Great question—let’s break this down clearly, since Apollo and Redux can overlap but serve different purposes depending on your app’s needs.

First: Do You Even Need Redux? #

Short answer: Probably not, for most GraphQL-focused apps. Here’s why:

• Apollo Client already acts as a full-featured state manager for your GraphQL data. It handles caching, automatic data synchronization, query deduplication, and even local state (via ReactiveVar or client-side resolvers) out of the box.
• If your app’s primary state is coming from GraphQL APIs, injecting data via Apollo’s hooks (like useQuery/useMutation) is sufficient. You won’t gain much from duplicating that data in a Redux store—you’d just add unnecessary boilerplate and risk data inconsistency between Apollo’s cache and Redux.

That said, Redux might still make sense if:

• You have complex client-only state that doesn’t fit well with Apollo’s local state tools. Examples include UI toggle states (sidebar open/closed), form drafts, user preferences, or state from non-GraphQL APIs (like REST endpoints or WebSocket data that isn’t integrated with Apollo).
• Your team is already deeply familiar with Redux, and you want a unified state management pattern for all state (both GraphQL and local).
• You need advanced state logic that’s easier to implement with Redux’s middleware (like saga/thunk for async flows that aren’t tied to GraphQL mutations).

If You Do Need Redux: How to Integrate It Properly #

If you decide to combine Apollo and Redux, follow these best practices to keep your code clean and maintainable:

1. Clear Responsibility Boundaries #

• Apollo: Owns all GraphQL data fetching, caching, and synchronization with your API. Use it to fetch, update, and subscribe to remote data.
• Redux: Owns client-only state and any state that requires complex local processing (that doesn’t belong in Apollo’s cache or client resolvers). Never duplicate GraphQL data in Redux unless you have a specific, justified reason (e.g., transforming the data into a shape that’s hard to derive from Apollo’s cache on the fly).

2. Set Up Both Providers in Your Root App #

Wrap your root component with both ApolloProvider (for Apollo Client) and Redux’s Provider so both are available to all child components:

import { ApolloProvider } from '@apollo/client';
import { Provider } from 'react-redux';
import apolloClient from './apolloClient';
import store from './reduxStore';

function App() {
  return (
    <ApolloProvider client={apolloClient}>
      <Provider store={store}>
        {/* Your app components */}
      </Provider>
    </ApolloProvider>
  );
}

3. Sync Data Between Apollo and Redux (Only When Necessary) #

If you need to pass GraphQL data to Redux (e.g., to combine it with local state), use Apollo’s hook callbacks to dispatch actions:

import { useQuery } from '@apollo/client';
import { useDispatch } from 'react-redux';
import { setUserProfile } from './redux/slices/userSlice';
import { GET_USER_PROFILE } from './graphql/queries';

function UserProfile() {
  const dispatch = useDispatch();
  const { data, loading } = useQuery(GET_USER_PROFILE, {
    onCompleted: (data) => {
      // Only dispatch if you need this data in Redux for local processing
      dispatch(setUserProfile(data.user));
    }
  });

  if (loading) return <div>Loading...</div>;

  return <div>Welcome, {data.user.name}!</div>;
}

4. Use Redux Toolkit for Cleaner Redux Code #

Redux Toolkit simplifies Redux setup and reduces boilerplate. Use createSlice to define your local state slices:

// redux/slices/userSlice.js
import { createSlice } from '@reduxjs/toolkit';

const initialState = {
  sidebarOpen: true,
  formDraft: {},
  // Avoid storing GraphQL data here unless absolutely necessary
};

const userSlice = createSlice({
  name: 'user',
  initialState,
  reducers: {
    toggleSidebar: (state) => {
      state.sidebarOpen = !state.sidebarOpen;
    },
    saveFormDraft: (state, action) => {
      state.formDraft = action.payload;
    }
  }
});

export const { toggleSidebar, saveFormDraft } = userSlice.actions;
export default userSlice.reducer;

5. Avoid Over-Syncing #

Resist the urge to sync every Apollo query result to Redux. Most of the time, you can directly use Apollo’s data in components via hooks, and only sync data when it’s needed for cross-component local state logic.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者Vlad