[Pensacola]

> The problem is the mixing and matching of state management.

This. But IMHO the right solution is to make the back-end stateless and manage all client state on the client. Each request authenticates itself, and (if you're ReSTful about it) the back-end is simply a database connector/augmenter.

In this paradigm, the SPA is basically a desktop app that retrieves data from a server, built to run within a framework, which happens to be a web browser.

In case you're jumping to conclusions, know that I'm a late-comer to the SPA party, having resisted from its inception until about a year ago, for all the obvious reasons, including those bemoaned by the OP.

Why did I relent? SPA frameworks like React now handle pretty much all the heavy lifting for you. OP, you should check out React Router, which can render this post's examples irrelevant. I'm surprised that in 2022, someone writing to the web UI layer would bother to create code to manage the address bar when there are a thousand ways to not have to.

[catlifeonmars]

A lot of the arguments against SPAs in TFA center on broken U/X. This is only incidentally related to SPA architecture, and has much more to do with the current SPA ecosystem. IMO it’s more just a lack of standardization and the broken U/X is just an emergent property of the vacuum. MPAs are great because the technology is old and navigation between pages has first class support in all browsers, not because of some intrinsic advantage of the way application state is managed.

[unclebucknasty]

How well does React Router solve these problems if you're not using React fully?