| name | remix |
| description | Build and review Remix 3 applications using the `remix` npm package and subpath imports. Use when working on Remix app structure, routes, controllers, middleware, validation, data access, auth, sessions, file uploads, server setup, UI components, hydration, navigation, or tests. |
Build a Remix App
Use this skill for end-to-end Remix app work. It should help the agent choose
the right layer first, reach for the right package, and avoid the most common
Remix-specific mistakes.
What Remix Is
Remix 3 is a server-first web framework built on Web APIs such as Request,
Response, URL, and FormData. All packages ship from a single npm package,
remix, and are imported via subpath. There is no top-level remix import.
A Remix app has four main pieces:
- Routes in
app/routes.ts define the typed URL contract and power href()
generation.
- Controllers and actions implement that contract and return
Response
objects.
- Middleware composes request lifecycle behavior and populates typed context
via
context.set(Key, value).
- Components render UI with
remix/ui. This is not React. A component
receives a handle, reads current props from handle.props, and returns a
render function.
When To Use This Skill
Use this skill for:
- new features or refactors that touch routing, controllers, middleware, data,
auth, sessions, UI, or tests
- reviewing Remix app code for correctness, architecture, or framework usage
- answering "how should this be structured in Remix?" questions
- finding the right package, reference doc, or default pattern for a task
Load Only The References You Need
Classify the task first, then load the smallest useful reference set. Each
reference file starts with a "What This Covers" section that lists the topics
inside it — read that first to confirm the file is relevant before reading the
rest.
Use the table below to find candidates. Loading more than two or three files at
once is usually a sign that the task hasn't been narrowed enough yet.
| Task involves... | Start with |
|---|
| Defining URLs, writing controllers and actions, returning responses | references/routing-and-controllers.md |
| Composing the request lifecycle, ordering middleware, bridging to a server | references/middleware-and-server.md |
| Compiling and serving browser modules, asset URL namespaces, preloads | references/assets-and-browser-modules.md |
| Parsing input, validating with schemas, defining tables, querying, migrations | references/data-and-validation.md |
| Per-browser state, login flows, route protection, identity | references/auth-and-sessions.md |
Component setup, state, lifecycle, updates, queueTask, context | references/component-model.md |
| Event handlers, styles, refs, click/key behavior, simple animations | references/mixins-styling-events.md |
clientEntry, run, <Frame>, navigation, <head> | references/hydration-frames-navigation.md |
| Router tests, component tests, test isolation | references/testing-patterns.md |
| Spring physics, tweens, layout transitions | references/animate-elements.md |
| Authoring custom reusable mixins | references/create-mixins.md |
Common bundles:
- Form or CRUD feature -> routing, data and validation, testing; add auth if
user-specific
- Protected area -> auth and sessions, routing, testing
- Interactive widget -> component model, mixins and styling; add hydration
only if it runs in the browser
- Browser asset pipeline -> assets and browser modules, hydration,
middleware and server
- File upload -> middleware and server, data and validation, testing
- Navigation or frames -> hydration, frames, navigation
Default Workflow
- Classify the change. Decide whether it changes the route contract,
request lifecycle, data model, auth or session behavior, or only UI.
- Start from the server contract. Add or update
app/routes.ts before
wiring handlers or UI.
- Put code in the narrowest owner. Favor route-local code first, then
promote only when reuse is real.
- Make the server path correct before adding browser behavior. A route
should return the right
Response via router.fetch(...) before you add
clientEntry(...), animations, or DOM effects.
- Add middleware deliberately. Keep fast-exit middleware early and
request-enriching middleware later. Export a typed
AppContext from the root
middleware stack and use it in controllers.
- Validate input at the boundary. Parse and validate
Request, FormData,
params, cookies, and external payloads before they reach rendering or
persistence logic.
- Hydrate only when necessary. Prefer server-rendered UI. Use
clientEntry(...) and run(...) only for real browser interactivity or
browser-only APIs.
- Test the narrowest meaningful layer. Prefer router tests for route
behavior. Use component tests when the behavior is truly interactive or
DOM-specific.
