When to Use Which Hook?

July 23, 2025

This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by davinceleecode

React provides powerful hooks that allow you to manage state, side effects, performance optimizations, and much more — all inside functional components. Here’s a concise guide on when to use each hook:

Hook	Use Case
`useState`	Manage local component state (e.g., input fields, toggles, counters)
`useEffect`	Perform side effects (e.g., data fetching, subscriptions, timers)
`useContext`	Access shared/global state without prop drilling (e.g., theme, auth)
`useRef`	Reference DOM elements or store mutable values across renders
`useReducer`	Manage complex state logic or state transitions (e.g., form wizard, cart)
`useMemo`	Optimize performance by memoizing expensive calculations
`useCallback`	Memoize functions to prevent unnecessary re-renders
`useLayoutEffect`	Execute synchronously after DOM changes but before browser paint

Example Use Cases:

Use useState for toggling modals or tracking form values.
Use useEffect to fetch data from an API when a component mounts.
Use useContext to access user authentication info across components.
Use useReducer to manage complex multi-step form data with validation.
Use useMemo to avoid recalculating filtered lists or sorting operations.
Use useCallback when passing callback props to memoized child components.
Use useLayoutEffect to measure layout before browser paint (e.g., animations or positioning).

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This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by davinceleecode