React Hooks Complete Guide: useState to Custom Hooks

Introduction to React Hooks

When hooks were introduced in React 16.8, I was skeptical. Class components worked fine, why change? Three years later, I haven’t written a single class component. Hooks make code cleaner, testing easier, and logic sharing actually practical. If you’re still using classes, this guide will show you why it’s worth switching.

Hooks let you use state and other React features without writing classes. They make components simpler and enable better code reuse.

Rules of Hooks

1. Only call hooks at the top level (not inside loops, conditions, or nested functions)
2. Only call hooks from React function components or custom hooks

useState

Basic Usage

import { useState } from 'react';

function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);

  return (
    <div>
      <p>Count: {count}</p>
      <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>Increment</button>
      <button onClick={() => setCount(prev => prev - 1)}>Decrement</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Object State

function UserForm() {
  const [user, setUser] = useState({
    name: '',
    email: '',
    age: 0
  });

  const handleChange = (e) => {
    const { name, value } = e.target;
    setUser(prev => ({
      ...prev,
      [name]: value
    }));
  };

  return (
    <form>
      <input
        name="name"
        value={user.name}
        onChange={handleChange}
      />
      <input
        name="email"
        value={user.email}
        onChange={handleChange}
      />
    </form>
  );
}

Array State

function TodoList() {
  const [todos, setTodos] = useState([]);
  const [input, setInput] = useState('');

  const addTodo = () => {
    setTodos(prev => [...prev, { id: Date.now(), text: input }]);
    setInput('');
  };

  const removeTodo = (id) => {
    setTodos(prev => prev.filter(todo => todo.id !== id));
  };

  const toggleTodo = (id) => {
    setTodos(prev => prev.map(todo =>
      todo.id === id ? { ...todo, done: !todo.done } : todo
    ));
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <input value={input} onChange={e => setInput(e.target.value)} />
      <button onClick={addTodo}>Add</button>
      <ul>
        {todos.map(todo => (
          <li key={todo.id} onClick={() => toggleTodo(todo.id)}>
            {todo.text}
            <button onClick={() => removeTodo(todo.id)}>Delete</button>
          </li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
}

useEffect

Side Effects

import { useState, useEffect } from 'react';

function UserProfile({ userId }) {
  const [user, setUser] = useState(null);
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);

  useEffect(() => {
    // Fetch data when userId changes
    async function fetchUser() {
      setLoading(true);
      try {
        const response = await fetch(`/api/users/${userId}`);
        const data = await response.json();
        setUser(data);
      } catch (error) {
        console.error(error);
      } finally {
        setLoading(false);
      }
    }

    fetchUser();
  }, [userId]); // Dependency array

  if (loading) return <div>Loading...</div>;
  if (!user) return <div>User not found</div>;

  return <div>{user.name}</div>;
}

Cleanup Function

function Timer() {
  const [seconds, setSeconds] = useState(0);

  useEffect(() => {
    const interval = setInterval(() => {
      setSeconds(prev => prev + 1);
    }, 1000);

    // Cleanup function runs on unmount or before next effect
    return () => clearInterval(interval);
  }, []);

  return <div>Seconds: {seconds}</div>;
}

function WindowSize() {
  const [size, setSize] = useState({ width: 0, height: 0 });

  useEffect(() => {
    const handleResize = () => {
      setSize({
        width: window.innerWidth,
        height: window.innerHeight
      });
    };

    handleResize();
    window.addEventListener('resize', handleResize);

    return () => window.removeEventListener('resize', handleResize);
  }, []);

  return <div>{size.width} x {size.height}</div>;
}

Effect Timing

// Runs after every render
useEffect(() => {
  console.log('Every render');
});

// Runs once on mount
useEffect(() => {
  console.log('Mount only');
}, []);

// Runs when dependencies change
useEffect(() => {
  console.log('When value changes');
}, [value]);

useContext

Creating Context

import { createContext, useContext, useState } from 'react';

// Create context
const ThemeContext = createContext();

// Provider component
function ThemeProvider({ children }) {
  const [theme, setTheme] = useState('light');

  const toggleTheme = () => {
    setTheme(prev => prev === 'light' ? 'dark' : 'light');
  };

  return (
    <ThemeContext.Provider value={{ theme, toggleTheme }}>
      {children}
    </ThemeContext.Provider>
  );
}

// Custom hook for using context
function useTheme() {
  const context = useContext(ThemeContext);
  if (!context) {
    throw new Error('useTheme must be used within ThemeProvider');
  }
  return context;
}

// Using the context
function ThemedButton() {
  const { theme, toggleTheme } = useTheme();

  return (
    <button
      onClick={toggleTheme}
      style={{
        background: theme === 'light' ? '#fff' : '#333',
        color: theme === 'light' ? '#333' : '#fff'
      }}
    >
      Toggle Theme
    </button>
  );
}

// App wrapper
function App() {
  return (
    <ThemeProvider>
      <ThemedButton />
    </ThemeProvider>
  );
}

useReducer

Complex State Logic

import { useReducer } from 'react';

const initialState = {
  items: [],
  loading: false,
  error: null
};

function reducer(state, action) {
  switch (action.type) {
    case 'FETCH_START':
      return { ...state, loading: true, error: null };
    case 'FETCH_SUCCESS':
      return { ...state, loading: false, items: action.payload };
    case 'FETCH_ERROR':
      return { ...state, loading: false, error: action.payload };
    case 'ADD_ITEM':
      return { ...state, items: [...state.items, action.payload] };
    case 'REMOVE_ITEM':
      return {
        ...state,
        items: state.items.filter(item => item.id !== action.payload)
      };
    default:
      return state;
  }
}

function ItemList() {
  const [state, dispatch] = useReducer(reducer, initialState);

