I have a useEffect with dependency A and a function where something will trigger if B is true, looking like this:
const [docs, setDocs] = useState(null);
const [update, setUpdate] = useState(false);
useEffect(() => {
if (update == true) {
// do this
}
}, [docs]);
In another function, i'm setting update to true, and I update docs.
const deleteDocument = (a) => {
const newArray = a;
setUpdate(true);
setDocs(newArray);
};
The problem is that the useEffect will trigger before update is actually updated, therefore not executing the inner function.
Since I would like to do this the proper way (not adding a timeout), what would be the standard way of dealing with this?
The problem is
setUpdate(true);
setDocs(newArray);
Setting a state is an async function, where you cannot wait till update is set before next state change occurs.
useRef (one of many solutions)
const docs = useRef();
const [update, setUpdate] = useState(false);
useEffect(() => {
if (update == true) {
// do this
// use can use "docs" here as "docs.current"
}
}, [update]);
const deleteDocument = (a) => {
const newArray = a;
// set the new value of Docs. Changing 'ref' doesnot trigger a render
docs.current = newArray;
setUpdate(true);
};
And you can either create update to useRef or docs to useRef. Anything should work
If you need update to be updated, that means that your useEffect depends on update also. So you should add update as a dependency in the dependency array.
useEffect(() => {
if (update == true) {
// do this
}
}, [update, docs]);
Setting states (setState) is an asynchronous function so you can't rely that one will be executed before or after another.
I have created some state at the top level component App() and created a getter method for this state so I could pass it on to any function to be able to get its current state.
App.js
const [searchState, changeScreen] = useState("");
const getSearchState = () => {
console.log("searchState is", searchState);
return searchState;
}
scripts/search.js
export const performSearch = async (searchText, changeScreen, getSearchState) => {
if(searchText) {
console.log("1", getSearchState())
let res = await doSearchQuery(searchText);
console.log("2", getSearchState())
if(res.status) {
// *** getSearchState() should have a value of "loading" here
if(getSearchState() !== "expanded") {
changeScreen("results");
}
}
else {
//
}
}
}
components/SearchComponent.js
import { performSearch } from '../scripts/search';
function SearchHistoryComponent({changeScreen, getSearchState}) {
...
// This method is fired from an onPress()
const performHistorySearch = async (text) => {
changeScreen('loading');
await performSearch(text, changeScreen, getSearchState);
}
...
}
I then pass getSearchState() as a parameter to a standalone asynchronous function in a different script to be able to look up the searchState value but it doesn't seem to be working as intended.
The value I'm getting seems to be the previous value and not the current value at the time getSearchState() is called - as can be seen from the console outputs I have setup:
searchState is expanded
searchState is loading
1 expanded
2 expanded
searchState is results
Am I doing something wrong?
This is exactly how React callback functions work.
That is, every line in your performSearch function is engaged to one searchState value, i.e, "expanded".
If you want to get "loading" from getSearchState(), you need to call getSearchState() again in useEffect by passing searchState or getSearchState in the dependency array.
To be more clear, setting a state value after awaiting a promise works fine, but if you want to pull the newly set state value inside the same function body, it won't work.
That said, you need to listen to the newly set state value in useEffect or just make your code declarative so it behaves according to state changes.
Just to help you understand this better, I've written a quick snack here to show the difference between pulling the state from a function body and a useEffect.
https://snack.expo.dev/h65-cPvIb
Thanks.
I have a component like this
export default function Panel() {
const rpcClient = RpcClient.getInstance(PLUGIN_ID);
setupOnce(rpcClient);
const [currentXMPID, setCurrentXMPID] = useState<string | null>(null);
function isAttachStorageOn(): boolean {
if (!currentXMPID) {
return false;
}
// real code looks at a cookie
return true;
}
// This panel is frequently re-rendered and we need to use saved setting if XMP ID was retrieved already
const renderAttachState = isAttachStorageOn();
// this is outputting true
console.log('set attach checked default to', renderAttachState);
const [isAttachChecked, setAttachChecked] = useState(renderAttachState);
// this is outputting false
console.log('after using state', isAttachChecked);
// This will only fire once
useEffect(() => {
(async () => {
const xmpID = await rpcClient.getXMPID();
setCurrentXMPID(xmpID);
setAttachChecked(isAttachStorageOn());
})();
}, []);
return <div>Just a test</div>;
}
I am bewildered as it logs true and then false. This seems to make zero sense. I am running this component in an app I have limited control over. I did find that this component is being re-rendered a lot and am wondering if there could be issue around that... but even if it re-renders 1000 times it should do so in order such that the console.logs match up.
