React 19 Skill

This skill provides comprehensive knowledge and patterns for working with React 19 effectively in modern applications.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Building React applications with React 19 features
• Working with React hooks and component patterns
• Implementing server components and server functions
• Using concurrent features and transitions
• Optimizing React application performance
• Troubleshooting React-specific issues
• Working with React DOM APIs and client/server rendering
• Using React Compiler features

Core Concepts

React 19 Overview

React 19 introduces significant improvements:

• Server Components - Components that render on the server
• Server Functions - Functions that run on the server from client code
• Concurrent Features - Better performance with concurrent rendering
• React Compiler - Automatic memoization and optimization
• Form Actions - Built-in form handling with useActionState
• Improved Hooks - New hooks like useOptimistic, useActionState
• Better Hydration - Improved SSR and hydration performance

Component Fundamentals

Use functional components with hooks:

// Functional component with props interface
interface ButtonProps {
  label: string
  onClick: () => void
  variant?: 'primary' | 'secondary'
}

const Button = ({ label, onClick, variant = 'primary' }: ButtonProps) => {
  return (
    <button
      onClick={onClick}
      className={`btn btn-${variant}`}
    >
      {label}
    </button>
  )
}

Key Principles:

• Use functional components over class components
• Define prop interfaces in TypeScript
• Use destructuring for props
• Provide default values for optional props
• Keep components focused and composable

React Hooks Reference

State Hooks

useState

Manage local component state:

const [count, setCount] = useState<number>(0)
const [user, setUser] = useState<User | null>(null)

// Named return variables pattern
const handleIncrement = () => {
  setCount(prev => prev + 1)  // Functional update
}

// Update object state immutably
setUser(prev => prev ? { ...prev, name: 'New Name' } : null)

useReducer

Manage complex state with reducer pattern:

type State = { count: number; status: 'idle' | 'loading' }
type Action = 
  | { type: 'increment' }
  | { type: 'decrement' }
  | { type: 'setStatus'; status: State['status'] }

const reducer = (state: State, action: Action): State => {
  switch (action.type) {
    case 'increment':
      return { ...state, count: state.count + 1 }
    case 'decrement':
      return { ...state, count: state.count - 1 }
    case 'setStatus':
      return { ...state, status: action.status }
    default:
      return state
  }
}

const [state, dispatch] = useReducer(reducer, { count: 0, status: 'idle' })

useActionState

Handle form actions with pending states (React 19):

const [state, formAction, isPending] = useActionState(
  async (previousState: FormState, formData: FormData) => {
    const name = formData.get('name') as string
    
    // Server action or async operation
    const result = await saveUser({ name })
    
    return { success: true, data: result }
  },
  { success: false, data: null }
)

return (
  <form action={formAction}>
    <input name="name" />
    <button disabled={isPending}>
      {isPending ? 'Saving...' : 'Save'}
    </button>
  </form>
)

Effect Hooks

useEffect

Run side effects after render:

// Named return variables preferred
useEffect(() => {
  const controller = new AbortController()
  
  const fetchData = async () => {
    const response = await fetch('/api/data', {
      signal: controller.signal
    })
    const data = await response.json()
    setData(data)
  }
  
  fetchData()
  
  // Cleanup function
  return () => {
    controller.abort()
  }
}, [dependencies])  // Dependencies array

Key Points:

• Always return cleanup function for subscriptions
• Use dependency array correctly to avoid infinite loops
• Don't forget to handle race conditions with AbortController
• Effects run after paint, not during render

useLayoutEffect

Run effects synchronously after DOM mutations but before paint:

useLayoutEffect(() => {
  // Measure DOM nodes
  const height = ref.current?.getBoundingClientRect().height
  setHeight(height)
}, [])

Use when you need to:

• Measure DOM layout
• Synchronously re-render before browser paints
• Prevent visual flicker

useInsertionEffect

Insert styles before any DOM reads (for CSS-in-JS libraries):

useInsertionEffect(() => {
  const style = document.createElement('style')
  style.textContent = '.my-class { color: red; }'
  document.head.appendChild(style)
  
  return () => {
    document.head.removeChild(style)
  }
}, [])