- Finish with verification. Re-read the route flow, confirm auth and
authorization boundaries, and run the smallest relevant test and typecheck
loop.
Project Layout
Use these root directories consistently:
app/ for runtime application codedb/ for migrations and local database filespublic/ for static assets served as-istest/ for shared helpers, fixtures, and integration coveragetmp/ for uploads, caches, local session files, and other scratch data
Inside app/, organize by responsibility:
assets/ for client entrypoints and client-owned browser behaviorcontrollers/ for route-owned handlers and route-local UIdata/ for schema, queries, persistence setup, migrations, and runtime data
initializationmiddleware/ for request lifecycle concerns such as auth, sessions, uploads,
and database injectionui/ for shared cross-route UI primitivesutils/ only for genuinely cross-layer helpers that do not clearly belong
elsewhereroutes.ts for the route contractrouter.ts for router setup and wiring
Placement Precedence
When code could live in multiple places:
- Put it in the narrowest owner first.
- If it belongs to one route, keep it with that route.
- If it is shared UI across route areas, move it to
app/ui/.
- If it is request lifecycle setup, keep it in
app/middleware/.
- If it is schema, query, persistence, or startup data logic, keep it in
app/data/.
- Use
app/utils/ only as a last resort for truly cross-layer helpers.
Route Ownership
- Use a flat file in
app/controllers/ for a simple leaf action, such as
app/controllers/home.tsx
- Use a folder with
controller.tsx when a route owns nested routes or multiple
actions, such as app/controllers/account/controller.tsx
- Mirror nested route structure on disk, such as
app/controllers/auth/login/controller.tsx
- Keep route-local UI next to its owner, such as
app/controllers/contact/page.tsx
- Move shared UI to
app/ui/
- If a flat leaf grows child routes or multiple actions, promote it to a
controller folder
Layout Anti-Patterns
- Do not create
app/lib/ as a generic dumping ground
- Do not create
app/components/ as a second shared UI bucket when app/ui/
already owns that role
- Do not put shared cross-route UI in
app/controllers/
- Do not put middleware or persistence helpers in
app/utils/ when they have a
clearer home
- Do not create folders for simple leaf actions unless they are real controllers
Core Remix Rules
- Import from
remix/<subpath>, never import { ... } from 'remix'
- Treat
app/routes.ts as the source of truth for URLs. Use
routes.<name>.href(...) for redirects, links, tests, and internal URL
construction
- Controllers and actions should return explicit
Response objects, including
redirects, 404s, and validation failures. At the route boundary, prefer
returning a Response for expected outcomes (validation errors, conflicts,
not found) over throwing for control flow
- Model HTTP behavior explicitly. Status codes, headers, redirects, cache rules,
and content types are part of the route contract
- Make the server route correct first. A POST should already return the right
HTML, redirect, or error response on its own before
clientEntry(...) layers
interactivity on top
- Validate input at the boundary using
remix/data-schema (and
remix/data-schema/form-data for forms). parseSafe makes the failure path a
return value instead of an exception
- Derive
AppContext from the root middleware stack so get(Database),
get(Session), get(Auth), and similar keys stay typed. If the controller
never reads from context, it doesn't need the harness
- Outside actions and controllers, only use
getContext() when asyncContext()
is in the middleware stack
- Remix Component is not React: read props from
handle.props, keep state in
setup-scope variables, call handle.update() explicitly, and do DOM-sensitive
work in event handlers or queueTask(...), not in render
- Prefer host-element mixins via
mix={mixin(...)} for behavior and styling
instead of inventing custom host prop conventions. Use mix={[...]} only when
composing multiple mixins
- Hydrated
clientEntry(...) props must be serializable. Do not pass functions,
class instances, or opaque runtime objects
Security And Session Defaults
- Never ship demo secrets. In non-test environments, require session and
provider secrets from the environment and fail fast if they are missing
- Use hardened cookies:
httpOnly always, sameSite by default, and secure
when serving over HTTPS
- Regenerate session IDs on login, logout, and privilege changes
- Use
requireAuth() to protect authenticated route areas, but still authorize
resource ownership inside handlers and data writes
- Add CSRF protection when browser forms mutate state using cookie-backed
sessions
- Add CORS only for endpoints that must be called cross-origin. Prefer
same-origin by default
- Prefer JSX or
remix/html-template for HTML generation so escaping stays
correct
- Validate uploads for size, type, and destination. Treat filenames and content
as untrusted input
Testing Defaults
- Prefer server and router tests first. Drive the app with
router.fetch(new Request(...)) and assert on the returned Response
- Build a fresh router per test or per suite so sessions, in-memory storage, and
database state stay isolated
- Use
routes.<name>.href(...) in tests so URLs stay coupled to the route
contract
- For auth or session scenarios, use a test cookie and
createMemorySessionStorage() instead of production storage
- Use component tests only for interactive or DOM-specific behavior. Render with
createRoot(...), interact with the real DOM, and call root.flush() between
steps
- Prefer one representative behavior test over many repetitive assertion
variants
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Treating Remix Component like React and reaching for hooks or implicit
rerendering
- Importing from a top-level
remix entry instead of a subpath
- Adding
clientEntry(...) before the server-rendered route behavior is correct
- Passing non-serializable props into
clientEntry(...)
