/frontend-react-best-practices

Version and Minimize localStorage Data

Add version prefix to keys and store only needed fields. Prevents schema conflicts and accidental storage of sensitive data.

Incorrect:

// No version, stores everything, no error handling
localStorage.setItem("userConfig", JSON.stringify(fullUserObject));
const data = localStorage.getItem("userConfig");

Correct:

const VERSION = "v2";

function saveConfig(config: { theme: string; language: string }) {
  try {
    localStorage.setItem(`userConfig:${VERSION}`, JSON.stringify(config));
  } catch {
    // Throws in incognito/private browsing, quota exceeded, or disabled
  }
}

function loadConfig() {
  try {
    let data = localStorage.getItem(`userConfig:${VERSION}`);
    return data ? JSON.parse(data) : null;
  } catch {
    return null;
  }
}

// Migration from v1 to v2
function migrate() {
  try {
    let v1 = localStorage.getItem("userConfig:v1");
    if (v1) {
      let old = JSON.parse(v1);
      saveConfig({
        theme: old.darkMode ? "dark" : "light",
        language: old.lang,
      });
      localStorage.removeItem("userConfig:v1");
    }
  } catch {}
}

Store minimal fields from server responses:

// User object has 20+ fields, only store what UI needs
function cachePrefs(user: FullUser) {
  try {
    localStorage.setItem(
      "prefs:v1",
      JSON.stringify({
        theme: user.preferences.theme,
        notifications: user.preferences.notifications,
      }),
    );
  } catch {}
}

Always wrap in try-catch: getItem() and setItem() throw in incognito/private browsing (Safari, Firefox), when quota exceeded, or when disabled.

Benefits: Schema evolution via versioning, reduced storage size, prevents storing tokens/PII/internal flags.