Performance Hooks

useMemo

Memoize expensive calculations:

const expensiveValue = useMemo(() => {
  return computeExpensiveValue(a, b)
}, [a, b])

When to use:

• Expensive calculations that would slow down renders
• Creating stable object references for dependency arrays
• Optimizing child component re-renders

When NOT to use:

• Simple calculations (overhead not worth it)
• Values that change frequently

useCallback

Memoize callback functions:

const handleClick = useCallback(() => {
  console.log('Clicked', value)
}, [value])

// Pass to child that uses memo
<ChildComponent onClick={handleClick} />

Use when:

• Passing callbacks to optimized child components
• Function is a dependency in another hook
• Function is used in effect cleanup

Ref Hooks

useRef

Store mutable values that don't trigger re-renders:

// DOM reference
const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null)

useEffect(() => {
  inputRef.current?.focus()
}, [])

// Mutable value storage
const countRef = useRef<number>(0)
countRef.current += 1  // Doesn't trigger re-render

useImperativeHandle

Customize ref handle for parent components:

interface InputHandle {
  focus: () => void
  clear: () => void
}

const CustomInput = forwardRef<InputHandle, InputProps>((props, ref) => {
  const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null)
  
  useImperativeHandle(ref, () => ({
    focus: () => {
      inputRef.current?.focus()
    },
    clear: () => {
      if (inputRef.current) {
        inputRef.current.value = ''
      }
    }
  }))
  
  return <input ref={inputRef} {...props} />
})

Context Hooks

useContext

Access context values:

// Create context
interface ThemeContext {
  theme: 'light' | 'dark'
  toggleTheme: () => void
}

const ThemeContext = createContext<ThemeContext | null>(null)

// Provider
const ThemeProvider = ({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) => {
  const [theme, setTheme] = useState<'light' | 'dark'>('light')
  
  const toggleTheme = useCallback(() => {
    setTheme(prev => prev === 'light' ? 'dark' : 'light')
  }, [])
  
  return (
    <ThemeContext.Provider value={{ theme, toggleTheme }}>
      {children}
    </ThemeContext.Provider>
  )
}

// Consumer
const ThemedButton = () => {
  const context = useContext(ThemeContext)
  if (!context) throw new Error('useTheme must be used within ThemeProvider')
  
  const { theme, toggleTheme } = context
  
  return (
    <button onClick={toggleTheme}>
      Current theme: {theme}
    </button>
  )
}

Transition Hooks

useTransition

Mark state updates as non-urgent:

const [isPending, startTransition] = useTransition()

const handleTabChange = (newTab: string) => {
  startTransition(() => {
    setTab(newTab)  // Non-urgent update
  })
}

return (
  <>
    <button onClick={() => handleTabChange('profile')}>
      Profile
    </button>
    {isPending && <Spinner />}
    <TabContent tab={tab} />
  </>
)

Use for:

• Marking expensive updates as non-urgent
• Keeping UI responsive during state transitions
• Preventing loading states for quick updates

useDeferredValue

Defer re-rendering for non-urgent updates:

const [query, setQuery] = useState('')
const deferredQuery = useDeferredValue(query)

// Use deferred value for expensive rendering
const results = useMemo(() => {
  return searchResults(deferredQuery)
}, [deferredQuery])

return (
  <>
    <input value={query} onChange={e => setQuery(e.target.value)} />
    <Results data={results} />
  </>
)

Optimistic Updates

useOptimistic

Show optimistic state while async operation completes (React 19):

const [optimisticMessages, addOptimisticMessage] = useOptimistic(
  messages,
  (state, newMessage: string) => [
    ...state,
    { id: 'temp', text: newMessage, pending: true }
  ]
)

const handleSend = async (formData: FormData) => {
  const message = formData.get('message') as string
  
  // Show optimistic update immediately
  addOptimisticMessage(message)
  