- Calling
getContext() without asyncContext() in the middleware stack
- Getting middleware order wrong; fast exits like static files belong early,
request enrichment later
- Skipping boundary validation and trusting raw
FormData, params, cookies, or
external payloads
- Letting route-local domain errors leak out of the controller. Translate
expected outcomes (validation, conflicts, not-found) into the HTTP
Response
the route means to return rather than throwing a custom Error subclass and
catching it elsewhere
- Reaching for
createCookie when a tamper-sensitive or server-managed
per-browser fact really wants remix/session. If editing the value would be a
bug, use a session
- Building a JSON-only RPC layer when a normal form POST, redirect, or resource
route would be simpler. Fetch-from-the-client is a layer on top of sound route
behavior, not a replacement for it
- Treating JSON state endpoints and
<Frame> reloads as mutually exclusive
patterns. Pick the lightest sync mechanism that fits the UX; small widgets may
reasonably poll a JSON endpoint
- Assuming authentication is enough without per-resource authorization checks
- Dropping shared code into vague buckets like
utils.ts, helpers.ts, or
common.ts when ownership is known
- Writing only component tests for a feature whose main behavior is really an
HTTP route concern
Package Map
Use this map to find the right package quickly. Each entry says what the package
is for, not just what it exports. Open the linked reference file when you need
full examples.
Routing, Server, and Responses
remix/router — the router itself. Use for createRouter, controller and
middleware types, and registering routesremix/routes — declarative route builders. Use for route, get, post,
put, del, form, resources when defining app/routes.tsremix/node-fetch-server — adapter from Node's http module to a Fetch-style
router. Use for createRequestListener in server.tsremix/assets — browser asset server. Use for createAssetServer when
serving compiled scripts and styles, getting public hrefs, and emitting
preloads. Shared compiler options such as target, sourceMaps,
sourceMapSourcePaths, and minify live at the top levelremix/headers — typed header parsers and builders. Use when reading
Accept, Cookie, or setting CacheControl, Vary, etc., instead of
hand-formatting stringsremix/response/redirect — redirect(href, status?). Use for the canonical
"POST then redirect" pattern and other location changesremix/response/html — createHtmlResponse. Use when you need an HTML
Response from a string or stream without rendering through remix/uiremix/response/compress — compressResponse. Use when compressing one-off
responses outside the global compression() middlewareremix/response/file — file-download responses. Use for
Content-Disposition: attachment responsesremix/route-pattern — low-level URL matching and generation. Use when
working with raw patterns outside the router (custom matchers, scripts)remix/fetch-proxy — Fetch-based HTTP proxying. Use to forward a request to
another origin; pass xForwardedHeaders when the upstream needs forwarded
proto, host, and port
Data, Validation, and Persistence
remix/data-schema — schema builders for runtime validation. Use for parse
and parseSafe to validate any input that crosses a trust boundary, and
.transform(...) when validated output should map to a different value or
typeremix/data-schema/checks — common check helpers (email, minLength,
maxLength, etc.). Use to compose into a schemaremix/data-schema/coerce — coercion helpers for strings, numbers, booleans,
dates, and ids. Use when input arrives as a string but should be a typed valueremix/data-schema/form-data — f.object and f.field for parsing
FormData directly. Use in actions that read browser formsremix/data-table — typed tables and a Database interface. Use for table,
column, createDatabase when modeling persisted dataremix/data-table-sqlite, remix/data-table-postgres,
remix/data-table-mysql — adapters. Use to back createDatabase with a real
engine. SQLite accepts Node, Bun, and compatible synchronous clients with the
