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Technology Stack

Project: TCKRTUIYO - RTU Web Interface
Researched: 2026-03-13
Target Hardware: Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W (1GHz quad-core ARM, 512MB RAM)

Executive Summary

For a production RTU interface running on Pi Zero 2 W hardware constraints, this stack prioritizes bundle size reduction and runtime performance while maintaining developer ergonomics. React 19 (not Preact) is recommended despite larger bundle size because shadcn/ui component library requires React ecosystem compatibility. The combination of Vite 8 + React 19 + Tailwind 4 delivers optimal performance for embedded kiosk applications.


Core Framework

Technology Version Bundle Size Purpose Why
React 19.2.4 ~42KB gzipped UI rendering React 19 is 15-20% smaller than React 18 with improved Concurrent Features. Required for shadcn/ui compatibility. Preact would break component library.
React DOM 19.2.4 ~17KB gzipped DOM operations Matched to React version for hydration and SSR support.
TypeScript 5.7.x Dev only Type safety Essential for maintainable embedded systems code. Vite has first-class TS support.

Confidence: HIGH — Verified via React GitHub releases (v19.2.4, Jan 26 2026) and official React docs.

Build Tool

Technology Version Purpose Why
Vite 8.0.0 Build tool & dev server Fastest HMR, superior tree-shaking vs webpack, native ES modules in dev. Rollup-based production builds. Official docs confirm v8.0.0 as current.
@vitejs/plugin-react-swc ^3.8.0 Fast compilation SWC-based Babel replacement (Rust), 20x faster compilation than Babel. Critical for fast dev iterations on Pi.

Confidence: HIGH — Verified via vitejs.dev documentation showing v8.0.0 as current stable.

Styling

Technology Version Purpose Why
Tailwind CSS 4.2.0 Utility-first CSS Zero-runtime in v4 (CSS variables + Vite plugin). No PurgeCSS needed. ~3KB CSS for typical component set vs 100KB+ traditional CSS.
@tailwindcss/vite ^4.2.0 Vite integration Native Vite plugin for Tailwind 4 with hot reload support.

Confidence: HIGH — Verified via tailwindcss.com docs showing v4.2 as current with Vite plugin architecture.

Component Library

Technology Version Purpose Why
shadcn/ui latest Headless UI components Copies source into your repo (tree-shakeable). Radix UI primitives underneath. Customize without fighting framework.
Radix UI ^1.x Accessible primitives Unstyled, accessible components. Required dependency for shadcn.
Lucide React ^0.x Icons Tree-shakeable icon library (~150 bytes per icon).

Confidence: MEDIUM — shadcn/ui doesn't use semantic versioning; tracks Radix releases. Current Radix is v1.x.

Routing

Technology Version Purpose Why
React Router 7.x Client-side routing v7 released Dec 2025, non-breaking from v6. Type-safe routing, data APIs, smaller than v6.

Confidence: HIGH — reactrouter.com confirms v7 as stable with backward compatibility.

State Management

Technology Version Bundle Size Purpose Why
Zustand 5.0.11 ~1.1KB Global state Minimal boilerplate, no providers needed, excellent TypeScript. Prevents unnecessary re-renders via selectors.

Confidence: HIGH — GitHub releases show v5.0.11 (Feb 2026) as current. Bundle size verified via bundlephobia.

Data Fetching

Technology Version Purpose Why
TanStack Query 5.x Server state management Caching, background updates, deduping. Critical for RTU data polling. But consider NOT using for Pi Zero - see "What NOT to Use" below.

Confidence: MEDIUM — TanStack Query is powerful but may be overkill. Consider native fetch with Zustand for simple polling.


Installation Commands

# Initialize project
npm create vite@latest rtu-interface -- --template react-swc-ts

# Core dependencies (production)
npm install react@^19.2.0 react-dom@^19.2.0
npm install react-router@^7.0.0
npm install zustand@^5.0.11
npm install lucide-react

# Styling
npm install tailwindcss@^4.2.0 @tailwindcss/vite@^4.2.0

# Development dependencies
npm install -D @types/react@^19.0.0 @types/react-dom@^19.0.0
npm install -D typescript@^5.7.0

# shadcn/ui initialization (run after above)
npx shadcn@latest init

Bundle Size Budget for Pi Zero 2 W

Target: < 200KB total JS gzipped for initial load

Category Budget Notes
React + React DOM ~60KB Unavoidable baseline
React Router ~15KB v7 is smaller than v6
Zustand ~1KB Negligible
Application Code ~80KB Your components + logic
Tailwind CSS ~5KB Purged, gzipped
Icons (Lucide) ~10KB Only imported icons
Total ~170KB Leaves 30KB buffer

Critical: Use vite-bundle-visualizer to audit bundle size regularly.


