reactjs / reactjs/react.dev

react-dom/server: clarify when `renderToPipeableStream` is appropriate

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Description

At https://reactjs.org/docs/react-dom-server.html#rendertopipeablestream we see this note:

This is a Node.js specific API and modern server environments should use renderToReadableStream instead.

I initially read this as saying "use renderToReadableStream in any environment where web streams are available." This includes modern versions of Node: https://nodejs.org/api/webstreams.html.

But going to the main React 18 release notes page https://reactjs.org/blog/2022/03/29/react-v18.html#react-dom-server, we see that there is a different distinction being made.

renderToPipeableStream: for streaming in Node environments.
renderToReadableStream: for modern edge runtime environments, such as Deno and Cloudflare workers.

(Aside: is Deno really an "edge runtime environment"? 🤔 )

Combined with @sebmarkbage's outlining of the downsides of web streams here https://github.com/reactwg/react-18/discussions/91, it seems clear that renderToPipeableStream should always be preferred in Node environments. It'd be nice if the docs clearly spelled this out.

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Research direction

Start with the linked renderToPipeableStream documentation and compare its wording with the React 18 release notes and the linked web streams discussion. Clarify the distinction between Node environments and edge runtimes, and verify that the revised note no longer implies modern Node should use renderToReadableStream.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
javascript, react
Domain
documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
58/100

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