React TypeScript Cheatsheet

Cheatsheet for using React with TypeScript.

👋 This repo is maintained by @eps1lon and @filiptammergard. We're so happy you want to try out React with TypeScript! If you see anything wrong or missing, please file an issue! 👍

The Cheatsheet is focused on helping React devs use TypeScript effectively:

Opinionated best practices and copy+pastable examples.
Covers basic TS types and setup, plus advanced usage of generic types for people writing reusable type utilities and React+TS libraries.
Advice for contributing to DefinitelyTyped.

Cheatsheet

Expand Table of Contents

React TypeScript Cheatsheet

Introduction

Prerequisites

You can use this cheatsheet for reference at any skill level, but basic understanding of React and TypeScript is assumed. Here is a list of prerequisites:

Basic understanding of React.
Familiarity with TypeScript Basics and Everyday Types.

In the cheatsheet we assume you are using the latest versions of React and TypeScript.

React and TypeScript starter kits

React has documentation for how to start a new React project with some of the most popular frameworks. Here's how to start them with TypeScript:

Next.js: npx create-next-app@latest --ts
Remix: npx create-remix@latest
Gatsby: npm init gatsby --ts
Expo: npx create-expo-app -t with-typescript

If you just want a client-side single-page app without a framework, Vite is the most common choice:

Vite: npm create vite@latest my-app -- --template react-ts

Try React and TypeScript online

There are some tools that let you run React and TypeScript online, which can be helpful for debugging or making sharable reproductions.

Getting Started

Function Components

These can be written as normal functions that take a props argument and return a JSX element.

// Declaring type of props - see "Typing Component Props" for more examples
type AppProps = {
  message: string;
}; /* use `interface` if exporting so that consumers can extend */

// Easiest way to declare a Function Component; return type is inferred.
const App = ({ message }: AppProps) => <div>{message}</div>;

// You can choose to annotate the return type so an error is raised if you accidentally return some other type
const App = ({ message }: AppProps): React.JSX.Element => <div>{message}</div>;

// You can also inline the type declaration; eliminates naming the prop types, but looks repetitive
const App = ({ message }: { message: string }) => <div>{message}</div>;

// Alternatively, you can use `React.FunctionComponent` (or `React.FC`), if you prefer.
// With latest React types and TypeScript 5.1. it's mostly a stylistic choice, otherwise discouraged.
const App: React.FunctionComponent<{ message: string }> = ({ message }) => (
  <div>{message}</div>
);
// or
const App: React.FC<AppProps> = ({ message }) => <div>{message}</div>;

Tip: You might use Paul Shen's VS Code Extension to automate the type destructure declaration (incl a keyboard shortcut).

Why is React.FC not needed? What about React.FunctionComponent/React.VoidFunctionComponent?

You may see this in many React+TypeScript codebases:

const App: React.FunctionComponent<{ message: string }> = ({ message }) => (
  <div>{message}</div>
);

However, the general consensus today is that React.FunctionComponent (or the shorthand React.FC) is not needed. If you're still using React 17 or TypeScript lower than 5.1, it is even discouraged. This is a nuanced opinion of course, but if you agree and want to remove React.FC from your codebase, you can use this jscodeshift codemod.

Some differences from the "normal function" version:

React.FunctionComponent is explicit about the return type, while the normal function version is implicit (or else needs additional annotation).
It provides typechecking and autocomplete for static properties like displayName, propTypes, and defaultProps.
- Note that there are some known issues using defaultProps with React.FunctionComponent. See this issue for details. We maintain a separate defaultProps section you can also look up.
In the future, it may automatically mark props as readonly, though that's a moot point if the props object is destructured in the parameter list.

In most cases it makes very little difference which syntax is used, but you may prefer the more explicit nature of React.FunctionComponent.

Hooks

Hooks are supported in @types/react from v16.8 up.

useState

Type inference works very well for simple values:

const [state, setState] = useState(false);
// `state` is inferred to be a boolean
// `setState` only takes booleans

If you need to use a complex type that you've relied on inference for, you can use typeof to capture the inferred type.

However, many hooks are initialized with null-ish default values, and you may wonder how to provide types. Explicitly declare the type, and use a union type:

const [user, setUser] = useState<User | null>(null);

// later...
setUser(newUser);

You can also use type assertions if a state is initialized soon after setup and always has a value after:

const [user, setUser] = useState<User>({} as User);

// later...
setUser(newUser);

This temporarily "lies" to the TypeScript compiler that {} is of type User. You should follow up by setting the user state — if you don't, the rest of your code may rely on the fact that user is of type User and that may lead to runtime errors.

useCallback

You can type the useCallback just like any other function.

const memoizedCallback = useCallback(
  (param1: string, param2: number) => {
    console.log(param1, param2)
    return { ok: true }
  },
  [...],
);
/**
 * VSCode will show the following type:
 * const memoizedCallback:
 *  (param1: string, param2: number) => { ok: boolean }
 */

Note that for React < 18, the function signature of useCallback typed arguments as any[] by default:

function useCallback<T extends (...args: any[]) => any>(
  callback: T,
  deps: DependencyList,
): T;

In React >= 18, the function signature of useCallback changed to the following:

function useCallback<T extends Function>(callback: T, deps: DependencyList): T;

Therefore, the following code will yield "Parameter 'e' implicitly has an 'any' type." error in React >= 18, but not <17.

