Svelte 5 Runes: The Revolutionary Evolution from Svelte 4

What Are Runes?

Runes are reactive primitives that provide explicit, fine-grained reactivity. They replace Svelte 4’s implicit reactivity with a more predictable and powerful system.

// Svelte 5 Runes - Explicit and powerful
import { $state, $derived, $effect } from 'svelte';

let count = $state(0);
let doubled = $derived(() => count * 2);

$effect(() => {
  console.log(`Count is now ${count}`);
});

Svelte 4 vs Svelte 5: Side-by-Side Comparison

1. State Management

Svelte 4 - Implicit Reactivity

<!-- Svelte 4 -->
<script>
  let count = 0;
  let name = 'World';
  
  // Reactive declarations
  $: doubled = count * 2;
  $: greeting = `Hello, ${name}!`;
  
  // Reactive statements
  $: if (count > 10) {
    console.log('Count is getting high!');
  }
</script>

<p>{greeting}</p>
<p>Count: {count}, Doubled: {doubled}</p>
<button on:click={() => count++}>Increment</button>

Svelte 5 - Explicit Runes

<!-- Svelte 5 -->
<script>
  import { $state, $derived, $effect } from 'svelte';
  
  let count = $state(0);
  let name = $state('World');
  
  // Derived state
  let doubled = $derived(() => count * 2);
  let greeting = $derived(() => `Hello, ${name}!`);
  
  // Effects
  $effect(() => {
    if (count > 10) {
      console.log('Count is getting high!');
    }
  });
</script>

<p>{greeting}</p>
<p>Count: {count}, Doubled: {doubled}</p>
<button onclick={() => count++}>Increment</button>

Key Improvements:

• ✅ Explicit state - $state() makes reactive variables clear
• ✅ Better performance - Fine-grained reactivity tracking
• ✅ Type safety - Better TypeScript inference
• ✅ Predictable behavior - No magic, clear dependencies

2. Complex State Objects

Svelte 4 - Assignment-based Reactivity

<!-- Svelte 4 -->
<script>
  let user = {
    name: 'John',
    age: 30,
    preferences: {
      theme: 'dark',
      language: 'en'
    }
  };
  
  // Need to reassign for reactivity
  function updateTheme(newTheme) {
    user = {
      ...user,
      preferences: {
        ...user.preferences,
        theme: newTheme
      }
    };
  }
  
  function incrementAge() {
    user = { ...user, age: user.age + 1 };
  }
</script>

<p>{user.name} is {user.age} years old</p>
<p>Theme: {user.preferences.theme}</p>
<button on:click={() => updateTheme('light')}>Light Theme</button>
<button on:click={incrementAge}>Birthday</button>

Svelte 5 - Deep Reactivity with Runes

<!-- Svelte 5 -->
<script>
  import { $state } from 'svelte';
  
  let user = $state({
    name: 'John',
    age: 30,
    preferences: {
      theme: 'dark',
      language: 'en'
    }
  });
  
  // Direct mutation works!
  function updateTheme(newTheme) {
    user.preferences.theme = newTheme;
  }
  
  function incrementAge() {
    user.age++;
  }
</script>

<p>{user.name} is {user.age} years old</p>
<p>Theme: {user.preferences.theme}</p>
<button onclick={() => updateTheme('light')}>Light Theme</button>
<button onclick={incrementAge}>Birthday</button>

Revolutionary Changes:

• 🚀 Deep reactivity - Nested object mutations are tracked
• 🚀 Natural mutations - No more spread operator gymnastics
• 🚀 Better performance - Only affected parts re-render
• 🚀 Simpler code - Write what you mean

3. Derived State and Computations

Svelte 4 - Reactive Declarations

<!-- Svelte 4 -->
<script>
  let items = [
    { id: 1, name: 'Apple', price: 1.2, category: 'fruit' },
    { id: 2, name: 'Bread', price: 2.5, category: 'bakery' },
    { id: 3, name: 'Milk', price: 3.0, category: 'dairy' }
  ];
  
  let filter = '';
  let sortBy = 'name';
  
  // Complex reactive declarations
  $: filteredItems = items.filter(item => 
    item.name.toLowerCase().includes(filter.toLowerCase())
  );
  
  $: sortedItems = filteredItems.sort((a, b) => {
    if (sortBy === 'price') return a.price - b.price;
    return a.name.localeCompare(b.name);
  });
  
  $: totalPrice = sortedItems.reduce((sum, item) => sum + item.price, 0);
  $: averagePrice = sortedItems.length > 0 ? totalPrice / sortedItems.length : 0;
</script>

Svelte 5 - Derived Runes

<!-- Svelte 5 -->
<script>
  import { $state, $derived } from 'svelte';
  
  let items = $state([
    { id: 1, name: 'Apple', price: 1.2, category: 'fruit' },
    { id: 2, name: 'Bread', price: 2.5, category: 'bakery' },
    { id: 3, name: 'Milk', price: 3.0, category: 'dairy' }
  ]);
  
  let filter = $state('');
  let sortBy = $state('name');
  
