React Server Components (RSC) represent a powerful new paradigm for building fast, interactive web applications by allowing server-side rendering of components alongside client-side ones. While Next.js has emerged as a popular framework for leveraging RSC, it's not the only option.

In this talk, we'll explore how to integrate React Server Components into a custom application without relying on Next.js. You'll learn about the core concepts of RSC, the benefits of server-side rendering, and how to configure your own custom server environment to take full advantage of RSC in any React project. By the end, you'll walk away with a deep understanding of how React Server Components work independently of popular frameworks and how to apply them to improve performance and scalability in your applications.

Building a server driven UI with React is perfect as Reacts dynamic nature makes it easy to render and update UIs based on API responses but it still requires many round trips over the network. React 19 and RSCs are a perfect solution to this problem! By leveraging the new features in React 19 we can now build an even more performant server driven UI. In this talk I’ll demo how I’ve been able to leverage React 19 and RSCs in an enterprise application to build server driven UIs.

This workshop dives into the core of building resilient, scalable, production-ready applications with React and Next.js, grounding you in a pragmatic approach to software development. We’ll tackle common web performance pitfalls, showing you how to make impactful optimizations without compromising readability, maintainability, or speed, essential when delivering under tight timelines. You’ll explore resilience patterns that enable your applications to perform reliably under real-world demands along with how to make the right compromises, whether you’re building for early-stage platforms or scaling up to serve millions of global users.

Covering React reconciliation fundamentals, we’ll provide the context needed for structuring large-scale component architectures, alongside best practices for designing components that stay maintainable over time. Through a case study using TanStack Query, you’ll tackle data fetching at scale to ensure optimal app performance with complex data requirements.

Finally, we’ll focus on post-deployment strategies, including setting up observability and monitoring tools to detect issues early. This workshop provides an adaptable playbook for creating robust applications that endure, building a skill set to navigate the evolving problem spaces and needs across different project stages, whether you’re developing from scratch or scaling for global audiences.

A real-world deep dive into React Server Components (RSC) and server actions—what they enable, their challenges, and why debugging RSC payloads can be a nightmare. Expect an honest take on RSC’s strengths and limitations.