// @ts-expect-error Parameter 'e' implicitly has 'any' type.
useCallback((e) => {}, []);
// Explicit 'any' type.
useCallback((e: any) => {}, []);

useReducer

You can use Discriminated Unions for reducer actions. Don't forget to define the return type of reducer, otherwise TypeScript will infer it.

import { useReducer } from "react";

const initialState = { count: 0 };

type ACTIONTYPE =
  | { type: "increment"; payload: number }
  | { type: "decrement"; payload: string };

function reducer(
  state: typeof initialState,
  action: ACTIONTYPE,
): typeof initialState {
  switch (action.type) {
    case "increment":
      return { count: state.count + action.payload };
    case "decrement":
      return { count: state.count - Number(action.payload) };
    default:
      throw new Error();
  }
}

function Counter() {
  const [state, dispatch] = useReducer(reducer, initialState);
  return (
    <>
      Count: {state.count}
      <button onClick={() => dispatch({ type: "decrement", payload: "5" })}>
        -
      </button>
      <button onClick={() => dispatch({ type: "increment", payload: 5 })}>
        +
      </button>
    </>
  );
}

View in the TypeScript Playground

Usage with Reducer from redux

In case you use the redux library to write reducer function, It provides a convenient helper of the format Reducer<State, Action> which takes care of the return type for you.

So the above reducer example becomes:

import { Reducer } from 'redux';

export function reducer: Reducer<AppState, Action>() {}

Providing explicit types for useReducer

In most cases, type inference for useReducer should work reliably. When inference fails, the state and action types can be explicitly provided using the following syntax, where the action type is wrapped in a single-element tuple.

const [state, dispatch] = useReducer<typeof initialState, [ACTIONTYPE]>(
  reducer,
  initialState,
);

useEffect / useLayoutEffect

Both of useEffect and useLayoutEffect are used for performing side effects and return an optional cleanup function which means if they don't deal with returning values, no types are necessary. When using useEffect, take care not to return anything other than a function or undefined, otherwise both TypeScript and React will yell at you. This can be subtle when using arrow functions:

function DelayedEffect(props: { timerMs: number }) {
  const { timerMs } = props;

  useEffect(
    () =>
      setTimeout(() => {
        /* do stuff */
      }, timerMs),
    [timerMs],
  );
  // bad example! setTimeout implicitly returns a number
  // because the arrow function body isn't wrapped in curly braces
  return null;
}

Solution to the above example

function DelayedEffect(props: { timerMs: number }) {
  const { timerMs } = props;

  useEffect(() => {
    setTimeout(() => {
      /* do stuff */
    }, timerMs);
  }, [timerMs]);
  // better; use the void keyword to make sure you return undefined
  return null;
}

useRef

useRef always returns a RefObject<T> in current @types/react. An initial value is required, and the returned .current is typed based on it. (MutableRefObject is deprecated and only kept for backwards compatibility.)

Option 1: DOM element ref

To access a DOM element: provide the element type as a generic and pass null as the initial value. React manages .current for you, and TypeScript expects you to pass this ref to an element's ref prop:

function Foo() {
  // - If possible, prefer as specific as possible. For example, HTMLDivElement
  //   is better than HTMLElement and way better than Element.
  // - Technical-wise, this returns RefObject<HTMLDivElement>
  const divRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    // Note that ref.current may be null. This is expected, because you may
    // conditionally render the ref-ed element, or you may forget to assign it
    if (!divRef.current) throw Error("divRef is not assigned");

    // Now divRef.current is sure to be HTMLDivElement
    doSomethingWith(divRef.current);
  });

  // Give the ref to an element so React can manage it for you
  return <div ref={divRef}>etc</div>;
}

If you are sure that divRef.current will never be null, it is also possible to use the non-null assertion operator !:

const divRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null!);
// Later... No need to check if it is null
doSomethingWith(divRef.current);

Note that you are opting out of type safety here - you will have a runtime error if you forget to assign the ref to an element in the render, or if the ref-ed element is conditionally rendered.

Tip: Choosing which HTMLElement to use

Refs demand specificity - it is not enough to just specify any old HTMLElement. If you don't know the name of the element type you need, you can check lib.dom.ts or make an intentional type error and let the language service tell you:

Option 2: Mutable value ref

To hold a mutable value across renders without re-rendering on change: pass the initial value you want — React doesn't manage .current for you here, you write to it manually.

function Foo() {
  const intervalRef = useRef<number | null>(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    intervalRef.current = window.setInterval(() => {
      /* ... */
    }, 1000);
    return () => {
      if (intervalRef.current !== null) clearInterval(intervalRef.current);
    };
  }, []);

  return (
    <button
      onClick={() => {
        /* clearInterval the ref */
      }}
    >
      Cancel timer
    </button>
  );
}

useImperativeHandle

In React 19, ref is a regular prop on function components, so useImperativeHandle is called with the ref prop directly — no forwardRef needed.

// Countdown.tsx
import { useImperativeHandle, Ref } from "react";

export type CountdownHandle = {
  start: () => void;
};

type CountdownProps = {
  ref?: Ref<CountdownHandle>;
};

const Countdown = ({ ref }: CountdownProps) => {
  useImperativeHandle(ref, () => ({
    // start() has type inference here
    start() {
      alert("Start");
    },
  }));

  return <div>Countdown</div>;
};

// The component using the Countdown component
import { useEffect, useRef } from "react";
import Countdown, { CountdownHandle } from "./Countdown.tsx";

function App() {
  const countdownEl = useRef<CountdownHandle>(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    if (countdownEl.current) {
      // start() has type inference here as well
      countdownEl.current.start();
    }
  }, []);

  return <Countdown ref={countdownEl} />;
}

If you still maintain code that targets React < 19, see the forwardRef section for the legacy approach using forwardRef<CountdownHandle, CountdownProps>.

Custom Hooks

If you are returning an array in your Custom Hook, you will want to avoid type inference as TypeScript will infer a union type (when you actually want different types in each position of the array). Instead, use TS 3.4 const assertions:

import { useState } from "react";

export function useLoading() {
  const [isLoading, setState] = useState(false);
  const load = (aPromise: Promise<any>) => {
    setState(true);
    return aPromise.finally(() => setState(false));
  };
  return [isLoading, load] as const; // infers [boolean, typeof load] instead of (boolean | typeof load)[]
}

View in the TypeScript Playground

This way, when you destructure you actually get the right types based on destructure position.

