledge bottlenecks with specialized framework
• Client Requirements: Technology stack approval failures
• Performance Assumptions: Gains don't materialize in specific use cases

Early Warning Indicators

• Development Velocity: Slowing due to missing tools
• Team Frustration: Rebuilding existing React solutions
• Recruitment Issues: Unable to find qualified developers
• Technical Debt: Custom components becoming maintenance burden

Comparative Framework Analysis

Framework	Bundle Size	Performance	Ecosystem	Learning Curve	Production Readiness
SolidJS 1.9.x	7KB gzipped	Fastest updates	Small, growing	Medium (from React)	✅ Production ready
React 18.x	42KB + deps	Virtual DOM overhead	Massive	Low	✅ Production ready
Vue 3.x	16KB gzipped	Good performance	Large	Low	✅ Production ready
Svelte 4.x	App-dependent	Compile-time optimized	Medium	Medium	✅ Production ready
SolidJS 2.0	Unknown	Unknown	N/A	Unknown	❌ Experimental only

Operational Intelligence Summary

Worth the Investment: For performance-critical applications with small teams capable of custom development

Hidden Costs:

• 30% additional development time for missing libraries
• 2-4 weeks team training period
• Ongoing hiring difficulties
• Custom component maintenance burden

Breaking Points:

• Team size > 8 developers
• Complex form requirements
• Extensive third-party integration needs
• Enterprise technology approval processes

Success Indicators:

• Data-heavy dashboards with performance requirements
• Real-time applications with frequent updates
• Mobile web with bundle size constraints
• Teams comfortable with bleeding-edge technology

Failure Recovery:

• Migration back to React is possible but costly
• Component rewrite required (30-50% of codebase)
• Team knowledge not transferable
• Timeline: 4-8 weeks for complete migration back