  // Send to server
  await sendMessage(message)
}

return (
  <>
    {optimisticMessages.map(msg => (
      <div key={msg.id} className={msg.pending ? 'opacity-50' : ''}>
        {msg.text}
      </div>
    ))}
    <form action={handleSend}>
      <input name="message" />
      <button>Send</button>
    </form>
  </>
)

Other Hooks

useId

Generate unique IDs for accessibility:

const id = useId()

return (
  <>
    <label htmlFor={id}>Name:</label>
    <input id={id} type="text" />
  </>
)

useSyncExternalStore

Subscribe to external stores:

const subscribe = (callback: () => void) => {
  store.subscribe(callback)
  return () => store.unsubscribe(callback)
}

const getSnapshot = () => store.getState()
const getServerSnapshot = () => store.getInitialState()

const state = useSyncExternalStore(
  subscribe,
  getSnapshot,
  getServerSnapshot
)

useDebugValue

Display custom label in React DevTools:

const useCustomHook = (value: string) => {
  useDebugValue(value ? `Active: ${value}` : 'Inactive')
  return value
}

React Components

Fragment

Group elements without extra DOM nodes:

// Short syntax
<>
  <ChildA />
  <ChildB />
</>

// Full syntax (when you need key prop)
<Fragment key={item.id}>
  <dt>{item.term}</dt>
  <dd>{item.description}</dd>
</Fragment>

Suspense

Show fallback while loading:

<Suspense fallback={<Loading />}>
  <AsyncComponent />
</Suspense>

// With error boundary
<ErrorBoundary fallback={<Error />}>
  <Suspense fallback={<Loading />}>
    <AsyncComponent />
  </Suspense>
</ErrorBoundary>

StrictMode

Enable additional checks in development:

<StrictMode>
  <App />
</StrictMode>

StrictMode checks:

• Warns about deprecated APIs
• Detects unexpected side effects
• Highlights potential problems
• Double-invokes functions to catch bugs

Profiler

Measure rendering performance:

<Profiler id="App" onRender={onRender}>
  <App />
</Profiler>

const onRender = (
  id: string,
  phase: 'mount' | 'update',
  actualDuration: number,
  baseDuration: number,
  startTime: number,
  commitTime: number
) => {
  console.log(`${id} took ${actualDuration}ms`)
}

React APIs

memo

Prevent unnecessary re-renders:

const ExpensiveComponent = memo(({ data }: Props) => {
  return <div>{data}</div>
}, (prevProps, nextProps) => {
  // Return true if props are equal (skip render)
  return prevProps.data === nextProps.data
})

lazy

Code-split components:

const Dashboard = lazy(() => import('./Dashboard'))

<Suspense fallback={<Loading />}>
  <Dashboard />
</Suspense>

startTransition

Mark updates as transitions imperatively:

startTransition(() => {
  setTab('profile')
})

cache (React Server Components)

Cache function results per request:

const getUser = cache(async (id: string) => {
  return await db.user.findUnique({ where: { id } })
})

use (React 19)

Read context or promises in render:

// Read context
const theme = use(ThemeContext)

// Read promise (must be wrapped in Suspense)
const data = use(fetchDataPromise)

Server Components & Server Functions

Server Components

Components that run only on the server:

// app/page.tsx (Server Component by default)
const Page = async () => {
  // Can fetch data directly
  const posts = await db.post.findMany()
  
  return (
    <div>
      {posts.map(post => (
        <PostCard key={post.id} post={post} />
      ))}
    </div>
  )
}

export default Page

Benefits:

• Direct database access
• Zero bundle size for server-only code
• Automatic code splitting
• Better performance

Server Functions

Functions that run on server, callable from client:

'use server'

export async function createPost(formData: FormData) {
  const title = formData.get('title') as string
  const content = formData.get('content') as string
  
  const post = await db.post.create({
    data: { title, content }
  })
  
  revalidatePath('/posts')
  return post
}

Usage from client:

