React Lost Its Mass and Vercel Is Wearing Its Skin

The React community used to own the project. Now, it feels like a hosting company manages it.

The shift happened slowly. Then it happened all at once.

Several React core team members work for Vercel. They list this on their LinkedIn profiles. This creates a conflict. The people deciding the future of React receive paychecks from a company that sells React deployment.

Server Components and the App Router did not come from developer requests. They align perfectly with Vercel's infrastructure. These features are hard to self-host. They are easy for Vercel to run.

React has an MIT license. But open source is more than a license. It is about governance. It is about whether the community contributes or just consumes. Right now, many developers feel like consumers.

Server Components require deep framework integration. Next.js is the most mature version. Other frameworks offer limited support. You can try using React Server Components without Next.js. It is possible, but your judgment will tell you not to.

Experienced engineers are noticing this. The problem is not JSX or hooks. The problem is trust.

Developers chose React because it was a view library. Now, it grows into your server, your routing, and your caching. Every new feature points toward one company's checkout page.

Vercel builds good technology. But the future of a library used by millions should not rely on one company's business model. This is not open source. It looks like a marketing channel with a GitHub repository.

The React team says these features benefit everyone. That can be true. But they also mainly benefit one company.

Other frameworks like Svelte, Solid, and Vue keep the core library separate from the deployment layer. React mixed them together. Now, people ask who the library is actually for.

The old React was a view library. The new React is a full-stack opinion engine. It comes with a billing page.

You do not have to use Vercel with React. But the gravity pulls harder with every release.

React needs an independent steering committee. Members should not work for a single company. Open source must mean more than a license name.

If one company determines the direction of React, do you still trust the project? What needs to change to earn your trust back?

Source: https://dev.to/adioof/react-lost-the-mass-and-vercel-is-wearing-its-skin-27fc