React Server Components (RSC) let you render components on the server instead of the client.

Key benefits:

• Zero bundle size -- server components don't ship JavaScript to the browser
• Direct data access -- query databases without an API layer
• Streaming -- progressive rendering as data becomes available

// This runs on the server only
async function UserProfile({ id }) {
  const user = await db.users.find(id);
  return 
{user.name}
;

}

Think of it as having two types of components:

• Server Components (default) -- render on the server, no interactivity
• Client Components ("use client") -- render on the client, full interactivity

The key insight: most UI is static and doesn't need JavaScript.