useHooks — Ready-to-Use Custom React Hooks

Introduction

useHooks is a curated library of custom React hooks maintained by ui.dev. Each hook is carefully designed, thoroughly documented, and ready for production use. The project focuses on quality over quantity, providing hooks that solve common patterns in React applications with clean APIs and comprehensive TypeScript support. It has become a trusted reference for both learning and production development.

What useHooks Does

• Provides browser API hooks for localStorage, sessionStorage, geolocation, and media queries
• Offers UI interaction hooks for click-outside detection, hover state, scroll position, and intersection observers
• Includes state management hooks for debounced values, previous values, toggle states, and lists
• Supplies lifecycle hooks for mount detection, update tracking, and unmount cleanup
• Delivers performance hooks for throttling, memoization, and lazy initialization

Architecture Overview

Each hook is a standalone function with no shared state or context. The library is written in TypeScript and published as a single package with named exports. Hooks follow React best practices: they use useRef for stable references, useCallback for memoized handlers, and useSyncExternalStore where appropriate. The package supports tree-shaking, so unused hooks are excluded from production bundles.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Install via npm: npm install @uidotdev/usehooks
• Import individual hooks by name from the package
• No configuration or provider components required
• Compatible with React 18+ and works with Next.js, Remix, and Vite
• Full TypeScript definitions included in the package

Key Features

• useLocalStorage and useSessionStorage sync React state with browser storage APIs
• useDebounce delays value updates until input settles, reducing unnecessary re-renders
• useMediaQuery returns a boolean for responsive design breakpoints
• useClickAway detects clicks outside a referenced element for dropdown and modal patterns
• useIntersectionObserver tracks element visibility for lazy loading and infinite scroll

Comparison with Similar Tools

• react-use — Larger collection with 100+ hooks; useHooks is more curated with better documentation per hook
• ahooks — Enterprise-focused with request hooks and table utilities; useHooks covers general-purpose patterns
• @mantine/hooks — Part of the Mantine ecosystem; useHooks is independent of any UI framework
• usehooks-ts — TypeScript-focused alternative with a similar philosophy; useHooks has broader community adoption
• Custom hooks — Building your own works for unique cases; useHooks provides tested implementations of common patterns

FAQ

Q: What is the difference between useHooks and usehooks-ts? A: useHooks (@uidotdev/usehooks) is maintained by ui.dev with a focus on curation and documentation. usehooks-ts is a separate project focused on TypeScript. Both provide quality hooks but are independently maintained.

Q: Does useHooks work with React Server Components? A: Hooks that use browser APIs must run in client components. Add the 'use client' directive in Next.js App Router. Hooks that only manage state can work in shared components.

Q: How large is the bundle impact? A: The library supports tree-shaking, so only the hooks you import are included. Each hook is typically under 1KB minified.

Q: Can I use useHooks with React Native? A: Hooks that depend on browser APIs (localStorage, IntersectionObserver) do not work in React Native. State-only hooks like usePrevious and useToggle work in any React environment.

Sources

• https://github.com/uidotdev/usehooks
• https://usehooks.com/