Update
It seems as though the hook is staying as whatever value is first given in the useEffect which is only run once. If I set setAttachChecked to bananas in that method, no subsequent calls are updating it.
Well, I am not sure whether or not this is the solution you are looking for.
useState is used to set default value. This line here
console.log('after using state', isAttachChecked);
is for displaying isAttachChecked value. And it might be equal to the defaultValue for the first time, but might not be after that even though you called it after useState hook.
I should just be doing const [isAttachChecked, setAttachChecked] = useState(false);
No changes in render should be expected to actually update isAttachChecked. Since I care about return of isAttachStorageOn, which changes value based upon currentXMPID, all I needed to do was make useEffect do:
}, [currentXMPID]);
I ran into an issue where some logic within useEffect runs on mount once before a state update within it is triggered. Example below:
function App() {
const [account, setAccount] = useState("0x123");
useEffect(() => {
async function main() {
let fetchedAccount = await //some fetch logic to get new account
setAccount(fetchedAccount);
}
console.log(account);
let result = await someFunction(account);
}
I realized when running this, my App runs the logic with the predefined state i.e. someFunction("0x123") before running someFunction("updated state from fetchedAccount"). So console.log(account) shows "0x123" once and then once more for the fetchedAccount string.
How can I avoid this behavior and just have the useEffect run someFunction(accounts) after setAccount(fetchedAccount) is done?
Previously when it was a class component, I used this.setState to update the 'account' state and the someFunction(this.state.account) worked correctly. It doesn't run with the predefined state and only runs with the updated value after this.setState.
Thanks in advance!
Try adding another useEffect hook that includes 'account' in the dependency array.
useEffect(() => {
if(account !== "0x123"){
let result = await someFunction(account);
}
}, [account])
This should ensure that someFunction will only run if value of account changes.
edit: hmm, would adding a conditional to check that account is not "0x123" fix your issue?
Also, you could set initial state to undefined.
I've been playing around with the new hook system in React 16.7-alpha and get stuck in an infinite loop in useEffect when the state I'm handling is an object or array.
First, I use useState and initiate it with an empty object like this:
const [obj, setObj] = useState({});
Then, in useEffect, I use setObj to set it to an empty object again. As a second argument I'm passing [obj], hoping that it wont update if the content of the object hasn't changed. But it keeps updating. I guess because no matter the content, these are always different objects making React thinking it keep changing?
useEffect(() => {
setIngredients({});
}, [ingredients]);
The same is true with arrays, but as a primitive it wont get stuck in a loop, as expected.
Using these new hooks, how should I handle objects and array when checking weather the content has changed or not?
Passing an empty array as the second argument to useEffect makes it only run on mount and unmount, thus stopping any infinite loops.
useEffect(() => {
setIngredients({});
}, []);
This was clarified to me in the blog post on React hooks at https://www.robinwieruch.de/react-hooks/
Had the same problem. I don't know why they not mention this in docs. Just want to add a little to Tobias Haugen answer.
To run in every component/parent rerender you need to use:
useEffect(() => {
// don't know where it can be used :/
})
To run anything only one time after component mount(will be rendered once) you need to use:
useEffect(() => {
// do anything only one time if you pass empty array []
// keep in mind, that component will be rendered one time (with default values) before we get here
}, [] )
To run anything one time on component mount and on data/data2 change:
const [data, setData] = useState(false)
const [data2, setData2] = useState('default value for first render')
useEffect(() => {
// if you pass some variable, than component will rerender after component mount one time and second time if this(in my case data or data2) is changed
// if your data is object and you want to trigger this when property of object changed, clone object like this let clone = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(data)), change it clone.prop = 2 and setData(clone).
