Beyond the Basics: Structuring React Apps That Scale

When you're working on a small React app, throwing everything into a components folder may work just fine. But as your project grows — with more pages, features, and contributors — having a well-structured architecture becomes critical.

In this post, I’ll walk through how I structure large React applications based on real-world experience. This structure helps improve scalability, maintainability, and developer onboarding.

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📁 Folder Structure

Here’s my typical top-level folder structure:

src/
  ├── components/         # Reusable UI components (buttons, modals, etc.)
  ├── features/           # Feature-specific modules (per route or domain)
  ├── pages/              # Route-based components (e.g., for React Router)
  ├── hooks/              # Custom reusable hooks (global, not feature-specific)
  ├── contexts/           # React context definitions & providers
  ├── services/           # API calls, SDK wrappers, integrations
  ├── utils/              # Helper functions and pure utilities
  ├── constants/          # Static config, enums, roles, routes
  ├── assets/             # Images, icons, fonts
  └── types/              # TypeScript types and interfaces

Let’s break some of these down.

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💡 components/ vs features/

• components/: Reusable, stateless UI pieces like Button, Modal, Table, etc.

• features/: Isolated feature logic that may include components, hooks, and even state.

Example features/ structure:

features/
  └── user/
      ├── components/       # Feature-specific UI
      ├── hooks/            # Feature-specific hooks
      ├── services.ts       # API calls for user feature
      ├── UserPage.tsx
      └── index.ts

This keeps features modular and avoids one massive components/ folder.

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🔁 Reusable Hooks (hooks/)

Global hooks that are reused across the app go here. For example:

• useDebounce

• useOutsideClick

• useAuth

• useQueryParams

Each hook is isolated in its own file with relevant tests and types.

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🌐 Global State: Context API vs Redux

• I prefer Context API + custom hooks for managing local/global app state.

• Redux or Zustand is introduced only when state becomes complex or needs cross-feature syncing.

• Example of lightweight context:

// contexts/AuthContext.tsx
const AuthContext = createContext(null);
export const AuthProvider = ({ children }) => { /*...*/ };
export const useAuth = () => useContext(AuthContext);

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🛰 API Calls (services/)

I keep all API-related logic here, often using Axios or React Query.

Structure example:

services/
  ├── http.ts            # Axios instance
  ├── userService.ts     # Functions like getUser, updateUser
  └── authService.ts

This keeps the UI clean and separates concerns.

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⚙️ Constants and Config

Use constants/ to store:

• Routes

• Roles/permissions

• Default values

• App-wide enums or flags

Example:

// constants/routes.ts
export const ROUTES = {
  HOME: '/',
  LOGIN: '/login',
  DASHBOARD: '/dashboard',
};

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✅ Why This Works

• Scalability: New features can be added without cluttering the root or unrelated areas.

• Separation of concerns: UI, logic, and API are cleanly split.

• Easier onboarding: New devs can find things faster.

• Testability: Isolated logic and components make testing easier.

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🧩 Bonus: Tech Stack Tips

• React Query for data fetching and caching

• React Hook Form + Yup/Zod for forms and validation

• Zustand or Jotai for local state (if Context gets messy)

• TypeScript for type safety (essential on large teams)

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🚀 Final Thoughts

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but a consistent structure helps your team stay productive and sane as the codebase grows. Start simple, and evolve the structure as complexity increases.

Let me know how you structure your apps — always open to learn better ways!

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Thanks for reading!

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