Alternative: Asserting a tuple return type

If you are having trouble with const assertions, you can also assert or define the function return types:

import { useState } from "react";

export function useLoading() {
  const [isLoading, setState] = useState(false);
  const load = (aPromise: Promise<any>) => {
    setState(true);
    return aPromise.finally(() => setState(false));
  };
  return [isLoading, load] as [
    boolean,
    (aPromise: Promise<any>) => Promise<any>,
  ];
}

A helper function that automatically types tuples can also be helpful if you write a lot of custom hooks:

function tuplify<T extends any[]>(...elements: T) {
  return elements;
}

function useArray() {
  const numberValue = useRef(3).current;
  const functionValue = useRef(() => {}).current;
  return [numberValue, functionValue]; // type is (number | (() => void))[]
}

function useTuple() {
  const numberValue = useRef(3).current;
  const functionValue = useRef(() => {}).current;
  return tuplify(numberValue, functionValue); // type is [number, () => void]
}

Note that the React team recommends that custom hooks that return more than two values should use proper objects instead of tuples, however.

More Hooks + TypeScript reading:

If you are writing a React Hooks library, don't forget that you should also expose your types for users to use.

Example React Hooks + TypeScript Libraries:

Class Components

Within TypeScript, React.Component is a generic type (aka React.Component<PropType, StateType>), so you want to provide it with (optional) prop and state type parameters:

type MyProps = {
  // using `interface` is also ok
  message: string;
};
type MyState = {
  count: number; // like this
};
class App extends React.Component<MyProps, MyState> {
  state: MyState = {
    // optional second annotation for better type inference
    count: 0,
  };
  render() {
    return (
      <div>
        {this.props.message} {this.state.count}
      </div>
    );
  }
}

View in the TypeScript Playground

Don't forget that you can export/import/extend these types/interfaces for reuse.

Why annotate state twice?

It isn't strictly necessary to annotate the state class property, but it allows better type inference when accessing this.state and also initializing the state.

This is because they work in two different ways, the 2nd generic type parameter will allow this.setState() to work correctly, because that method comes from the base class, but initializing state inside the component overrides the base implementation so you have to make sure that you tell the compiler that you're not actually doing anything different.

See commentary by @ferdaber here.

No need for readonly

You often see sample code include readonly to mark props and state immutable:

type MyProps = {
  readonly message: string;
};
type MyState = {
  readonly count: number;
};

This is not necessary as React.Component<P,S> already marks them as immutable. (See PR and discussion!)

Class Methods: Do it like normal, but just remember any arguments for your functions also need to be typed:

class App extends React.Component<{ message: string }, { count: number }> {
  state = { count: 0 };
  render() {
    return (
      <div onClick={() => this.increment(1)}>
        {this.props.message} {this.state.count}
      </div>
    );
  }
  increment = (amt: number) => {
    // like this
    this.setState((state) => ({
      count: state.count + amt,
    }));
  };
}

View in the TypeScript Playground

Class Properties: If you need to declare class properties for later use, define them directly within the class body without an initial assignment:

class App extends React.Component<{
  message: string;
}> {
  pointer: number; // like this
  componentDidMount() {
    this.pointer = 3;
  }
  render() {
    return (
      <div>
        {this.props.message} and {this.pointer}
      </div>
    );
  }
}

View in the TypeScript Playground

Typing getDerivedStateFromProps

Before you start using getDerivedStateFromProps, please go through the documentation and You Probably Don't Need Derived State. Derived State can be implemented using hooks which can also help set up memoization.

Here are a few ways in which you can annotate getDerivedStateFromProps

If you have explicitly typed your derived state and want to make sure that the return value from getDerivedStateFromProps conforms to it.

class Comp extends React.Component<Props, State> {
  static getDerivedStateFromProps(
    props: Props,
    state: State,
  ): Partial<State> | null {
    //
  }
}

When you want the function's return value to determine your state.

class Comp extends React.Component<
  Props,
  ReturnType<(typeof Comp)["getDerivedStateFromProps"]>
> {
  static getDerivedStateFromProps(props: Props) {}
}

When you want derived state with other state fields and memoization

type CustomValue = any;
interface Props {
  propA: CustomValue;
}
interface DefinedState {
  otherStateField: string;
}
type State = DefinedState & ReturnType<typeof transformPropsToState>;
function transformPropsToState(props: Props) {
  return {
    savedPropA: props.propA, // save for memoization
    derivedState: props.propA,
  };
}
class Comp extends React.PureComponent<Props, State> {
  constructor(props: Props) {
    super(props);
    this.state = {
      otherStateField: "123",
      ...transformPropsToState(props),
    };
  }
  static getDerivedStateFromProps(props: Props, state: State) {
    if (isEqual(props.propA, state.savedPropA)) return null;
    return transformPropsToState(props);
  }
}

View in the TypeScript Playground

Function components

As of React 19, defaultProps is no longer supported on function components. Use destructuring defaults directly in the parameter list — TypeScript will infer the prop as optional automatically:

type GreetProps = { age?: number };

const Greet = ({ age = 21 }: GreetProps) => {
  // ...
};

If you prefer to declare defaults separately (for example, to share them across components), pull them into a constant and spread them when destructuring:

type GreetProps = { age?: number };

const defaultProps = { age: 21 } satisfies GreetProps;

const Greet = ({ age = defaultProps.age }: GreetProps) => {
  // ...
};

Setting Greet.defaultProps = { age: 21 } will not work on function components in React 19 — the value is ignored at runtime and FunctionComponent no longer types it.

