There are 3 possible options to create a constant in React: useState, useMemo and useRef. We're going to see which one is the best way to create real constants (not constant-like values).

I talked about the useConst hook from chakra-ui in a previous post, and I recently found the same hook in Fluent UI so we are going to see why they've implemented it.

Remember useMemo

The first thing I think of when I look for a constant in a render function is the use of useMemo hook. This is a good option, but only if your "constant" value shouldn't change based on the dependencies.

const memoizedValue = useMemo(
  () => computeExpensiveValue(a, b),
  [a, b]
);

There is no guarantee that the returned value of useMemo is always the same even when the dependencies didn't change. For this reason React runs the factory function if the tool believes that the value should be re created.

🧠 The official documentation says:

Write your code so that it still works without useMemo — and then add it to optimize performance.

The useState option

If a state doesn't change, then it's a constant.

const [value] = useState(initialValue);

Yeah, we can create a constant with useState but it's expensive due to reducer handling which we don't need.

🧙‍♂️ If you want to learn how React handles its hooks inside the Fiber reconciler, you should read the Fiber hooks code.

A useRef approach

The useRef hook can hold a value, and it neither has an internal reducer nor checks on the dependencies array. Also, React doesn't re-create the value for performance reasons.

const useConst = (initialValue) => {
  const ref = React.useRef();
  if (ref.current === undefined) {
    ref.current = typeof initialValue === 'function' ? initialValue() : initialValue;
  }
  return ref.current;
}

💡 This is the cheapest way to create a constant value over the lifecycle of a component.

Conclusion

❌ Don't use useState to create constants because it's expensive.

🥸 If you need a constant-like value based on some dependencies then useMemo is for you (but your code should still work without this hook).

✅ If you need a real constant over the lifecycle of a component, useRef is the solution that you need, and remember that some libraries like Chakra UI or Fluent UI provides a built-in useConst for this.