Implementing optimistic updates correctly requires careful state management.
Pattern:
Store current state (for rollback)
Apply optimistic update to UI
Send request
On success: Update with server response
On failure: Rollback to stored state, show error
Challenges:
- Maintaining rollback state
- Handling concurrent updates
- Reconciling server response with optimistic state
Server state libraries handle this: React Query, SWR have built-in optimistic update support with rollback.