Class components

Class components still support static defaultProps. The recommended approach is to type the props with the defaulted keys as required, and let LibraryManagedAttributes (applied automatically by JSX) make them optional at the call site:

type GreetProps = {
  age: number;
};

class Greet extends React.Component<GreetProps> {
  static defaultProps = {
    age: 21,
  };

  render() {
    return <div>Hello, I am {this.props.age}</div>;
  }
}

// Type-checks — `age` is optional at the call site thanks to defaultProps.
const el = <Greet />;

React.JSX.LibraryManagedAttributes nuance for library authors

If you export GreetProps for consumers, age will appear required even though defaultProps makes it optional at the call site. GreetProps is the internal contract — there's a separate external contract that JSX computes via React.JSX.LibraryManagedAttributes. You can compute it explicitly:

// internal contract — don't export
type GreetProps = {
  age: number;
};

class Greet extends React.Component<GreetProps> {
  static defaultProps = { age: 21 };
}

// external contract
export type ApparentGreetProps = React.JSX.LibraryManagedAttributes<
  typeof Greet,
  GreetProps
>;

For most apps this isn't needed — only library authors who re-export the props type tend to hit it.

Typing Component Props

This is intended as a basic orientation and reference for React developers familiarizing with TypeScript.

Basic Prop Types Examples

A list of TypeScript types you will likely use in a React+TypeScript app:

type AppProps = {
  message: string;
  count: number;
  disabled: boolean;
  /** array of a type! */
  names: string[];
  /** string literals to specify exact string values, with a union type to join them together */
  status: "waiting" | "success";
  /** an object with known properties (but could have more at runtime) */
  obj: {
    id: string;
    title: string;
  };
  /** array of objects! (common) */
  objArr: {
    id: string;
    title: string;
  }[];
  /** any non-primitive value - can't access any properties (NOT COMMON but useful as placeholder) */
  obj2: object;
  /** an interface with no required properties - (NOT COMMON, except for things like `React.Component<{}, State>`) */
  obj3: {};
  /** a dict object with any number of properties of the same type */
  dict1: {
    [key: string]: MyTypeHere;
  };
  dict2: Record<string, MyTypeHere>; // equivalent to dict1
  /** function that doesn't take or return anything (VERY COMMON) */
  onClick: () => void;
  /** function with named prop (VERY COMMON) */
  onChange: (id: number) => void;
  /** function type syntax that takes an event (VERY COMMON) */
  onChange: (event: React.ChangeEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => void;
  /** alternative function type syntax that takes an event (VERY COMMON) */
  onClick(event: React.MouseEvent<HTMLButtonElement>): void;
  /** any function as long as you don't invoke it (not recommended) */
  onSomething: Function;
  /** an optional prop (VERY COMMON!) */
  optional?: OptionalType;
  /** when passing down the state setter function returned by `useState` to a child component. `number` is an example, swap out with whatever the type of your state */
  setState: React.Dispatch<React.SetStateAction<number>>;
};

`object` as the non-primitive type

object is a common source of misunderstanding in TypeScript. It does not mean "any object" but rather "any non-primitive type", which means it represents anything that is not number, bigint, string, boolean, symbol, null or undefined.

Typing "any non-primitive value" is most likely not something that you should do much in React, which means you will probably not use object much.

Empty interface, `{}` and `Object`

An empty interface, {} and Object all represent "any non-nullish value"—not "an empty object" as you might think. Using these types is a common source of misunderstanding and is not recommended.

interface AnyNonNullishValue {} // equivalent to `type AnyNonNullishValue = {}` or `type AnyNonNullishValue = Object`

let value: AnyNonNullishValue;

// these are all fine, but might not be expected
value = 1;
value = "foo";
value = () => alert("foo");
value = {};
value = { foo: "bar" };

// these are errors
value = undefined;
value = null;

Useful React Prop Type Examples

Relevant for components that accept other React components as props.

export declare interface AppProps {
  children?: React.ReactNode; // best, accepts everything React can render
  childrenElement: React.JSX.Element; // A single React element
  style?: React.CSSProperties; // to pass through style props
  onChange?: React.FormEventHandler<HTMLInputElement>; // form events! the generic parameter is the type of event.target
  //  more info: https://react-typescript-cheatsheet.netlify.app/docs/basic/getting-started/patterns_by_usecase/#wrappingmirroring
  props: Props & React.ComponentPropsWithoutRef<"button">; // to impersonate all the props of a button element and explicitly not forwarding its ref
  props2: Props & React.ComponentPropsWithRef<MyButtonWithForwardRef>; // to impersonate all the props of MyButtonForwardedRef and explicitly forwarding its ref
}

React.JSX.Element vs React.ReactNode?

Quote @ferdaber: A more technical explanation is that a valid React node is not the same thing as what is returned by React.createElement. Regardless of what a component ends up rendering, React.createElement always returns an object, which is the React.JSX.Element interface, but React.ReactNode is the set of all possible return values of a component.

React.JSX.Element -> Return value of React.createElement
React.ReactNode -> Return value of a component

More discussion: Where ReactNode does not overlap with React.JSX.Element

Types or Interfaces?

You can use either Types or Interfaces to type Props and State, so naturally the question arises - which do you use?

TL;DR

Use Interface until You Need Type - orta.

More Advice

Here's a helpful rule of thumb:

always use interface for public API's definition when authoring a library or 3rd party ambient type definitions, as this allows a consumer to extend them via declaration merging if some definitions are missing.
consider using type for your React Component Props and State, for consistency and because it is more constrained.

You can read more about the reasoning behind this rule of thumb in Interface vs Type alias in TypeScript 2.7.

The TypeScript Handbook now also includes guidance on Differences Between Type Aliases and Interfaces.

Note: At scale, there are performance reasons to prefer interfaces (see official Microsoft notes on this) but take this with a grain of salt

Types are useful for union types (e.g. type MyType = TypeA | TypeB) whereas Interfaces are better for declaring dictionary shapes and then implementing or extending them.

