🚀 New Free React Challenge: New Way of Passing Ref

A new free challenge is now available on ReactChallenges.com.

React 19 introduced a cleaner way to work with refs across components, reducing the need for forwardRef in many common scenarios.

This new exercise helps you practice that pattern with a real UI example.

What you'll build

A simple issue modal where users can:

• Open the modal
• Automatically focus the textarea when it appears
• Close it with Cancel or Create

What you'll learn

• How to create a ref in the parent component
• How to pass a ref directly to a child component in React 19
• How to control focus from outside the child component
• How this compares to the previous forwardRef pattern

Why this matters

Refs are often needed for:

• Modals
• Search inputs
• Forms
• Custom UI primitives
• Accessibility improvements

React 19 makes these interactions cleaner and easier to implement.

Try the challenge

👉 https://www.reactchallenges.com