What are the best practices for using React Hooks?

Following best practices ensures your hooks are predictable, maintainable, and bug-free.

#### 1. Follow the Rules of Hooks

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

#### 2. Use the ESLint Plugin

     npm install eslint-plugin-react-hooks --save-dev
     

     {
       "plugins": ["react-hooks"],
       "rules": {
         "react-hooks/rules-of-hooks": "error",
         "react-hooks/exhaustive-deps": "warn"
       }
     }
     

#### 3. Keep Hooks Focused and Simple

     // ❌ Bad: One hook doing too much
     function useEverything() {
       const [user, setUser] = useState(null);
       const [posts, setPosts] = useState([]);
       const [theme, setTheme] = useState('light');
       // ... lots of unrelated logic
     }

     // ✅ Good: Separate concerns
     function useUser() { /* user logic */ }
     function usePosts() { /* posts logic */ }
     function useTheme() { /* theme logic */ }
     

#### 4. Use Descriptive Names for Custom Hooks

     // ❌ Bad
     function useData() { }

     // ✅ Good
     function useUserAuthentication() { }
     function useFetchProducts() { }
     function useFormValidation() { }
     

#### 5. Properly Manage Dependencies

     // ❌ Bad: Missing dependency
     useEffect(() => {
       fetchUser(userId);
     }, []); // userId is missing

     // ✅ Good: All dependencies listed
     useEffect(() => {
       fetchUser(userId);
     }, [userId]);
     

#### 6. Avoid Inline Object/Function Dependencies

     // ❌ Bad: New object on every render
     useEffect(() => {
       doSomething(options);
     }, [{ page: 1, limit: 10 }]); // Always different reference

     // ✅ Good: Memoize or extract
     const options = useMemo(() => ({ page: 1, limit: 10 }), []);
     useEffect(() => {
       doSomething(options);
     }, [options]);
     

#### 7. Clean Up Side Effects
Always return a cleanup function when subscribing to events, timers, or external data sources.

## Modern React Features (React 18/19)