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How to debug forwardRefs in DevTools?

Peer-reviewed by HireXTech Technical Panel Updated for 2025/2026 hiring Editorial standards
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Interviewer Expectations for this Question
01
Core Competency

Assesses fundamental understanding of React conventions, runtime behavior, and memory/performance considerations.

02
Evaluation Criteria

Hiring managers look for precision, avoidance of ambiguous jargon, and ability to explain trade-offs under real production conditions.

Comprehensive Model Answer Verified Solution

React.forwardRef accepts a render function as parameter and DevTools uses this function to determine what to display for the ref forwarding component.

For example, If you don't name the render function or not using displayName property then it will appear as ”ForwardRef” in the DevTools,

    const WrappedComponent = React.forwardRef((props, ref) => {
      return <LogProps {...props} forwardedRef={ref} />;
    });
    

But If you name the render function then it will appear as ”ForwardRef(myFunction)”

    const WrappedComponent = React.forwardRef(function myFunction(props, ref) {
      return <LogProps {...props} forwardedRef={ref} />;
    });
    

As an alternative, You can also set displayName property for forwardRef function,

    function logProps(Component) {
      class LogProps extends React.Component {
        // ...
      }

      function forwardRef(props, ref) {
        return <LogProps {...props} forwardedRef={ref} />;
      }

      // Give this component a more helpful display name in DevTools.
      // e.g. "ForwardRef(logProps(MyComponent))"
      const name = Component.displayName || Component.name;
      forwardRef.displayName = `logProps(${name})`;

      return React.forwardRef(forwardRef);
    }
    

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