'use client'

import { createPost } from './actions'

const PostForm = () => {
  const [state, formAction] = useActionState(createPost, null)
  
  return (
    <form action={formAction}>
      <input name="title" />
      <textarea name="content" />
      <button>Create</button>
    </form>
  )
}

Directives

'use client'

Mark file as client component:

'use client'

import { useState } from 'react'

// This component runs on client
export const Counter = () => {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0)
  return <button onClick={() => setCount(c => c + 1)}>{count}</button>
}

'use server'

Mark functions as server functions:

'use server'

export async function updateUser(userId: string, data: UserData) {
  return await db.user.update({ where: { id: userId }, data })
}

React DOM

Client APIs

createRoot

Create root for client rendering (React 19):

import { createRoot } from 'react-dom/client'

const root = createRoot(document.getElementById('root')!)
root.render(<App />)

// Update root
root.render(<App newProp="value" />)

// Unmount
root.unmount()

hydrateRoot

Hydrate server-rendered HTML:

import { hydrateRoot } from 'react-dom/client'

hydrateRoot(document.getElementById('root')!, <App />)

Component APIs

createPortal

Render children outside parent DOM hierarchy:

import { createPortal } from 'react-dom'

const Modal = ({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) => {
  return createPortal(
    <div className="modal">{children}</div>,
    document.body
  )
}

flushSync

Force synchronous update:

import { flushSync } from 'react-dom'

flushSync(() => {
  setCount(1)
})
// DOM is updated synchronously

Form Components

with actions

const handleSubmit = async (formData: FormData) => {
  'use server'
  const email = formData.get('email')
  await saveEmail(email)
}

<form action={handleSubmit}>
  <input name="email" type="email" />
  <button>Subscribe</button>
</form>

useFormStatus

import { useFormStatus } from 'react-dom'

const SubmitButton = () => {
  const { pending } = useFormStatus()
  
  return (
    <button disabled={pending}>
      {pending ? 'Submitting...' : 'Submit'}
    </button>
  )
}

React Compiler

Configuration

Configure React Compiler in babel or bundler config:

// babel.config.js
module.exports = {
  plugins: [
    ['react-compiler', {
      compilationMode: 'annotation',  // or 'all'
      panicThreshold: 'all_errors',
    }]
  ]
}

Directives

"use memo"

Force memoization of component:

'use memo'

const ExpensiveComponent = ({ data }: Props) => {
  const processed = expensiveComputation(data)
  return <div>{processed}</div>
}

"use no memo"

Prevent automatic memoization:

'use no memo'

const SimpleComponent = ({ text }: Props) => {
  return <div>{text}</div>
}

Best Practices

Component Design

1. Keep components focused - Single responsibility principle
2. Prefer composition - Build complex UIs from simple components
3. Extract custom hooks - Reusable logic in hooks
4. Named return variables - Use named returns in functions
5. Type everything - Proper TypeScript interfaces for all props

Performance

1. Use React.memo sparingly - Only for expensive components
2. Optimize context - Split contexts to avoid unnecessary re-renders
3. Lazy load routes - Code-split at route boundaries
4. Use transitions - Mark non-urgent updates with useTransition
5. Virtualize lists - Use libraries like react-window for long lists

State Management

1. Local state first - useState for component-specific state
2. Lift state up - Only when multiple components need it
3. Use reducers for complex state - useReducer for complex logic
4. Context for global state - Theme, auth, etc.
5. External stores - TanStack Query, Zustand for complex apps

Error Handling

1. Error boundaries - Catch rendering errors
2. Guard clauses - Early returns for invalid states
3. Null checks - Always check for null/undefined
4. Try-catch in effects - Handle async errors
5. User-friendly errors - Show helpful error messages

Testing Considerations

1. Testable components - Pure, predictable components
2. Test user behavior - Not implementation details
3. Mock external dependencies - APIs, context, etc.
4. Test error states - Verify error handling works
5. Accessibility tests - Test keyboard navigation, screen readers

