DEV Community

Cover image for Run useEffect Only Once :React
Harish Sankaramanchi
Harish Sankaramanchi

Posted on

 

Run useEffect Only Once :React

Alt Text
If you want to run an effect and clean it up only once (on mount and unmount), you can pass an empty array ([]) as a second argument. This tells React that your effect doesn’t depend on any values from props or state, so it never needs to re-run. This isn’t handled as a special case — it follows directly from how the dependencies array always works.
If you pass an empty array ([]), the props and state inside the effect will always have their initial values. While passing [] as the second argument is closer to the familiar componentDidMount and componentWillUnmount mental model, there are usually better solutions to avoid re-running effects too often. Also, don’t forget that React defers running useEffect until after the browser has painted, so doing extra work is less of a problem.

Top comments (1)

Collapse
 
lexlohr profile image
Alex Lohr

Also if you only want to run it on unmount, you can use

useEffect(() => onUnmountHandler, [])
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

onUnmountHandler will then be called after the component unmounts.

The JavaScript Brief

1. Top 5 MERN STACK projects to improve your practical understanding

Boost your MERN Stack development skills by undertaking interesting beginner projects. These five engaging projects cover web applications and range from social media website applications to geo-social networking maps. Hone your understanding and apply modern techniques backed up by hands-on experience.

2. How To Optimize Your React App’s Performance

Learn the best optimizing techniques to make your React applications faster and more efficient. Focusing on the identification of performance bottlenecks and common pitfalls to avoid, these optimization strategies will keep your applications running smoothly even when faced with growing complexity.

3. A story of let, const, object mutation, and a bug in my code

In the pursuit of bug-free code, explore an incident involving a mix-up between const and let, making sure your custom code works effectively with third

party documentation. Discover best practices on program flow and learn about JavaScript's unpredictable aspects to ensure your core code is robust.