// if you do like this 'data.prop=2' without cloning useEffect will not be triggered, because link to data object in momory doesn't changed, even if object changed (as i understand this)
}, [data, data2] )
How i use it most of the time:
export default function Book({id}) {
const [book, bookSet] = useState(false)
const loadBookFromServer = useCallback(async () => {
let response = await fetch('api/book/' + id)
response = await response.json()
bookSet(response)
}, [id]) // every time id changed, new book will be loaded
useEffect(() => {
loadBookFromServer()
}, [loadBookFromServer]) // useEffect will run once and when id changes
if (!book) return false //first render, when useEffect did't triggered yet we will return false
return <div>{JSON.stringify(book)}</div>
}
I ran into the same problem too once and I fixed it by making sure I pass primitive values in the second argument [].
If you pass an object, React will store only the reference to the object and run the effect when the reference changes, which is usually every singe time (I don't now how though).
The solution is to pass the values in the object. You can try,
const obj = { keyA: 'a', keyB: 'b' }
useEffect(() => {
// do something
}, [Object.values(obj)]);
or
const obj = { keyA: 'a', keyB: 'b' }
useEffect(() => {
// do something
}, [obj.keyA, obj.keyB]);
If you are building a custom hook, you can sometimes cause an infinite loop with default as follows
function useMyBadHook(values = {}) {
useEffect(()=> {
/* This runs every render, if values is undefined */
},
[values]
)
}
The fix is to use the same object instead of creating a new one on every function call:
const defaultValues = {};
function useMyBadHook(values = defaultValues) {
useEffect(()=> {
/* This runs on first call and when values change */
},
[values]
)
}
If you are encountering this in your component code the loop may get fixed if you use defaultProps instead of ES6 default values
function MyComponent({values}) {
useEffect(()=> {
/* do stuff*/
},[values]
)
return null; /* stuff */
}
MyComponent.defaultProps = {
values = {}
}
Your infinite loop is due to circularity
useEffect(() => {
setIngredients({});
}, [ingredients]);
setIngredients({}); will change the value of ingredients(will return a new reference each time), which will run setIngredients({}). To solve this you can use either approach:
Pass a different second argument to useEffect
const timeToChangeIngrediants = .....
useEffect(() => {
setIngredients({});
}, [timeToChangeIngrediants ]);
setIngrediants will run when timeToChangeIngrediants has changed.
I'm not sure what use case justifies change ingrediants once it has been changed. But if it is the case, you pass Object.values(ingrediants) as a second argument to useEffect.
useEffect(() => {
setIngredients({});
}, Object.values(ingrediants));
As said in the documentation (https://reactjs.org/docs/hooks-effect.html), the useEffect hook is meant to be used when you want some code to be executed after every render. From the docs:
Does useEffect run after every render? Yes!
If you want to customize this, you can follow the instructions that appear later in the same page (https://reactjs.org/docs/hooks-effect.html#tip-optimizing-performance-by-skipping-effects). Basically, the useEffect method accepts a second argument, that React will examine to determine if the effect has to be triggered again or not.
useEffect(() => {
document.title = `You clicked ${count} times`;
}, [count]); // Only re-run the effect if count changes
You can pass any object as the second argument. If this object remains unchanged, your effect will only be triggered after the first mount. If the object changes, the effect will be triggered again.
I'm not sure if this will work for you but you could try adding .length like this:
useEffect(() => {
// fetch from server and set as obj
}, [obj.length]);
In my case (I was fetching an array!) it fetched data on mount, then again only on change and it didn't go into a loop.
If you include empty array at the end of useEffect:
useEffect(()=>{
setText(text);
},[])
It would run once.
If you include also parameter on array:
useEffect(()=>{
setText(text);
},[text])
It would run whenever text parameter change.
I often run into an infinite re-render when having a complex object as state and updating it from useRef:
const [ingredients, setIngredients] = useState({});
useEffect(() => {
setIngredients({
...ingredients,
newIngedient: { ... }
});
}, [ingredients]);
In this case eslint(react-hooks/exhaustive-deps) forces me (correctly) to add ingredients to the dependency array. However, this results in an infinite re-render. Unlike what some say in this thread, this is correct, and you can't get away with putting ingredients.someKey or ingredients.length into the dependency array.