Common Patterns

Compound Components

interface TabsProps {
  children: React.ReactNode
  defaultValue: string
}

const TabsContext = createContext<{
  value: string
  setValue: (v: string) => void
} | null>(null)

const Tabs = ({ children, defaultValue }: TabsProps) => {
  const [value, setValue] = useState(defaultValue)
  
  return (
    <TabsContext.Provider value={{ value, setValue }}>
      {children}
    </TabsContext.Provider>
  )
}

const TabsList = ({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) => (
  <div role="tablist">{children}</div>
)

const TabsTrigger = ({ value, children }: { value: string, children: React.ReactNode }) => {
  const context = useContext(TabsContext)
  if (!context) throw new Error('TabsTrigger must be used within Tabs')
  
  return (
    <button
      role="tab"
      aria-selected={context.value === value}
      onClick={() => context.setValue(value)}
    >
      {children}
    </button>
  )
}

const TabsContent = ({ value, children }: { value: string, children: React.ReactNode }) => {
  const context = useContext(TabsContext)
  if (!context) throw new Error('TabsContent must be used within Tabs')
  
  if (context.value !== value) return null
  
  return <div role="tabpanel">{children}</div>
}

// Usage
<Tabs defaultValue="profile">
  <TabsList>
    <TabsTrigger value="profile">Profile</TabsTrigger>
    <TabsTrigger value="settings">Settings</TabsTrigger>
  </TabsList>
  <TabsContent value="profile">Profile content</TabsContent>
  <TabsContent value="settings">Settings content</TabsContent>
</Tabs>

Render Props

interface DataFetcherProps<T> {
  url: string
  children: (data: T | null, loading: boolean, error: Error | null) => React.ReactNode
}

const DataFetcher = <T,>({ url, children }: DataFetcherProps<T>) => {
  const [data, setData] = useState<T | null>(null)
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true)
  const [error, setError] = useState<Error | null>(null)
  
  useEffect(() => {
    fetch(url)
      .then(res => res.json())
      .then(setData)
      .catch(setError)
      .finally(() => setLoading(false))
  }, [url])
  
  return <>{children(data, loading, error)}</>
}

// Usage
<DataFetcher<User> url="/api/user">
  {(user, loading, error) => {
    if (loading) return <Spinner />
    if (error) return <Error error={error} />
    if (!user) return null
    return <UserProfile user={user} />
  }}
</DataFetcher>

Custom Hooks Pattern

const useLocalStorage = <T,>(key: string, initialValue: T) => {
  const [storedValue, setStoredValue] = useState<T>(() => {
    try {
      const item = window.localStorage.getItem(key)
      return item ? JSON.parse(item) : initialValue
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(error)
      return initialValue
    }
  })
  
  const setValue = useCallback((value: T | ((val: T) => T)) => {
    try {
      const valueToStore = value instanceof Function ? value(storedValue) : value
      setStoredValue(valueToStore)
      window.localStorage.setItem(key, JSON.stringify(valueToStore))
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(error)
    }
  }, [key, storedValue])
  
  return [storedValue, setValue] as const
}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Infinite Loops

• Check useEffect dependencies
• Ensure state updates don't trigger themselves
• Use functional setState updates

Stale Closures

• Add all used variables to dependency arrays
• Use useCallback for functions in dependencies
• Consider using refs for values that shouldn't trigger re-renders

Performance Issues

• Use React DevTools Profiler
• Check for unnecessary re-renders
• Optimize with memo, useMemo, useCallback
• Consider code splitting

Hydration Mismatches

• Ensure server and client render same HTML
• Avoid using Date.now() or random values during render
• Use useEffect for browser-only code
• Check for conditional rendering based on browser APIs

References

• React Documentation: https://react.dev
• React API Reference: https://react.dev/reference/react
• React DOM Reference: https://react.dev/reference/react-dom
• React Compiler: https://react.dev/reference/react-compiler
• Rules of React: https://react.dev/reference/rules
• GitHub: https://github.com/facebook/react

Related Skills

• typescript - TypeScript patterns and types for React
• ndk - Nostr integration with React hooks
• skill-creator - Creating reusable component libraries