This week’s livestream covered a wide range of topics across the React and React Native ecosystem - from directives and Astro to TanStack and Reanimated. As always, the discussion was guided by insights from the This Week in React newsletter which celebrated 256th anniversary this week! Here’s a summary of the key takeaways.

Directives and language cross-pollination

We opened with a discussion about the rise of directives: small, declarative code instructions increasingly seen across languages and frameworks.

The takeaway: frontend ecosystems are cross-pollinating faster than ever, borrowing syntax and ideas to improve developer experience.

TanStack: Evolution of a powerhouse

The conversation moved to TanStack, exploring how it continues to evolve as one of the most versatile toolchains in React. With new updates, TanStack is cementing its role as a must-know library for any React developer.

Astro: When and why to use it

A brief detour into Astro highlighted its hybrid nature, combining static generation with dynamic islands of interactivity. We discussed when Astro shines (content-heavy, static-first sites) and when traditional frameworks might still be a better fit.

Swift for Android

In one of the more surprising segments, we examined Swift for Android: how it works, what it enables, and how it compares to traditional cross-platform solutions. Along the way, a look at thiz sparked some nostalgia for old-school JavaScript’s that pattern.

Deep dive into Reanimated

The highlight of the stream was a hands-on deep dive into Reanimated, covering:

• Simplifying complex animation setups.
• Best practices for shared values and animated styles.
• A dedicated demo repository will be shared soon, allowing developers to explore and experiment with the discussed patterns.

Community & newsletter

We celebrated the 256th edition of This Week in React newsletter, marking an impressive milestone.

Special shout-outs to Filip Kamiński for joining the team and thanks to Sebastien Lorber, Kacper Kapuściak for continuously curating such a high-quality resource for the React community.

Final thoughts

This week’s stream blended deep technical insights with lighter explorations of language design and ecosystem evolution. From Reanimated animations to Astro architectures, it showcased how rapidly modern frontend development is converging and how exciting that future looks.