Useful table for Types vs Interfaces

It's a nuanced topic, don't get too hung up on it. Here's a handy table:

Aspect	Type	Interface
Can describe functions	✅	✅
Can describe constructors	✅	✅
Can describe tuples	✅	✅
Interfaces can extend it	⚠️	✅
Classes can extend it	🚫	✅
Classes can implement it (`implements`)	⚠️	✅
Can intersect another one of its kind	✅	⚠️
Can create a union with another one of its kind	✅	🚫
Can be used to create mapped types	✅	🚫
Can be mapped over with mapped types	✅	✅
Expands in error messages and logs	✅	🚫
Can be augmented	🚫	✅
Can be recursive	⚠️	✅

⚠️ In some cases

(source: Karol Majewski)

getDerivedStateFromProps

Before you start using getDerivedStateFromProps, please go through the documentation and You Probably Don't Need Derived State. Derived State can be easily achieved using hooks which can also help set up memoization easily.

Here are a few ways in which you can annotate getDerivedStateFromProps

If you have explicitly typed your derived state and want to make sure that the return value from getDerivedStateFromProps conforms to it.

class Comp extends React.Component<Props, State> {
  static getDerivedStateFromProps(
    props: Props,
    state: State,
  ): Partial<State> | null {
    //
  }
}

When you want the function's return value to determine your state.

class Comp extends React.Component<
  Props,
  ReturnType<(typeof Comp)["getDerivedStateFromProps"]>
> {
  static getDerivedStateFromProps(props: Props) {}
}

When you want derived state with other state fields and memoization

type CustomValue = any;
interface Props {
  propA: CustomValue;
}
interface DefinedState {
  otherStateField: string;
}
type State = DefinedState & ReturnType<typeof transformPropsToState>;
function transformPropsToState(props: Props) {
  return {
    savedPropA: props.propA, // save for memoization
    derivedState: props.propA,
  };
}
class Comp extends React.PureComponent<Props, State> {
  constructor(props: Props) {
    super(props);
    this.state = {
      otherStateField: "123",
      ...transformPropsToState(props),
    };
  }
  static getDerivedStateFromProps(props: Props, state: State) {
    if (isEqual(props.propA, state.savedPropA)) return null;
    return transformPropsToState(props);
  }
}

View in the TypeScript Playground

Forms and Events

If performance is not an issue (and it usually isn't!), inlining handlers is easiest as you can just use type inference and contextual typing:

const el = (
  <button
    onClick={(event) => {
      /* event will be correctly typed automatically! */
    }}
  />
);

But if you need to define your event handler separately, IDE tooling really comes in handy here, as the @type definitions come with a wealth of typing. Type what you are looking for and usually the autocomplete will help you out. Here is what it looks like for an onChange for a form event:

type State = {
  text: string;
};
class App extends React.Component<Props, State> {
  state = {
    text: "",
  };

  // typing on RIGHT hand side of =
  onChange = (e: React.FormEvent<HTMLInputElement>): void => {
    this.setState({ text: e.currentTarget.value });
  };
  render() {
    return (
      <div>
        <input type="text" value={this.state.text} onChange={this.onChange} />
      </div>
    );
  }
}

View in the TypeScript Playground

Instead of typing the arguments and return values with React.FormEvent<> and void, you may alternatively apply types to the event handler itself (contributed by @TomasHubelbauer):

// typing on LEFT hand side of =
onChange: React.ChangeEventHandler<HTMLInputElement> = (e) => {
  this.setState({ text: e.currentTarget.value });
};

Why two ways to do the same thing?

The first method uses an inferred method signature (e: React.FormEvent<HTMLInputElement>): void and the second method enforces a type of the delegate provided by @types/react. So React.ChangeEventHandler<> is simply a "blessed" typing by @types/react, whereas you can think of the inferred method as more... artisanally hand-rolled. Either way it's a good pattern to know. See our Github PR for more.

Starting with React v19.2.10 FormEvent and FormEventHandler are deprecated and should be replaced with SubmitEvent and SubmitEventHandler. The older event types will still work but trigger a deprecation message.

Typing onSubmit, with Uncontrolled components in a Form

If you don't quite care about the type of the event, you can just use React.SyntheticEvent. If your target form has custom named inputs that you'd like to access, you can use a type assertion:

<form
  ref={formRef}
  onSubmit={(e: React.SyntheticEvent) => {
    e.preventDefault();
    const target = e.target as typeof e.target & {
      email: { value: string };
      password: { value: string };
    };
    const email = target.email.value; // typechecks!
    const password = target.password.value; // typechecks!
    // etc...
  }}
>
  <div>
    <label>
      Email:
      <input type="email" name="email" />
    </label>
  </div>
  <div>
    <label>
      Password:
      <input type="password" name="password" />
    </label>
  </div>
  <div>
    <input type="submit" value="Log in" />
  </div>
</form>

View in the TypeScript Playground

Of course, if you're making any sort of significant form, you should use Formik or React Hook Form, which are written in TypeScript.

List of event types

Event Type	Description
AnimationEvent	CSS Animations.
ChangeEvent	Changing the value of `<input>`, `<select>` and `<textarea>` element.
ClipboardEvent	Using copy, paste and cut events.
CompositionEvent	Events that occur due to the user indirectly entering text (e.g. depending on Browser and PC setup, a popup window may appear with additional characters if you e.g. want to type Japanese on a US Keyboard)
DragEvent	Drag and drop interaction with a pointer device (e.g. mouse).
FocusEvent	Event that occurs when elements gets or loses focus.
FormEvent	Event that occurs whenever a form or form element gets/loses focus, a form element value is changed or the form is submitted.
InvalidEvent	Fired when validity restrictions of an input fails (e.g `<input type="number" max="10">` and someone would insert number 20).
KeyboardEvent	User interaction with the keyboard. Each event describes a single key interaction.
InputEvent	Event that occurs before the value of `<input>`, `<select>` and `<textarea>` changes.
MouseEvent	Events that occur due to the user interacting with a pointing device (e.g. mouse)
PointerEvent	Events that occur due to user interaction with a variety pointing of devices such as mouse, pen/stylus, a touchscreen and which also supports multi-touch. Unless you develop for older browsers (IE10 or Safari 12), pointer events are recommended. Extends UIEvent.
TouchEvent	Events that occur due to the user interacting with a touch device. Extends UIEvent.
TransitionEvent	CSS Transition. Not fully browser supported. Extends UIEvent
UIEvent	Base Event for Mouse, Touch and Pointer events.
WheelEvent	Scrolling on a mouse wheel or similar input device. (Note: `wheel` event should not be confused with the `scroll` event)
SyntheticEvent	The base event for all above events. Should be used when unsure about event type