  // Derived state with clear dependencies
  let filteredItems = $derived(() => 
    items.filter(item => 
      item.name.toLowerCase().includes(filter.toLowerCase())
    )
  );
  
  let sortedItems = $derived(() => 
    filteredItems.sort((a, b) => {
      if (sortBy === 'price') return a.price - b.price;
      return a.name.localeCompare(b.name);
    })
  );
  
  let totalPrice = $derived(() => 
    sortedItems.reduce((sum, item) => sum + item.price, 0)
  );
  
  let averagePrice = $derived(() => 
    sortedItems.length > 0 ? totalPrice / sortedItems.length : 0
  );
</script>

Derived State Benefits:

• 🎯 Explicit dependencies - Clear what each computation depends on
• 🎯 Better caching - More efficient memoization
• 🎯 Easier debugging - Clear computation chains
• 🎯 Type inference - Better TypeScript support

4. Side Effects and Lifecycle

Svelte 4 - Reactive Statements and Lifecycle

<!-- Svelte 4 -->
<script>
  import { onMount, onDestroy } from 'svelte';
  
  let count = 0;
  let data = null;
  let interval;
  
  // Reactive side effects
  $: if (count > 0) {
    console.log(`Count changed to ${count}`);
  }
  
  $: {
    // Complex reactive block
    if (count % 5 === 0 && count > 0) {
      fetchData();
    }
  }
  
  onMount(() => {
    interval = setInterval(() => {
      count++;
    }, 1000);
  });
  
  onDestroy(() => {
    if (interval) {
      clearInterval(interval);
    }
  });
  
  async function fetchData() {
    const response = await fetch(`/api/data/${count}`);
    data = await response.json();
  }
</script>

Svelte 5 - Effect Runes

<!-- Svelte 5 -->
<script>
  import { $state, $effect } from 'svelte';
  
  let count = $state(0);
  let data = $state(null);
  
  // Effect with automatic cleanup
  $effect(() => {
    const interval = setInterval(() => {
      count++;
    }, 1000);
    
    // Cleanup function
    return () => clearInterval(interval);
  });
  
  // Reactive side effect
  $effect(() => {
    if (count > 0) {
      console.log(`Count changed to ${count}`);
    }
  });
  
  // Conditional effect
  $effect(() => {
    if (count % 5 === 0 && count > 0) {
      fetchData();
    }
  });
  
  async function fetchData() {
    const response = await fetch(`/api/data/${count}`);
    data = await response.json();
  }
</script>

Effect Improvements:

• 🔄 Automatic cleanup - Return cleanup function from effects
• 🔄 Fine-grained tracking - Only re-run when dependencies change
• 🔄 No lifecycle confusion - Effects handle both mount and updates
• 🔄 Better error handling - Clearer error boundaries

Advanced Runes Features

1. $state.frozen() for Immutable State

import { $state } from 'svelte';

// Mutable state (default)
let mutableUser = $state({ name: 'John', age: 30 });
mutableUser.age++; // ✅ Works

// Immutable state
let immutableUser = $state.frozen({ name: 'Jane', age: 25 });
// immutableUser.age++; // ❌ Error in development

// Update immutable state
immutableUser = { ...immutableUser, age: 26 }; // ✅ Works

2. $derived.by() for Complex Computations

import { $state, $derived } from 'svelte';

let users = $state([
  { name: 'John', posts: 5, followers: 100 },
  { name: 'Jane', posts: 12, followers: 250 }
]);

// Complex derived computation
let topInfluencer = $derived.by(() => {
  let best = users[0];
  for (const user of users) {
    const score = user.posts * 2 + user.followers;
    const bestScore = best.posts * 2 + best.followers;
    if (score > bestScore) {
      best = user;
    }
  }
  return best;
});

3. $effect.pre() for Pre-DOM Updates

import { $state, $effect } from 'svelte';

let scrollY = $state(0);
let element;

// Effect that runs before DOM updates
$effect.pre(() => {
  if (element) {
    element.style.transform = `translateY(${scrollY * 0.5}px)`;
  }
});

Performance Improvements

Bundle Size Comparison

# Svelte 4 Todo App
Bundle size: ~12KB (gzipped)
Runtime overhead: ~3KB

# Svelte 5 Todo App (same functionality)
Bundle size: ~8KB (gzipped)  # 33% smaller!
Runtime overhead: ~2KB       # More efficient runtime

Reactivity Performance

// Svelte 4 - Coarse-grained reactivity
let items = [/* 1000 items */];
$: filteredItems = items.filter(item => item.active);
// Re-runs entire filter when ANY item changes

// Svelte 5 - Fine-grained reactivity
let items = $state([/* 1000 items */]);
let filteredItems = $derived(() => items.filter(item => item.active));
// Only re-runs when items array or relevant item.active changes

Migration Guide: Svelte 4 → Svelte 5

1. Basic State Migration

// Before (Svelte 4)
let count = 0;
let name = 'World';

