Angular 21 introduces Signal Forms, a new form system built completely on Angular’s Signals reactivity model. They replace much of the complexity of the old Reactive Forms and bring cleaner code, stronger type-safety, and fully predictable updates.
Signal Forms are designed to make forms easier, more powerful, and future-proof.
Why Did Angular Create Signal Forms?
Signal Forms solve common problems developers face:
- Too much boilerplate code
- Confusing validation logic
- Hard-to-debug form states
- Too many manual RxJS subscriptions
- Performance issues in large forms
By using signals instead of observables, Angular simplifies everything — from value changes to validation.
How Do Signal Forms Work?
A Signal Form is created using signalForm() where each field is a signal.
Basic Example
import { signalForm } from '@angular/forms';
const userForm = signalForm({
name: "",
age: 18,
email: ""
});
Reading Values
userForm.value(); // entire form value
userForm.controls.name(); // value of name
userForm.controls.age(); // value of age
Every field is reactive — no FormControl, no subscriptions.
How to Use Signal Forms in Templates
<input
[value]="userForm.controls.name()"
(input)="userForm.controls.name.set($event.target.value)"
/>
It’s incredibly clean — your template directly connects to reactive data.
How Does Validation Work in Signal Forms?
Signal Forms integrate validation without complex RxJS logic.
import { required, minValue } from '@angular/forms/validators';
const userForm = signalForm({
name: ["", required()],
age: [18, minValue(1)],
email: ["", required()]
});
Checking Validity
userForm.controls.email.valid();
userForm.controls.email.errors();
Signal Forms vs. Reactive Forms
| Feature | Reactive Forms | Signal Forms |
|---|---|---|
| Reactivity | RxJS streams | Signals |
| Boilerplate | High | Very Low |
| Type Safety | Weak | Strong |
| Debugging | Hard | Easy |
| Subscriptions | Required | None |
| Performance | Good | Better |
Signal Forms are clearly the future default for Angular developers.
Can You Migrate from Reactive Forms?
Yes! Angular provides a compatibility layer:
import { compatForm } from '@angular/forms-compat';
const signalModel = compatForm(oldForm);
This allows step-by-step migration without breaking your app.
Why Signal Forms Are a Major Upgrade
- Simpler mental model
- Cleaner syntax
- Fully type-safe
- Better performance
- No RxJS complexity
- Perfect for zoneless Angular
- Future-ready for Angular 22+
If you’re starting a new Angular project, you should use Signal Forms by default.