  const fetchItems = async () => {
    dispatch({ type: 'FETCH_START' });
    try {
      const response = await fetch('/api/items');
      const data = await response.json();
      dispatch({ type: 'FETCH_SUCCESS', payload: data });
    } catch (error) {
      dispatch({ type: 'FETCH_ERROR', payload: error.message });
    }
  };

  const addItem = (item) => {
    dispatch({ type: 'ADD_ITEM', payload: item });
  };

  if (state.loading) return <div>Loading...</div>;
  if (state.error) return <div>Error: {state.error}</div>;

  return (
    <ul>
      {state.items.map(item => (
        <li key={item.id}>{item.name}</li>
      ))}
    </ul>
  );
}

useMemo and useCallback

useMemo - Memoize Values

import { useMemo, useState } from 'react';

function ExpensiveComponent({ items, filter }) {
  // Only recalculate when items or filter changes
  const filteredItems = useMemo(() => {
    console.log('Filtering items...');
    return items.filter(item =>
      item.name.toLowerCase().includes(filter.toLowerCase())
    );
  }, [items, filter]);

  const totalPrice = useMemo(() => {
    return filteredItems.reduce((sum, item) => sum + item.price, 0);
  }, [filteredItems]);

  return (
    <div>
      <p>Total: ${totalPrice}</p>
      <ul>
        {filteredItems.map(item => (
          <li key={item.id}>{item.name}</li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
}

useCallback - Memoize Functions

import { useCallback, useState, memo } from 'react';

// Memoized child component
const TodoItem = memo(({ todo, onToggle, onDelete }) => {
  console.log('TodoItem render:', todo.id);
  return (
    <li>
      <input
        type="checkbox"
        checked={todo.done}
        onChange={() => onToggle(todo.id)}
      />
      {todo.text}
      <button onClick={() => onDelete(todo.id)}>Delete</button>
    </li>
  );
});

function TodoList() {
  const [todos, setTodos] = useState([]);

  // Memoize callbacks to prevent child re-renders
  const handleToggle = useCallback((id) => {
    setTodos(prev => prev.map(todo =>
      todo.id === id ? { ...todo, done: !todo.done } : todo
    ));
  }, []);

  const handleDelete = useCallback((id) => {
    setTodos(prev => prev.filter(todo => todo.id !== id));
  }, []);

  return (
    <ul>
      {todos.map(todo => (
        <TodoItem
          key={todo.id}
          todo={todo}
          onToggle={handleToggle}
          onDelete={handleDelete}
        />
      ))}
    </ul>
  );
}

useRef

DOM References

import { useRef, useEffect } from 'react';

function TextInput() {
  const inputRef = useRef(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    // Focus input on mount
    inputRef.current.focus();
  }, []);

  return <input ref={inputRef} />;
}

function VideoPlayer() {
  const videoRef = useRef(null);

  const play = () => videoRef.current.play();
  const pause = () => videoRef.current.pause();

  return (
    <div>
      <video ref={videoRef} src="video.mp4" />
      <button onClick={play}>Play</button>
      <button onClick={pause}>Pause</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Mutable Values

function Timer() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
  const intervalRef = useRef(null);

  const start = () => {
    if (intervalRef.current) return;
    intervalRef.current = setInterval(() => {
      setCount(prev => prev + 1);
    }, 1000);
  };

  const stop = () => {
    clearInterval(intervalRef.current);
    intervalRef.current = null;
  };

  useEffect(() => {
    return () => clearInterval(intervalRef.current);
  }, []);

  return (
    <div>
      <p>Count: {count}</p>
      <button onClick={start}>Start</button>
      <button onClick={stop}>Stop</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Custom Hooks

useLocalStorage

function useLocalStorage(key, initialValue) {
  const [value, setValue] = useState(() => {
    try {
      const item = localStorage.getItem(key);
      return item ? JSON.parse(item) : initialValue;
    } catch {
      return initialValue;
    }
  });

  useEffect(() => {
    localStorage.setItem(key, JSON.stringify(value));
  }, [key, value]);

  return [value, setValue];
}

// Usage
function App() {
  const [name, setName] = useLocalStorage('name', '');
  return <input value={name} onChange={e => setName(e.target.value)} />;
}

useFetch

function useFetch(url) {
  const [data, setData] = useState(null);
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
  const [error, setError] = useState(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    const controller = new AbortController();

    async function fetchData() {
      try {
        setLoading(true);
        const response = await fetch(url, { signal: controller.signal });
        const json = await response.json();
        setData(json);
        setError(null);
      } catch (err) {
        if (err.name !== 'AbortError') {
          setError(err.message);
        }
      } finally {
        setLoading(false);
      }
    }

    fetchData();

    return () => controller.abort();
  }, [url]);

  return { data, loading, error };
}

// Usage
function Users() {
  const { data, loading, error } = useFetch('/api/users');

  if (loading) return <div>Loading...</div>;
  if (error) return <div>Error: {error}</div>;

  return <ul>{data.map(user => <li key={user.id}>{user.name}</li>)}</ul>;
}

useDebounce

function useDebounce(value, delay) {
  const [debouncedValue, setDebouncedValue] = useState(value);

  useEffect(() => {
    const timer = setTimeout(() => {
      setDebouncedValue(value);
    }, delay);

    return () => clearTimeout(timer);
  }, [value, delay]);

  return debouncedValue;
}

// Usage
function Search() {
  const [query, setQuery] = useState('');
  const debouncedQuery = useDebounce(query, 500);

  useEffect(() => {
    if (debouncedQuery) {
      // Fetch search results
    }
  }, [debouncedQuery]);

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

Summary

React Hooks enable cleaner, more reusable code in functional components.