// After (Svelte 5)
import { $state } from 'svelte';
let count = $state(0);
let name = $state('World');

2. Reactive Declarations → Derived

// Before (Svelte 4)
$: doubled = count * 2;
$: greeting = `Hello, ${name}!`;

// After (Svelte 5)
import { $derived } from 'svelte';
let doubled = $derived(() => count * 2);
let greeting = $derived(() => `Hello, ${name}!`);

3. Reactive Statements → Effects

// Before (Svelte 4)
$: if (count > 10) {
  console.log('High count!');
}

// After (Svelte 5)
import { $effect } from 'svelte';
$effect(() => {
  if (count > 10) {
    console.log('High count!');
  }
});

4. Event Handlers Update

<!-- Before (Svelte 4) -->
<button on:click={() => count++}>Increment</button>

<!-- After (Svelte 5) -->
<button onclick={() => count++}>Increment</button>

Real-World Example: Shopping Cart

Svelte 4 Implementation

<script>
  let items = [];
  let discount = 0;
  
  $: subtotal = items.reduce((sum, item) => sum + (item.price * item.quantity), 0);
  $: discountAmount = subtotal * (discount / 100);
  $: total = subtotal - discountAmount;
  $: itemCount = items.reduce((sum, item) => sum + item.quantity, 0);
  
  function addItem(product) {
    const existing = items.find(item => item.id === product.id);
    if (existing) {
      items = items.map(item => 
        item.id === product.id 
          ? { ...item, quantity: item.quantity + 1 }
          : item
      );
    } else {
      items = [...items, { ...product, quantity: 1 }];
    }
  }
  
  function removeItem(id) {
    items = items.filter(item => item.id !== id);
  }
</script>

Svelte 5 Implementation

<script>
  import { $state, $derived } from 'svelte';
  
  let items = $state([]);
  let discount = $state(0);
  
  let subtotal = $derived(() => 
    items.reduce((sum, item) => sum + (item.price * item.quantity), 0)
  );
  
  let discountAmount = $derived(() => subtotal * (discount / 100));
  let total = $derived(() => subtotal - discountAmount);
  let itemCount = $derived(() => 
    items.reduce((sum, item) => sum + item.quantity, 0)
  );
  
  function addItem(product) {
    const existing = items.find(item => item.id === product.id);
    if (existing) {
      existing.quantity++; // Direct mutation works!
    } else {
      items.push({ ...product, quantity: 1 }); // Direct push works!
    }
  }
  
  function removeItem(id) {
    const index = items.findIndex(item => item.id === id);
    if (index > -1) {
      items.splice(index, 1); // Direct splice works!
    }
  }
</script>

Svelte 5 Advantages:

• 🛒 Natural mutations - Direct array/object manipulation
• 🛒 Better performance - Fine-grained reactivity
• 🛒 Cleaner code - No spread operator needed
• 🛒 Easier debugging - Clear state mutations

TypeScript Integration

Enhanced Type Safety

// Svelte 5 with TypeScript
import { $state, $derived, $effect } from 'svelte';

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

interface CartItem {
  product: User;
  quantity: number;
}

// Fully typed reactive state
let users = $state<User[]>([]);
let cart = $state<CartItem[]>([]);

// Derived state with perfect type inference
let totalItems = $derived(() => 
  cart.reduce((sum, item) => sum + item.quantity, 0)
);

// Type-safe effects
$effect(() => {
  // TypeScript knows cart is CartItem[]
  cart.forEach(item => {
    console.log(`${item.product.name}: ${item.quantity}`);
  });
});

When to Migrate to Svelte 5

✅ Migrate If:

• You want better performance
• You need fine-grained reactivity
• You’re starting a new project
• You want better TypeScript support
• You’re tired of spread operator patterns

⏳ Wait If:

• You have a large Svelte 4 codebase
• Your team needs time to learn Runes
• You’re using many Svelte 4-specific libraries
• You’re close to a major release

Conclusion: The Future is Runes

Svelte 5 Runes represent a quantum leap in frontend reactivity:

Key Benefits:

• 🚀 30% smaller bundles - More efficient compilation
• 🚀 Fine-grained reactivity - Better performance
• 🚀 Natural mutations - Write intuitive code
• 🚀 Better TypeScript - Enhanced type safety
• 🚀 Explicit dependencies - Predictable behavior

The Evolution:

• Svelte 3/4: Magical but sometimes unpredictable
• Svelte 5: Magical AND predictable

Runes make Svelte even more intuitive, efficient, and powerful. They represent the natural evolution of reactive programming - explicit where it matters, magical where it helps.

Ready to upgrade? Start with new components using Runes, then gradually migrate existing ones. The future of Svelte is here, and it’s more beautiful than ever! ✨

Want to see Runes in action? Check out my RENDER project where I’m using Svelte 5 to build revolutionary desktop development tools!

This article complements my Modern Frontend DX Wars series - exploring why Svelte continues to lead in developer experience.