React Hooks and Features Overview

explore some essential hooks and features that every React developer should know, along with practical tips for using them effectively.

YASH PATEL•1/12/2026•2 min read•13 views
ReactHooksFeaturesWeb Development
React Hooks and Features Overview
  1. useTransition
    • Description: useTransition allows you to defer updates to the UI while keeping the interface responsive.
    • Usage: It takes two parameters, isPending and startTransition. You wrap the asynchronous function in startTransition
    • to handle state updates.
    • Usage:
1const [isPending, startTransition] = useTransition();
2

3startTransition(() => {
4  // Your async function here
5});
  1. useActionState
    • Description: This hook is used when a component state is updated by an existing action and provides a new action. It takes three arguments: error, submitAction, isPending.
    • Usage:
1const [error, submitAction, isPending] = useActionState(
2  async (previousState, formData) => {
3    // Your async function here
4  }
5);
  1. useFormStatus
    • Description: A react-dom hook that shows the status of a form, useful for handling form submissions and their states.
    • Usage:
1const { pending } = useFormStatus();
  1. useOptimistic
    • Description: When making an asynchronous request, useOptimistic shows the final state optimistically while data is being updated.
    • Usage: 
1const [optimisticName, setOptimisticName] = useOptimistic(currentName);
  1. API use
    • Description: This hook is used to read context resources and promises, enabling the passing of data from the server to the client.
    • Usage: 
1const theme = use(ThemeContext);
  1. ref={ref}
    • Description: Instead of using forwardRef, you can directly use ref as a prop for functional components.
    • Usage:
1function MyInput({placeholder, ref}) {
2  return <input placeholder={placeholder} ref={ref} />
3}
4

5//...
6<MyInput ref={ref} />
  1. <Context>
    • Description: Instead of using context.provider, you can directly use context to simplify context usage.
    • Usage:
1const ThemeContext = createContext('');