Context

Basic example

Here's a basic example of creating a context containing the active theme.

import { createContext } from "react";

type ThemeContextType = "light" | "dark";

const ThemeContext = createContext<ThemeContextType>("light");

Wrap the components that need the context by rendering the context itself as a provider. In React 19, the context object can be rendered directly — you no longer need <ThemeContext.Provider>:

import { useState } from "react";

const App = () => {
  const [theme, setTheme] = useState<ThemeContextType>("light");

  return (
    <ThemeContext value={theme}>
      <MyComponent />
    </ThemeContext>
  );
};

<ThemeContext.Provider value={theme}> still works and is identical in behavior — it's just the legacy spelling.

Read the context with use:

import { use } from "react";

const MyComponent = () => {
  const theme = use(ThemeContext);

  return <p>The current theme is {theme}.</p>;
};

useContext(ThemeContext) still works too. The main difference is that use can also unwrap a promise, and it can be called inside conditions and loops.

Without default context value

If you don't have any meaningful default value, specify null:

import { createContext } from "react";

interface CurrentUserContextType {
  username: string;
}

const CurrentUserContext = createContext<CurrentUserContextType | null>(null);

const App = () => {
  const [currentUser, setCurrentUser] = useState<CurrentUserContextType>({
    username: "filiptammergard",
  });

  return (
    <CurrentUserContext value={currentUser}>
      <MyComponent />
    </CurrentUserContext>
  );
};

Now that the type of the context can be null, you'll notice that you'll get a 'currentUser' is possibly 'null' TypeScript error if you try to access the username property. You can use optional chaining to access username:

import { use } from "react";

const MyComponent = () => {
  const currentUser = use(CurrentUserContext);

  return <p>Name: {currentUser?.username}.</p>;
};

However, it would be preferable to not have to check for null, since we know that the context won't be null. One way to do that is to provide a custom hook to use the context, where an error is thrown if the context is not provided:

import { createContext, use } from "react";

interface CurrentUserContextType {
  username: string;
}

const CurrentUserContext = createContext<CurrentUserContextType | null>(null);

const useCurrentUser = () => {
  const currentUserContext = use(CurrentUserContext);

  if (!currentUserContext) {
    throw new Error(
      "useCurrentUser has to be used within <CurrentUserContext>",
    );
  }

  return currentUserContext;
};

Using a runtime type check in this will have the benefit of printing a clear error message in the console when a provider is not wrapping the components properly. Now it's possible to access currentUser.username without checking for null:

const MyComponent = () => {
  const currentUser = useCurrentUser();

  return <p>Username: {currentUser.username}.</p>;
};

Type assertion as an alternative

Another way to avoid having to check for null is to use type assertion to tell TypeScript you know the context is not null:

import { use } from "react";

const MyComponent = () => {
  const currentUser = use(CurrentUserContext);

  return <p>Name: {currentUser!.username}.</p>;
};

Another option is to use an empty object as default value and cast it to the expected context type:

const CurrentUserContext = createContext<CurrentUserContextType>(
  {} as CurrentUserContextType,
);

You can also use non-null assertion to get the same result:

const CurrentUserContext = createContext<CurrentUserContextType>(null!);

When you don't know what to choose, prefer runtime checking and throwing over type asserting.

forwardRef/createRef

For useRef, check the Hooks section.

Ref as a Prop (Recommended for React 19+)

In React 19+, you can access ref directly as a prop in function components - no forwardRef wrapper needed.

Option 1: Inherit all props from a native element

Use ComponentPropsWithRef to inherit all props from a native element.

import { ComponentPropsWithRef, useRef } from "react";

function MyInput(props: ComponentPropsWithRef<"input">) {
  return <input {...props} />;
}

// Usage in parent component
function Parent() {
  const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);

  return <MyInput ref={inputRef} placeholder="Type here..." />;
}

Option 2: Explicit typing

If you have custom props and want fine-grained control, you can explicitly type the ref:

import { Ref, useRef } from "react";

interface MyInputProps {
  placeholder: string;
  ref: Ref<HTMLInputElement>;
}

function MyInput(props: MyInputProps) {
  return <input {...props} />;
}

// Usage in parent component
function Parent() {
  const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);

  return <MyInput ref={inputRef} placeholder="Type here..." />;
}

Read more: Wrapping/Mirroring a HTML Element

Legacy Approaches (Pre-React 19)

forwardRef

For React 18 and earlier, use forwardRef:

import { forwardRef, ReactNode } from "react";

interface Props {
  children?: ReactNode;
  type: "submit" | "button";
}
export type Ref = HTMLButtonElement;

export const FancyButton = forwardRef<Ref, Props>((props, ref) => (
  <button ref={ref} className="MyClassName" type={props.type}>
    {props.children}
  </button>
));

Side note: the ref you get from forwardRef is mutable so you can assign to it if needed.