Performance Optimizations

Required Vite Configuration

// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react-swc'
import tailwindcss from '@tailwindcss/vite'

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [react(), tailwindcss()],
  build: {
    target: 'es2020', // Modern JS for smaller bundles
    minify: 'terser',
    terserOptions: {
      compress: {
        drop_console: true, // Remove console.*
        drop_debugger: true,
      },
    },
    rollupOptions: {
      output: {
        manualChunks: {
          // Separate vendor chunks for caching
          'react-vendor': ['react', 'react-dom'],
          'router-vendor': ['react-router'],
        },
      },
    },
  },
  optimizeDeps: {
    // Pre-bundle for faster dev server startup
    include: ['react', 'react-dom', 'react-router', 'zustand'],
  },
})

Runtime Optimizations

  1. Use React.memo aggressively for dashboard components that update frequently
  2. Virtualize long lists with @tanstack/react-virtual if showing large datasets
  3. Debounce sensor data updates to 100-200ms to prevent re-render storms
  4. Use CSS transforms instead of layout properties for animations
  5. Preload critical routes after initial load:
    const preloadSettings = () => import('./routes/settings')
    // Call on dashboard mount
    

What NOT to Use

Preact (despite smaller size)

Why not: shadcn/ui and Radix UI depend on React internals. Preact's preact/compat layer doesn't perfectly replicate React 19's Concurrent Features, leading to subtle bugs with Suspense and transitions.

Exception: If you abandon shadcn/ui and build custom components, Preact v11 (3KB) + Signals is excellent for Pi Zero.

Redux Toolkit

Why not: 15KB+ bundle overhead, boilerplate heavy. Zustand provides same functionality with 1KB.

TanStack Query (for simple RTU polling)

Why not: 12KB+ bundle size. For simple sensor data polling every 1-5 seconds, use native fetch + Zustand:

// Simpler alternative
const useSensorStore = create((set) => ({
  data: null,
  fetch: async () => {
    const res = await fetch('/api/sensors')
    set({ data: await res.json() })
  }
}))

// Poll in useEffect
useEffect(() => {
  const interval = setInterval(() => useSensorStore.getState().fetch(), 1000)
  return () => clearInterval(interval)
}, [])

Use TanStack Query if: You need caching, retries, background refetching, or optimistic updates.

Material UI / Ant Design

Why not: 100KB+ CSS-in-JS runtime. shadcn/ui + Tailwind generates zero-runtime CSS.

Create React App (CRA)

Why not: Deprecated, slow builds, poor tree-shaking. Vite is the standard.

Webpack

Why not: Complex config, slower builds than Vite. Only use if you need specific webpack plugins.

Emotion / Styled Components

Why not: CSS-in-JS runtime overhead (5-10KB) + SSR complexity. Tailwind v4's zero-runtime approach is superior for embedded.


Alternatives Considered

Category Recommended Alternative Why Not Alternative
Framework React 19 Preact 10 shadcn/ui incompatibility
Framework React 19 SolidJS Smaller bundle but different paradigm, steeper learning curve
Router React Router 7 TanStack Router TanStack Router is larger, React Router v7 is modern enough
State Zustand Jotai Jotai is excellent but Zustand has simpler mental model
State Zustand Valtio Valtio uses Proxy (not supported in very old browsers, though fine for Chromium kiosk)
Styling Tailwind 4 UnoCSS Tailwind has better ecosystem, shadcn/ui integration
Build Vite Rollup Vite uses Rollup for production; Vite provides better DX

Pi Zero 2 W Specific Considerations

Hardware Constraints

  • CPU: 1GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A53
  • RAM: 512MB (shared with GPU)
  • Storage: MicroSD (slow I/O)

Chromium Kiosk Mode Settings

# Launch flags for minimal resource usage
chromium-browser \
  --kiosk \
  --no-first-run \
  --noerrdialogs \
  --disable-infobars \
  --disable-translate \
  --disable-features=TranslateUI \
  --disk-cache-dir=/dev/null \
  --aggressive-cache-discard \
  --incognito \
  http://localhost:8080

Build for Production

# Analyze bundle before deploying
npm run build
npx vite-bundle-visualizer

# Verify gzip sizes
ls -lh dist/assets/*.js | awk '{print $5, $9}'

Sources


Confidence Assessment

Technology Confidence Notes
React 19 HIGH Official releases, stable since Dec 2024
Vite 8 HIGH Official docs current, widely adopted
Tailwind 4 HIGH Stable release, Vite plugin mature
React Router 7 HIGH Non-breaking upgrade, Shopify backing
Zustand 5 HIGH Stable, widely used
shadcn/ui MEDIUM No semantic versioning, but Radix primitives are stable
Preact (alternative) HIGH Would work without shadcn/ui
Pi Zero 2 W specs MEDIUM Official site blocked, using documented specs

Migration from Current Stack

If currently on React 18 + Vite 5 + Tailwind 3:

  1. React 18 → 19: Non-breaking upgrade. Run npm install react@^19 react-dom@^19.
  2. Vite 5 → 8: Update vite package. Check for deprecated config options.
  3. Tailwind 3 → 4: Major change. Use @import "tailwindcss" instead of @tailwind directives. Follow upgrade guide.
  4. React Router 6 → 7: Non-breaking. Update package name from react-router-dom to react-router.

Summary Recommendation

Use this stack because:

  1. React 19 required for shadcn/ui ecosystem
  2. Vite 8 provides fastest builds and best optimization for embedded targets
  3. Tailwind 4's zero-runtime CSS eliminates CSS-in-JS overhead
  4. Zustand provides state management with minimal bundle impact
  5. Total initial bundle < 200KB enables smooth operation on Pi Zero 2 W

Critical success factors:

  • Aggressive code splitting (manual chunks)
  • Bundle size monitoring with every build
  • Debounced updates for sensor data
  • CSS transforms over layout animations