Implementing the useTrackedEffect Custom Hook

Here’s the implementation of a useTrackedEffect hook for React:

jsx

import { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';

/**
 * A custom React hook that tracks which dependencies changed between renders
 *
 * @param {Function} effect - Effect callback that receives information about changed dependencies
 * @param {Array} dependencies - Array of dependencies to track
 */
const useTrackedEffect = (effect, dependencies) => {
  const previousDependencies = useRef(dependencies);

  useEffect(() => {
    // Skip first render
    if (previousDependencies.current) {
      // Create an object to track which dependencies changed
      const changedDeps = dependencies.reduce((acc, dep, index) => {
        // Compare current dependency with previous one
        if (dep !== previousDependencies.current[index]) {
          acc[index] = {
            from: previousDependencies.current[index],
            to: dep,
          };
        }
        return acc;
      }, {});

      // Only run effect if at least one dependency changed
      if (Object.keys(changedDeps).length > 0) {
        // Call the effect with changed dependencies info
        return effect(changedDeps);
      }
    }

    // Update previous dependencies for next render
    previousDependencies.current = dependencies;

    // Return cleanup function from effect (if any)
    return () => {
      if (effect.cleanup && typeof effect.cleanup === 'function') {
        effect.cleanup();
      }
    };
  }, dependencies);
};

export default useTrackedEffect;

The useTrackedEffect hook is a powerful enhancement to React’s standard useEffect. Here’s how it works:

Core Functionality

The hook tracks which specific dependencies changed between renders, giving you precise information about what triggered your effect. This is incredibly useful for debugging and performance optimization.

Key Components

1. Dependency Tracking:

Uses useRef to store the previous render’s dependencies
Compares current dependencies with previous ones on each render

2. Change Detection Algorithm:

The reduce function creates an object that maps:

The index of each changed dependency
Both the previous (from) and current (to) values

3. Conditional Execution:

Only executes the effect if at least one dependency changed
Passes the change information to your effect callback

4. Cleanup Handling:

Supports cleanup functions just like standard useEffect
Checks if the effect has a cleanup property that’s a function

Usage Example

jsx

import useTrackedEffect from './useTrackedEffect';

import useTrackedEffect from './useTrackedEffect';

function ProfileComponent({ userId, settings }) {
  useTrackedEffect(
    changes => {
      // Log which specific dependencies changed
      console.log('Changed dependencies:', changes);

      // You can see exactly what triggered this effect
      if (changes[0]) {
        console.log(
          `User ID changed from ${changes[0].from} to ${changes[0].to}`
        );
        // Fetch new user data...
      }

      if (changes[1]) {
        console.log(
          `Settings changed from`,
          changes[1].from,
          `to`,
          changes[1].to
        );
        // Apply new settings...
      }

      // Optional cleanup function
      return () => {
        console.log('Cleaning up previous effect');
      };
    },
    [userId, settings]
  );

  return <div>Profile Content</div>;
}

Benefits

Precise debugging: Immediately see which dependency caused a re-render
Performance optimization: Target your optimizations at the exact dependencies causing unnecessary re-renders
Better control flow: Make decisions in your effect based on which specific values changed

This hook is especially valuable in complex components with multiple dependencies where standard useEffect doesn’t provide enough context about what triggered the effect.