The solution is that setters provide the old value that you can refer to. You should use this, rather than referring to ingredients directly:
const [ingredients, setIngredients] = useState({});
useEffect(() => {
setIngredients(oldIngedients => {
return {
...oldIngedients,
newIngedient: { ... }
}
});
}, []);
If you use this optimization, make sure the array includes all values from the component scope (such as props and state) that change over time and that are used by the effect.
I believe they are trying to express the possibility that one could be using stale data, and to be aware of this. It doesn't matter the type of values we send in the array for the second argument as long as we know that if any of those values change it will execute the effect. If we are using ingredients as part of the computation within the effect, we should include it in the array.
const [ingredients, setIngredients] = useState({});
// This will be an infinite loop, because by shallow comparison ingredients !== {}
useEffect(() => {
setIngredients({});
}, [ingredients]);
// If we need to update ingredients then we need to manually confirm
// that it is actually different by deep comparison.
useEffect(() => {
if (is(<similar_object>, ingredients) {
return;
}
setIngredients(<similar_object>);
}, [ingredients]);
The main problem is that useEffect compares the incoming value with the current value shallowly. This means that these two values compared using '===' comparison which only checks for object references and although array and object values are the same it treats them to be two different objects. I recommend you to check out my article about useEffect as a lifecycle methods.
The best way is to compare previous value with current value by using usePrevious() and _.isEqual() from Lodash.
Import isEqual and useRef. Compare your previous value with current value inside the useEffect(). If they are same do nothing else update. usePrevious(value) is a custom hook which create a ref with useRef().
Below is snippet of my code. I was facing problem of infinite loop with updating data using firebase hook
import React, { useState, useEffect, useRef } from 'react'
import 'firebase/database'
import { Redirect } from 'react-router-dom'
import { isEqual } from 'lodash'
import {
useUserStatistics
} from '../../hooks/firebase-hooks'
export function TMDPage({ match, history, location }) {
const usePrevious = value => {
const ref = useRef()
useEffect(() => {
ref.current = value
})
return ref.current
}
const userId = match.params ? match.params.id : ''
const teamId = location.state ? location.state.teamId : ''
const [userStatistics] = useUserStatistics(userId, teamId)
const previousUserStatistics = usePrevious(userStatistics)
useEffect(() => {
if (
!isEqual(userStatistics, previousUserStatistics)
) {
doSomething()
}
})
In case you DO need to compare the object and when it is updated here is a deepCompare hook for comparison. The accepted answer surely does not address that. Having an [] array is suitable if you need the effect to run only once when mounted.
Also, other voted answers only address a check for primitive types by doing obj.value or something similar to first get to the level where it is not nested. This may not be the best case for deeply nested objects.
So here is one that will work in all cases.
import { DependencyList } from "react";
const useDeepCompare = (
value: DependencyList | undefined
): DependencyList | undefined => {
const ref = useRef<DependencyList | undefined>();
if (!isEqual(ref.current, value)) {
ref.current = value;
}
return ref.current;
};
You can use the same in useEffect hook
React.useEffect(() => {
setState(state);
}, useDeepCompare([state]));
You could also destructure the object in the dependency array, meaning the state would only update when certain parts of the object updated.
For the sake of this example, let's say the ingredients contained carrots, we could pass that to the dependency, and only if carrots changed, would the state update.
You could then take this further and only update the number of carrots at certain points, thus controlling when the state would update and avoiding an infinite loop.
useEffect(() => {
setIngredients({});
}, [ingredients.carrots]);
An example of when something like this could be used is when a user logs into a website. When they log in, we could destructure the user object to extract their cookie and permission role, and update the state of the app accordingly.
my Case was special on encountering an infinite loop, the senario was like this:
I had an Object, lets say objX that comes from props and i was destructuring it in props like:
const { something: { somePropery } } = ObjX
and i used the somePropery as a dependency to my useEffect like:
useEffect(() => {
// ...
}, [somePropery])
and it caused me an infinite loop, i tried to handle this by passing the whole something as a dependency and it worked properly.
Another worked solution that I used for arrays state is:
useEffect(() => {
setIngredients(ingredients.length ? ingredients : null);
}, [ingredients]);