This was done on purpose. You can make it immutable if you have to - assign React.Ref if you want to ensure nobody reassigns it:

import { forwardRef, ReactNode, Ref } from "react";

interface Props {
  children?: ReactNode;
  type: "submit" | "button";
}

export const FancyButton = forwardRef(
  (
    props: Props,
    ref: Ref<HTMLButtonElement>, // <-- explicit immutable ref type
  ) => (
    <button ref={ref} className="MyClassName" type={props.type}>
      {props.children}
    </button>
  ),
);

If you need to grab props from a component that forwards refs, use ComponentPropsWithRef.

createRef

createRef is mostly used for class components. Function components typically rely on useRef instead.

import { createRef, PureComponent } from "react";

class CssThemeProvider extends PureComponent<Props> {
  private rootRef = createRef<HTMLDivElement>();

  render() {
    return <div ref={this.rootRef}>{this.props.children}</div>;
  }
}

Generic Components with Refs

Generic components typically require manual ref handling since their generic nature prevents automatic type inference. Here are the main approaches:

Option 1: Wrapper Component

The most straightforward approach is to manually handle refs through props:

interface ClickableListProps<T> {
  items: T[];
  onSelect: (item: T) => void;
  mRef?: React.Ref<HTMLUListElement> | null;
}

export function ClickableList<T>(props: ClickableListProps<T>) {
  return (
    <ul ref={props.mRef}>
      {props.items.map((item, i) => (
        <li key={i}>
          <button onClick={() => props.onSelect(item)}>Select</button>
          {item}
        </li>
      ))}
    </ul>
  );
}

Option 2: Redeclare forwardRef

For true forwardRef behavior with generics, extend the module declaration:

// Redeclare forwardRef to support generics
declare module "react" {
  function forwardRef<T, P = {}>(
    render: (props: P, ref: React.Ref<T>) => React.ReactElement | null,
  ): (props: P & React.RefAttributes<T>) => React.ReactElement | null;
}

// Now you can use forwardRef with generics normally
import { forwardRef, ForwardedRef } from "react";

interface ClickableListProps<T> {
  items: T[];
  onSelect: (item: T) => void;
}

function ClickableListInner<T>(
  props: ClickableListProps<T>,
  ref: ForwardedRef<HTMLUListElement>,
) {
  return (
    <ul ref={ref}>
      {props.items.map((item, i) => (
        <li key={i}>
          <button onClick={() => props.onSelect(item)}>Select</button>
          {item}
        </li>
      ))}
    </ul>
  );
}

export const ClickableList = forwardRef(ClickableListInner);

Option 3: Call Signature

If you need both generic support and proper forwardRef behavior with full type inference, you can use the call signature:

// Add to your type definitions (e.g. in `index.d.ts` file)
interface ForwardRefWithGenerics extends React.FC<WithForwardRefProps<Option>> {
  <T extends Option>(
    props: WithForwardRefProps<T>,
  ): ReturnType<React.FC<WithForwardRefProps<T>>>;
}

export const ClickableListWithForwardRef: ForwardRefWithGenerics =
  forwardRef(ClickableList);

Credits: https://stackoverflow.com/a/73795494

:::note Option 1 is usually sufficient and clearer. Use Option 2 when you specifically need forwardRef behavior. Use Option 3 for advanced library scenarios requiring both generics and full forwardRef type inference. :::

Additional Resources

Something to add? File an issue

Portals

Using ReactDOM.createPortal:

const modalRoot = document.getElementById("modal-root") as HTMLElement;
// assuming in your html file has a div with id 'modal-root';

export class Modal extends React.Component<{ children?: React.ReactNode }> {
  el: HTMLElement = document.createElement("div");

  componentDidMount() {
    modalRoot.appendChild(this.el);
  }

  componentWillUnmount() {
    modalRoot.removeChild(this.el);
  }

  render() {
    return ReactDOM.createPortal(this.props.children, this.el);
  }
}

View in the TypeScript Playground

Using hooks

Same as above but using hooks

import { useEffect, useRef, ReactNode } from "react";
import { createPortal } from "react-dom";

const modalRoot = document.querySelector("#modal-root") as HTMLElement;

type ModalProps = {
  children: ReactNode;
};

function Modal({ children }: ModalProps) {
  // create div element only once using ref
  const elRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null);
  if (!elRef.current) elRef.current = document.createElement("div");

  useEffect(() => {
    const el = elRef.current!; // non-null assertion because it will never be null
    modalRoot.appendChild(el);
    return () => {
      modalRoot.removeChild(el);
    };
  }, []);

  return createPortal(children, elRef.current);
}

View in the TypeScript Playground

Modal Component Usage Example:

import { useState } from "react";

function App() {
  const [showModal, setShowModal] = useState(false);

  return (
    <div>
      // you can also put this in your static html file
      <div id="modal-root"></div>
      {showModal && (
        <Modal>
          <div
            style={{
              display: "grid",
              placeItems: "center",
              height: "100vh",
              width: "100vh",
              background: "rgba(0,0,0,0.1)",
              zIndex: 99,
            }}
          >
            I'm a modal!{" "}
            <button
              style={{ background: "papayawhip" }}
              onClick={() => setShowModal(false)}
            >
              close
            </button>
          </div>
        </Modal>
      )}
      <button onClick={() => setShowModal(true)}>show Modal</button>
      // rest of your app
    </div>
  );
}

Context of Example

This example is based on the Event Bubbling Through Portal example of React docs.

Error Boundaries

Option 1: Using react-error-boundary

React-error-boundary - is a lightweight package ready to use for this scenario with TS support built-in. This approach also lets you avoid class components that are not that popular anymore.

Option 2: Writing your custom error boundary component

If you don't want to add a new npm package for this, you can also write your own ErrorBoundary component.

import React, { Component, ErrorInfo, ReactNode } from "react";

interface Props {
  children?: ReactNode;
}

interface State {
  hasError: boolean;
}

class ErrorBoundary extends Component<Props, State> {
  public state: State = {
    hasError: false
  };

  public static getDerivedStateFromError(_: Error): State {
    // Update state so the next render will show the fallback UI.
    return { hasError: true };
  }

  public componentDidCatch(error: Error, errorInfo: ErrorInfo) {
    console.error("Uncaught error:", error, errorInfo);
  }

  public render() {
    if (this.state.hasError) {
      return <h1>Sorry.. there was an error</h1>;
    }

    return this.props.children;
  }
}

export default ErrorBoundary;

Concurrent React

The Concurrent React APIs (Suspense, useTransition, useDeferredValue, startTransition, use) let you keep the UI responsive while React renders work in the background or waits for data. They're all stable as of React 18 and gained additional capabilities in React 19.

