Angular OnPush & Zoneless Migration

The Problem

With Default change detection, zone.js triggers CD after every async operation. With OnPush, CD only runs when:

1. An input reference changes
2. A template event fires
3. A signal notifies
4. markForCheck() is called explicitly
5. The async pipe triggers

Subscribe callbacks are NONE of these. Setting this.data = response inside .subscribe() won't update the template.

The Fix

For each subscribe callback that sets state:

// BEFORE (breaks with OnPush)
this.apiService.getData().subscribe(data => {
  this.data = data;  // Template won't update!
});

// FIX 1: Convert to signal (preferred)
data = signal<DataDTO | null>(null);
// ...
this.apiService.getData().subscribe(data => {
  this.data.set(data);  // Signal notifies CD
});

// FIX 2: Use markForCheck (escape hatch)
constructor(private cdr: ChangeDetectorRef) {}
// ...
this.apiService.getData().subscribe(data => {
  this.data = data;
  this.cdr.markForCheck();
});

// FIX 3: Use async pipe (cleanest for templates)
data$ = this.apiService.getData();
// Template: @if (data$ | async; as data) { ... }

MCP Tool Integration

Use the Angular CLI MCP tool for analysis:

mcp__angular-cli__onpush_zoneless_migration({ fileOrDirPath: '/path/to/component' })

This tool:

• Analyzes a component/directory
• Identifies the next action to take
• Provides step-by-step instructions
• Must be called repeatedly until no more actions needed

Limitation: The tool identifies issues but doesn't always fix them correctly for complex cases (subscribe callbacks, timer-based code, third-party library callbacks). Use the tool for analysis, apply fixes manually.

Three-Phase OnPush Approach

Phase 1: Trivial Components

Components with no reactive state — just add OnPush.

Criteria:

• No subscribe() calls
• No setTimeout() / setInterval()
• No manual DOM manipulation
• Template only uses inputs, outputs, and static content

@Component({
  changeDetection: ChangeDetectionStrategy.OnPush,
  // ...
})

Phase 2: Components with Outputs

Components that emit events — convert outputs to output() signals, then add OnPush.

// Before
@Output() loginSuccess = new EventEmitter<void>();

// After
loginSuccess = output<void>();

Phase 3: Complex Components

Components with subscriptions, timers, or third-party library callbacks.

For each one:

1. Run the subscribe audit (RULE 4)
2. Convert state properties to signals
3. Add takeUntilDestroyed() for cleanup
4. Add OnPush
5. Build and test

Object Mutation Fixes

OnPush requires immutable state updates. Common fixes:

Image Rotation

// BEFORE (mutation — OnPush won't detect)
this.activeImage.rotate = this.activeImage.rotate - 90;

// AFTER (new object — OnPush detects)
this.activeImage.set({
  ...this.activeImage(),
  rotate: this.activeImage().rotate - 90
});

Array Updates

// BEFORE
this.rows.push(newRow);

// AFTER
this.rows.set([...this.rows(), newRow]);

Nested Object Updates

// BEFORE
this.config.settings.theme = 'dark';

// AFTER
this.config.set({
  ...this.config(),
  settings: { ...this.config().settings, theme: 'dark' }
});

Animation Callbacks with OnPush

Animation completion callbacks run outside Angular's CD. With OnPush, use signals:

animationState = signal<'open' | 'closed' | 'void'>('open');

onConfirm() {
  this.animationState.set('closed');  // Signal triggers CD
}

onAnimationDone(event: AnimationEvent) {
  if (event.toState === 'closed') {
    this.close();
  }
}

NgZone Compatibility Assessment

Official Angular v21 guidance: NgZone.run and NgZone.runOutsideAngular do NOT need to be removed for zoneless compatibility. Removing them can actually cause performance regressions for libraries that also support ZoneJS apps.

These NgZone patterns ARE compatible with zoneless (KEEP):

• NgZone.run() — Becomes a no-op wrapper in zoneless; harmless to keep
• NgZone.runOutsideAngular() — Performance optimization still valid; documents intent even in zoneless

These NgZone patterns are NOT compatible (MUST REPLACE):

• NgZone.onStable — No zone = never fires. Replace with afterNextRender() or afterRender()
• NgZone.onMicrotaskEmpty — No zone = never fires. Replace with afterNextRender()
• NgZone.isStable — Always true in zoneless. Remove or use PendingTasks

Common valid patterns to keep:

1. runOutsideAngular wrapping high-frequency DOM events (mouse, drag, scroll, keyboard)
2. runOutsideAngular wrapping third-party library initialization (Highcharts, tippy.js, Pickr, calendars)
3. zone.run() re-entering Angular from third-party callbacks (chart events, color picker save, tooltip show/hide)
4. zone.run() after signal.set() — redundant but harmless (signal already triggers CD)

# Check for incompatible patterns (these MUST be fixed)
grep -rn "onStable\|onMicrotaskEmpty\|isStable" --include="*.ts" src/ projects/

# Catalog all NgZone usages for review
grep -rn "NgZone\|\.zone\." --include="*.ts" src/ projects/ | grep -v node_modules | grep -v ".spec.ts"

See references/softever-ngzone-patterns.md for all 7 real NgZone usages in this codebase with analysis.

Enabling Zoneless Change Detection

After ALL components are OnPush-compatible:

Step 1: Add provider

// app.module.ts (or app.config.ts for standalone)
import { provideZonelessChangeDetection } from '@angular/core';

@NgModule({
  providers: [
    provideZonelessChangeDetection(),
  ],
})

Step 2: Remove zone.js from polyfills

// angular.json
"polyfills": [
  "@angular/localize/init"
  // Remove: "zone.js"
  // Remove: "zone-flags.ts"
]

Step 3: Verify bundle savings

Expected: ~92KB reduction in polyfills bundle.

yarn build:dev
# Compare polyfills bundle size before and after

OnPush Audit Checklist

See references/onpush-audit-checklist.md for the complete per-component audit.

References

• references/onpush-audit-checklist.md — Per-component audit checklist
• references/zone-boundary-patterns.md — Common zone boundary issues and fixes
• references/softever-subscribe-to-signal.md — Real before/after examples from a 50-file subscribe→signal migration, including scope reduction strategy and common bugs
• references/softever-ngzone-patterns.md — All 7 real NgZone usages in the codebase with official Angular v21 compatibility analysis and migration decision matrix