Here's how I model it: the view is a function of state; and actions create a new state, which re-renders the view. state -> view -> actions -

Here's how I model it: the view is a function of state; and actions create a new state, which re-renders the view. state -> view -> actions - | ^----------------------- Actions can be from the user via the view, but it can come from elsewhere, for example, websocket events. I like what another commenter said about a "stream of events", though in my mind an action is more limited than an event. An action has no event handlers, it can only dispatch state changes (or other actions).