`Suspense`

Suspense lets you declaratively show a fallback while a child component is waiting for something — typically data unwrapped with use(promise), a lazy component, or a streamed boundary on the server.

import { Suspense } from "react";

const UserProfile = ({ userPromise }: { userPromise: Promise<User> }) => {
  const user = use(userPromise);
  return <p>Hello, {user.name}!</p>;
};

const App = ({ userPromise }: { userPromise: Promise<User> }) => (
  <Suspense fallback={<p>Loading...</p>}>
    <UserProfile userPromise={userPromise} />
  </Suspense>
);

SuspenseProps is typed as { children?: ReactNode; fallback?: ReactNode }. The fallback can be any ReactNode, including null.

`use`

use reads the value of a context or a promise. Unlike useContext, it can be called inside conditions and loops, and it integrates with Suspense for promises.

import { use } from "react";

const Comments = ({
  commentsPromise,
}: {
  commentsPromise: Promise<Comment[]>;
}) => {
  // Suspends until the promise resolves; throws to the nearest <Suspense>.
  const comments = use(commentsPromise);
  return (
    <ul>
      {comments.map((c) => (
        <li key={c.id}>{c.text}</li>
      ))}
    </ul>
  );
};

The promise is typically created by a parent and passed down — don't create it inside the component, or you'll create a new promise on every render.

`useTransition`

useTransition marks a state update as non-urgent so React can keep typing, scrolling, and other urgent input responsive while it renders.

import { useState, useTransition } from "react";

const TabSwitcher = () => {
  const [isPending, startTransition] = useTransition();
  const [tab, setTab] = useState<"posts" | "comments">("posts");

  const selectTab = (next: "posts" | "comments") => {
    startTransition(() => {
      setTab(next);
    });
  };

  return (
    <>
      <button disabled={isPending} onClick={() => selectTab("posts")}>
        Posts
      </button>
      <button disabled={isPending} onClick={() => selectTab("comments")}>
        Comments
      </button>
      {tab === "posts" ? <Posts /> : <Comments />}
    </>
  );
};

Async transitions (React 19)

In React 19, the function passed to startTransition can be async. This is the foundation for Actions and is how useActionState and <form action> schedule their pending state.

const [isPending, startTransition] = useTransition();

const onSubmit = () => {
  startTransition(async () => {
    await saveDraft(content);
    setSavedAt(new Date());
  });
};

isPending stays true for the entire duration of the async callback, including awaited work.

`useDeferredValue`

useDeferredValue lets you defer re-rendering a part of the UI that's expensive to compute, so urgent updates (typing into an input) can flush first.

import { useDeferredValue, useState } from "react";

const SearchPage = () => {
  const [query, setQuery] = useState("");
  const deferredQuery = useDeferredValue(query);

  return (
    <>
      <input value={query} onChange={(e) => setQuery(e.target.value)} />
      {/* SearchResults re-renders with deferredQuery, lagging behind input */}
      <SearchResults query={deferredQuery} />
    </>
  );
};

`initialValue` (React 19)

React 19 added an optional second argument: the value to use during the initial render before the deferred value has caught up. Useful for SSR/streaming when you want to show a known initial value rather than the latest one.

const deferredQuery = useDeferredValue(query, "");

`startTransition` (standalone)

startTransition is also exported directly from react for use outside components — for example, inside event handlers in non-React code or third-party stores.

import { startTransition } from "react";

store.subscribe(() => {
  startTransition(() => {
    forceRender();
  });
});

The standalone version does not provide an isPending flag — use the hook if you need that.

My question isn't answered here!

File an issue.

Contributors

This project follows the all-contributors specification. See CONTRIBUTORS.md for the full list. Contributions of any kind welcome!

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README

React TypeScript Cheatsheet

Cheatsheet

Table of Contents

Introduction

Prerequisites

React and TypeScript starter kits

Try React and TypeScript online

Getting Started

Function Components

Hooks

useState

useCallback

useReducer

useEffect / useLayoutEffect

useRef

Option 1: DOM element ref

Option 2: Mutable value ref

See also

useImperativeHandle

Custom Hooks

More Hooks + TypeScript reading:

Example React Hooks + TypeScript Libraries:

Class Components

Typing getDerivedStateFromProps

Function components

Class components

Typing Component Props

Basic Prop Types Examples

object as the non-primitive type

Empty interface, {} and Object

Useful React Prop Type Examples

Types or Interfaces?

TL;DR

More Advice

Useful table for Types vs Interfaces

getDerivedStateFromProps

Forms and Events

List of event types

Context

Basic example

Without default context value

Type assertion as an alternative

forwardRef/createRef

Ref as a Prop (Recommended for React 19+)

Option 1: Inherit all props from a native element

Option 2: Explicit typing

Legacy Approaches (Pre-React 19)

forwardRef

createRef

Generic Components with Refs

Option 1: Wrapper Component

Option 2: Redeclare forwardRef

Option 3: Call Signature

Additional Resources

Portals

Error Boundaries

Option 1: Using react-error-boundary

Option 2: Writing your custom error boundary component

Concurrent React

Suspense

use

useTransition

Async transitions (React 19)

useDeferredValue

initialValue (React 19)

startTransition (standalone)

See also

My question isn't answered here!

Contributors

`object` as the non-primitive type

Empty interface, `{}` and `Object`

`Suspense`

`use`

`useTransition`

`useDeferredValue`

`initialValue` (React 19)

`startTransition` (standalone)