Waku 1.0 Alpha: A Minimal React Framework for Server Components

Waku, a minimal React framework designed specifically for React Server Components, has reached its 1.0 alpha milestone, marking a significant step toward production readiness. The framework, which has been in development for nearly three years, now offers a stable public API surface as the team shifts focus from feature development to bug fixes and compatibility improvements.

The alpha release represents more than just a version bump—it signals Waku's maturation as a viable alternative to heavier frameworks like Next.js. Built on top of Vite and Hono, Waku prioritizes developer experience while supporting all the latest React 19 features, including server components and server actions.

Sweet Spot for Static Sites with Dynamic Elements

Waku positions itself as the ideal choice for mostly-static sites that require some dynamic functionality. The framework excels at building marketing sites, blogs, documentation sites, and light ecommerce applications. Its simple per-route configuration allows developers to easily choose between fully static or fully dynamic rendering, or blend the two approaches with layouts, slices, and pages each having their own rendering configuration.

This flexibility makes Waku particularly attractive for projects that don't require the full weight of enterprise-grade frameworks but still need the power of React Server Components. The framework's minimalist approach means developers can work directly with React Server Components without the complexity of additional features they may not need.

Breaking Changes and Migration

The 1.0 alpha release introduces a breaking change that affects users implementing config-based routing or deployment adapters. Entry files have been renamed from server-entry.ts and client-entry.ts to waku.server.ts and waku.client.ts respectively. Developers upgrading from earlier versions will need to rename these files accordingly.

While there is no official migration guide for the 1.0 alpha release, an earlier community-created migration guide provides detailed upgrade instructions for users moving from version 0.25 to 0.27. The team has committed to providing release notes with each version and migration guides when needed as they work toward version 1.0 beta and release candidate stages.

Community Response and Positioning

The React community has shown interest in Waku's alpha release, though some users noted the announcement's brevity. Waku creator Daishi Kato acknowledged feedback after one user asked for an explanation of what the framework purpose is, responding that it's "a React framework developed for React Server Components from day one. It's based on Vite and Hono. Its API is small and easy to learn. The dev server and build process are very fast, mostly thanks to Vite."

This exchange highlights an important aspect of Waku's positioning—it's designed for developers who want a streamlined, focused framework rather than a comprehensive solution. As noted in a comparison article on LogRocket, while Next.js offers extensive features for complex applications, Waku's minimalist approach makes it ideal for projects that don't require the full weight of a comprehensive framework.

The announcement was featured in the Bytes newsletter and in Netlify's 2025 web frameworks review, which noted Waku's move to alpha as part of the broader maturation of React Server Components across the ecosystem.

Architectural Considerations

Developers should be aware of several architectural considerations when evaluating Waku. The framework is explicitly designed for non-production projects during this alpha phase, with the team actively seeking feedback through their GitHub discussions. This means that while the API is stable, the framework may still undergo changes as it moves toward beta and eventual production release.

Currently, Waku lacks some features that developers might expect from mature frameworks, such as built-in caching layers. However, it does support deployment to multiple platforms including Cloudflare and AWS Lambda, providing flexibility in deployment options.

The Creator Behind Waku

Waku is an open-source project developed primarily by Daishi Kato, known for creating popular React state management libraries Zustand, Jotai, and Valtio. The framework's name, meaning 'to excite' in Japanese, reflects its goal of providing an exciting and enjoyable developer experience while remaining lightweight and focused on React Server Components fundamentals.

Kato's background in creating lightweight, performant libraries is evident in Waku's design philosophy. The framework embodies the same principles of simplicity and developer experience that made his state management libraries popular in the React ecosystem.

Looking Forward

As Waku moves through its alpha phase toward beta and eventual production release, the framework represents an important trend in the React ecosystem: the emergence of specialized, focused frameworks that cater to specific use cases rather than trying to be everything to everyone.

The framework's success will likely depend on how well it balances its minimalist philosophy with the practical needs of real-world applications. For developers building mostly-static sites with some dynamic elements, Waku offers an intriguing alternative to more comprehensive frameworks, promising faster development cycles and simpler mental models without sacrificing the power of React Server Components.

With its 1.0 alpha milestone achieved, Waku is now positioned to gather real-world feedback and continue its evolution toward a production-ready framework that could become a go-to choice for a specific category of web applications.