shared prepare/exec surfaceremix/data-table/migrations — migration authoring and runners. Use for
createMigration, createMigrationRunnerremix/data-table/migrations/node — loadMigrations from disk. Use in
startup scripts that apply migrationsremix/data-table/operators — query operators such as inList(...). Use when
where clauses need set or comparison logic
Auth, Sessions, and Cookies
remix/session — the Session object: get, set, flash, unset,
regenerateId. Use for any per-browser state where tampering would be a bug
(login, "I submitted this form already", cart, flash messages)remix/session-middleware — session(cookie, storage). Use to wire a session
cookie and storage backend into the root middleware stackremix/session/fs-storage, remix/session/memory-storage,
remix/session/cookie-storage — storage backends. Use fs-storage for
single-process apps, memory-storage for tests, cookie-storage for
stateless deployments where data fits in a cookieremix/session-storage-redis — Redis-backed storage. Use for multi-process or
multi-host deploymentsremix/session-storage-memcache — Memcache-backed storage. Same multi-host
use case as Redisremix/cookie — createCookie for plain signed/unsigned cookies. Use for
non-sensitive preferences where the client is allowed to control the value
(theme, locale, dismissed banner). For state where tampering matters, prefer
remix/sessionremix/auth — credentials, OAuth, OIDC, and Atmosphere providers. Use to
define how identity is verified, start/finish external login, and refresh
stored OAuth/OIDC token bundles with refreshExternalAuth(...)remix/auth-middleware — auth({ schemes }), requireAuth, the Auth
context key. Use to resolve identity into the request context and to gate
routes
UI, Hydration, and Browser Behavior
remix/ui — the component runtime: components, core mixins, clientEntry,
run, <Frame>, navigation helpers, and createRoot. Use for app UI
behaviorremix/ui/server — server rendering: renderToStream, renderToString. Use
in the render(...) helper that returns HTML responsesremix/ui/animation — animation APIs: animateEntrance, animateExit,
animateLayout, spring, tween, and easingsremix/ui/<primitive> — UI primitives, mixins, glyphs, and theme helpers.
Import from remix/ui/accordion, remix/ui/button, remix/ui/select, etc.remix/ui/test — component test rendering helpers such as renderremix/ui/jsx-runtime — JSX transform target. Configured in tsconfig.json,
rarely imported directlyremix/html-template — escaped HTML template literals. Use when generating
HTML outside the component system (RSS feeds, email bodies, error pages)remix/file-storage — backend-agnostic File storage interface. Use as the
type bound for upload destinationsremix/file-storage/fs, remix/file-storage/memory, remix/file-storage-s3
— storage backends. Use to implement an upload destination
Middleware
remix/static-middleware — staticFiles(dir). Use to serve files from
public/ exactly as they exist on diskremix/form-data-middleware — formData(). Use to parse FormData once and
expose it via get(FormData) instead of calling await request.formData() in
each actionremix/form-data-parser — lower-level parseFormData, FileUpload. Use when
implementing custom upload handlers. Upload handler errors propagate directlyremix/multipart-parser and remix/multipart-parser/node — low-level
multipart stream parsing. MultipartPart.headers is a plain object keyed by
lower-case header name; read values with bracket notation such as
part.headers['content-type']remix/compression-middleware — compression(). Use globally for text-like
responsesremix/logger-middleware — logger(). Use in development for request logs;
pass colors to force terminal color output on or offremix/method-override-middleware — methodOverride(). Use when HTML forms
need PUT, PATCH, or DELETEremix/async-context-middleware — asyncContext(), getContext(). Use when
helpers outside actions need request context without threading it through
