Angular State Management

Comprehensive guide to modern Angular state management patterns, from Signal-based local state to global stores and server state synchronization.

When to Use This Skill

• Setting up global state management in Angular
• Choosing between Signals, NgRx, or Akita
• Managing component-level stores
• Implementing optimistic updates
• Debugging state-related issues
• Migrating from legacy state patterns

Do Not Use This Skill When

• The task is unrelated to Angular state management
• You need React state management → use react-state-management

Core Concepts

State Categories

Selection Criteria

Small app, simple state → Signal Services
Medium app, moderate state → Component Stores
Large app, complex state → NgRx Store
Heavy server interaction → NgRx Query + Signal Services
Real-time updates → RxAngular + Signals

Quick Start: Signal-Based State

Pattern 1: Simple Signal Service

// services/counter.service.ts
import { Injectable, signal, computed } from "@angular/core";

@Injectable({ providedIn: "root" })
export class CounterService {
  // Private writable signals
  private _count = signal(0);

  // Public read-only
  readonly count = this._count.asReadonly();
  readonly doubled = computed(() => this._count() * 2);
  readonly isPositive = computed(() => this._count() > 0);

  increment() {
    this._count.update((v) => v + 1);
  }

  decrement() {
    this._count.update((v) => v - 1);
  }

  reset() {
    this._count.set(0);
  }
}

// Usage in component
@Component({
  template: `
    <p>Count: {{ counter.count() }}</p>
    <p>Doubled: {{ counter.doubled() }}</p>
    <button (click)="counter.increment()">+</button>
  `,
})
export class CounterComponent {
  counter = inject(CounterService);
}

Pattern 2: Feature Signal Store

// stores/user.store.ts
import { Injectable, signal, computed, inject } from "@angular/core";
import { HttpClient } from "@angular/common/http";
import { toSignal } from "@angular/core/rxjs-interop";

interface User {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  email: string;
}

interface UserState {
  user: User | null;
  loading: boolean;
  error: string | null;
}

@Injectable({ providedIn: "root" })
export class UserStore {
  private http = inject(HttpClient);

  // State signals
  private _user = signal<User | null>(null);
  private _loading = signal(false);
  private _error = signal<string | null>(null);

  // Selectors (read-only computed)
  readonly user = computed(() => this._user());
  readonly loading = computed(() => this._loading());
  readonly error = computed(() => this._error());
  readonly isAuthenticated = computed(() => this._user() !== null);
  readonly displayName = computed(() => this._user()?.name ?? "Guest");

  // Actions
  async loadUser(id: string) {
    this._loading.set(true);
    this._error.set(null);

    try {
      const user = await fetch(`/api/users/${id}`).then((r) => r.json());
      this._user.set(user);
    } catch (e) {
      this._error.set("Failed to load user");
    } finally {
      this._loading.set(false);
    }
  }

  updateUser(updates: Partial<User>) {
    this._user.update((user) => (user ? { ...user, ...updates } : null));
  }

  logout() {
    this._user.set(null);
    this._error.set(null);
  }
}

Pattern 3: SignalStore (NgRx Signals)

// stores/products.store.ts
import {
  signalStore,
  withState,
  withMethods,
  withComputed,
  patchState,
} from "@ngrx/signals";
import { inject } from "@angular/core";
import { ProductService } from "./product.service";

interface ProductState {
  products: Product[];
  loading: boolean;
  filter: string;
}

const initialState: ProductState = {
  products: [],
  loading: false,
  filter: "",
};

export const ProductStore = signalStore(
  { providedIn: "root" },

  withState(initialState),

  withComputed((store) => ({
    filteredProducts: computed(() => {
      const filter = store.filter().toLowerCase();
      return store
        .products()
        .filter((p) => p.name.toLowerCase().includes(filter));
    }),
    totalCount: computed(() => store.products().length),
  })),

  withMethods((store, productService = inject(ProductService)) => ({
    async loadProducts() {
      patchState(store, { loading: true });

      try {
        const products = await productService.getAll();
        patchState(store, { products, loading: false });
      } catch {
        patchState(store, { loading: false });
      }
    },

    setFilter(filter: string) {
      patchState(store, { filter });
    },

    addProduct(product: Product) {
      patchState(store, ({ products }) => ({
        products: [...products, product],
      }));
    },
  })),
);

// Usage
@Component({
  template: `
    <input (input)="store.setFilter($event.target.value)" />
    @if (store.loading()) {
      <app-spinner />
    } @else {
      @for (product of store.filteredProducts(); track product.id) {
        <app-product-card [product]="product" />
      }
    }
  `,
})
export class ProductListComponent {
  store = inject(ProductStore);

  ngOnInit() {
    this.store.loadProducts();
  }
}

NgRx Store (Global State)

Setup

// store/app.state.ts
import { ActionReducerMap } from "@ngrx/store";

export interface AppState {
  user: UserState;
  cart: CartState;
}

export const reducers: ActionReducerMap<AppState> = {
  user: userReducer,
  cart: cartReducer,
};

// main.ts
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent, {
  providers: [
    provideStore(reducers),
    provideEffects([UserEffects, CartEffects]),
    provideStoreDevtools({ maxAge: 25 }),
  ],
});

Feature Slice Pattern

// store/user/user.actions.ts
import { createActionGroup, props, emptyProps } from "@ngrx/store";

export const UserActions = createActionGroup({
  source: "User",
  events: {
    "Load User": props<{ userId: string }>(),
    "Load User Success": props<{ user: User }>(),
    "Load User Failure": props<{ error: string }>(),
    "Update User": props<{ updates: Partial<User> }>(),
    Logout: emptyProps(),
  },
});

// store/user/user.reducer.ts
import { createReducer, on } from "@ngrx/store";
import { UserActions } from "./user.actions";

export interface UserState {
  user: User | null;
  loading: boolean;
  error: string | null;
}

const initialState: UserState = {
  user: null,
  loading: false,
  error: null,
};

export const userReducer = createReducer(
  initialState,

  on(UserActions.loadUser, (state) => ({
    ...state,
    loading: true,
    error: null,
  })),

  on(UserActions.loadUserSuccess, (state, { user }) => ({
    ...state,
    user,
    loading: false,
  })),

  on(UserActions.loadUserFailure, (state, { error }) => ({
    ...state,
    loading: false,
    error,
  })),

  on(UserActions.logout, () => initialState),
);

// store/user/user.selectors.ts
import { createFeatureSelector, createSelector } from "@ngrx/store";
import { UserState } from "./user.reducer";

export const selectUserState = createFeatureSelector<UserState>("user");

export const selectUser = createSelector(
  selectUserState,
  (state) => state.user,
);

export const selectUserLoading = createSelector(
  selectUserState,
  (state) => state.loading,
);

export const selectIsAuthenticated = createSelector(
  selectUser,
  (user)