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What are React Server Components?
React describes Server Components as a type of component that renders before bundling in a separate environment. That environment may be a build system or a server handling a request. The framework or bundler integrates the result into the application so Server and Client Components can appear in the same rendered tree. React’s Server Components reference explains the model.
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This is an architecture for deciding where component code runs; it is not just another name for rendering a React tree to HTML. The React DOM server APIs produce HTML from a React tree. Server Components describe which components render in a separate environment and how their output is composed with client-side code. An application can use both approaches.
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At build time
A framework can render a Server Component during a build, without running a web server for that work. For example, a component can read and render static content such as a Markdown file. The browser receives the rendered result rather than the original component code or the Markdown-processing dependencies.
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For each request
A Server Component can also run on a server when a page is requested. It can read from a server-side data layer during rendering and pass the resulting data or rendered content into Client Components. This does not inherently require a separate API endpoint for every server-side read; the framework coordinates the component rendering and output.
These are two possible execution modes, not competing definitions. Which one applies depends on the content, application configuration, and framework.
How Server and Client Components differ
| Aspect | Server Component | Client Component |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | In a separate build-time or server environment before its result is integrated into the client application. | In the browser, where its code is needed for client-side behavior. |
| Data and APIs | Can access server-side data sources during rendering, such as files or a data layer. | Uses data and browser APIs available to client-side code. |
| Browser bundle | The Server Component implementation and its server-only dependencies stay off the client. | Its code must be available in the browser. |
| Interactivity | Cannot use interactive APIs such as useState. |
Can handle interaction and state using client-side React APIs. |
This distinction does not require choosing one component type for an entire app. A Server Component can render a Client Component as part of its output. For instance, the server-rendered part can load a note while an interactive Client Component provides an expand-and-collapse button around it.
Keeping server-only code and dependencies out of the browser can reduce the code sent to the client, and server-side data access can avoid a client-side fetch for some patterns. Neither mechanism guarantees a smaller bundle or faster page: actual results depend on the application and its framework.
How do you mark a Server Component?
There is no directive that marks a Server Component. In a framework that supports RSC, components are Server Components by default unless they are placed behind a Client Component boundary. React’s documentation is explicit: “There is no directive for Server Components.”
The 'use client' directive marks a client entry point. A Server Component can import and render that Client Component, and the client component can handle state and browser interaction. A Client Component can also provide context for components below it; Server Components themselves cannot create context.
'use server' does something different: it marks a server-side function that client-side code can call through a framework integration. It does not turn a component into a Server Component. React calls these callable functions Server Functions; “Server Action” is a narrower term for a Server Function passed to an action prop or called in an action context. See React’s Directives reference and Server Functions reference.
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Yes. Server Components can be asynchronous functions and use await while rendering. React documents using Suspense and streaming across the server/client boundary: a component can wait for essential data while lower-priority data is still being fetched, then pass the pending promise to a Client Component that reads it with use inside a Suspense boundary.
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This can help an application prioritize what it renders, but it is a design option rather than a performance guarantee. The outcome depends on the data sources, loading boundaries, framework, and page.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does React’s stability guidance mean?
React’s documentation distinguishes application-facing features from the lower-level APIs that frameworks and bundlers use to implement RSC. React 19’s user-facing Server Component and Server Function features are described as stable across minor versions. The underlying implementation APIs do not follow semver and may change between React 19.x minor releases.
That caveat is especially relevant to framework and bundler authors: React recommends pinning to a specific React version or using Canary while those implementation APIs continue to be stabilized. It does not mean every application-level RSC feature is unstable. For an application, verify the current React version and the framework’s official RSC support and deployment requirements before adopting the architecture.
What framework support is needed?
RSC requires a framework or bundler that implements the architecture and coordinates server rendering, client boundaries, and the resulting output. Adding that support involves substantial framework-level work; it is not simply a matter of inserting a directive into a standalone React app.
React’s Creating a React App guide describes Next.js App Router as the most complete implementation in that guide. That is a statement about the guide, not a permanent ranking of frameworks. Check current official framework documentation for supported React versions, runtime and deployment constraints, and the features the integration provides.
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