every callremix/cors-middleware — cors(opts?). Use for endpoints called cross-originremix/csrf-middleware — csrf(opts?). Use when session-backed forms mutate
state and need synchronizer-token CSRF protectionremix/cop-middleware — cross-origin protection. Use to reject unsafe
cross-origin browser requests
Test
remix/test — describe, it, and lifecycle hooks. Use as the test
frameworkremix/test/cli — programmatic test runner APIs such as runRemixTestremix/cli — programmatic Remix CLI API. Use the remix executable for
project commands such as remix test, remix routes, and remix doctorremix/assert — assertion helpers. Use in place of node:assert so messages
render cleanly in the runnerremix/terminal — ANSI styles, color detection, style factories, and testable
terminal streams. Use for CLIs and terminal output instead of hand-rolled
escape sequences
Canonical Patterns
Define routes first
import { form, get, post, resources, route } from 'remix/routes'
export const routes = route({
home: '/',
contact: form('contact'),
books: {
index: '/books',
show: '/books/:slug',
},
auth: route('auth', {
login: form('login'),
logout: post('logout'),
}),
admin: route('admin', {
index: get('/'),
books: resources('books', { param: 'bookId' }),
}),
})
Type controllers against the route contract
import type { Controller } from 'remix/router'
import type { AppContext } from '../router.ts'
import { routes } from '../routes.ts'
export default {
actions: {
async index({ get }) {
let db = get(Database)
let allBooks = await db.findMany(books, { orderBy: ['id', 'asc'] })
return render(<BooksIndexPage allBooks={allBooks} />)
},
async show({ get, params }) {
let db = get(Database)
let book = await db.findOne(books, { where: { slug: params.slug } })
if (!book) return new Response('Not Found', { status: 404 })
return render(<BookShowPage book={book} />)
},
},
} satisfies Controller<typeof routes.books, AppContext>
Compose middleware deliberately
import {
createRouter,
type AnyParams,
type MiddlewareContext,
type WithParams,
} from 'remix/router'
export type RootMiddleware = [
ReturnType<typeof formData>,
ReturnType<typeof session>,
ReturnType<typeof loadDatabase>,
ReturnType<typeof loadAuth>,
]
export type AppContext<params extends AnyParams = AnyParams> = WithParams<
MiddlewareContext<RootMiddleware>,
params
>
let middleware = []
if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development') {
middleware.push(logger())
}
middleware.push(compression())
middleware.push(staticFiles('./public'))
middleware.push(formData())
middleware.push(methodOverride())
middleware.push(session(cookie, storage))
middleware.push(asyncContext())
middleware.push(loadDatabase())
middleware.push(loadAuth())
let router = createRouter({ middleware })
Mutate, validate, and respond
import { redirect } from 'remix/response/redirect'
import * as s from 'remix/data-schema'
import * as f from 'remix/data-schema/form-data'
import { Session } from 'remix/session'
import { Database } from 'remix/data-table'
let bookSchema = f.object({
slug: f.field(s.string()),
title: f.field(s.string()),
})
export default {
actions: {
async create({ get }) {
let parsed = s.parseSafe(bookSchema, get(FormData))
if (!parsed.success) {
return render(<NewBookPage errors={parsed.issues} />, { status: 400 })
}
let db = get(Database)
let book = await db.create(books, parsed.value)
let session = get(Session)
session.flash('message', `Added ${book.title}.`)
return redirect(routes.books.show.href({ slug: book.slug }))
},
},
} satisfies Controller<typeof routes.books, AppContext>
This shape works without JavaScript, returns a Response for every outcome, and
is ready for clientEntry(...) interactivity when the UI needs it.
Build UI from handle props plus render
import { on, type Handle } from 'remix/ui'
function Counter(handle: Handle<{ initialCount?: number; label: string }>) {
let count = handle.props.initialCount ?? 0
return () => (
<button
mix={on('click', () => {
count++
handle.update()
})}
>
{handle.props.label}: {count}
</button>
)
}
Only add clientEntry(...) and run(...) when the component needs browser
interactivity or browser-only APIs.
