Should useEffectEvent Return Cleanup for useEffect?

No, useEffectEvent should not return a cleanup callback for the enclosing useEffect in React. This pattern blurs the line between non-reactive event logic and the reactive lifecycle management that useEffect handles directly, potentially leading to confusion and bugs down the line. Stick to best practices: keep cleanup symmetrical and contained within useEffect itself, using useEffectEvent strictly for stable, non-reactive callbacks like event handlers.

Contents

• What is useEffectEvent?
• useEffect Cleanup Basics
• The Proposed Pattern Analyzed
• Why You Should Avoid This Approach
• React Best Practices for Effects and Events
• Working Examples Without Cleanup in useEffectEvent
• Alternatives for Complex Cleanup Logic
• Sources
• Conclusion

What is useEffectEvent?

Ever wondered why your useEffect keeps re-running because of some innocent-looking callback inside it? That’s where useEffectEvent comes in—it’s a React 19.2 hook designed to pull out non-reactive logic from effects, keeping them stable without triggering unnecessary re-runs. Think of it as a way to say, “This bit doesn’t care about state changes; just call me when needed.”

According to the official React documentation, useEffectEvent creates an “Effect Event”—a function that ignores reactive dependencies. You wrap event-like code in it, and boom, your useEffect won’t restart every time props or state shift. But here’s the catch: it’s not magic. It reads current values at call time via refs under the hood, avoiding stale closures.

In practice, you’ll see it for things like onMove handlers in drag logic or analytics pings that shouldn’t force effect re-execution. Searches for “useEffectEvent React” spiked recently (around 4 monthly queries), showing devs grappling with effects gone wild. Yet, its power lies in simplicity—non-reactive means no deps array fuss.

Does it replace useCallback? Nah, not quite. useEffectEvent is effect-specific, optimized for that context.

useEffect Cleanup Basics

Before diving into mixing these hooks, let’s nail down useEffect cleanup. Every useEffect can return a function that React calls on unmount or before the next run if deps change. It’s your chance to undo subscriptions, clear timers, or detach listeners—symmetrical to the setup.

The React docs on useEffect stress this symmetry: if you add an event listener, return removeEventListener. Skip it, and you risk memory leaks or ghost updates on unmounted components. Picture a timer: set it up, return clearTimeout(id). Clean. Predictable.

Why does this matter? Components unmount fast in SPAs. Without cleanup, your app might try updating state on a dead component—crash city. Blogs like LogRocket’s deep dive hammer this home: cleanup prevents leaks and unwanted side effects during re-renders.

And timing? React runs cleanup right before the next effect or on unmount. Two scenarios, as React Training explains: dep changes trigger prior cleanup, unmount seals the deal.

Short version: Cleanup belongs in useEffect. It’s reactive by design.

The Proposed Pattern Analyzed

Your example? Clever on the surface. onNavigate as useEffectEvent logs a visit with numberOfItems, returns myLogCleanup, and useEffect invokes it for setup then returns that cleanup. Compact, right? Ties log setup and teardown neatly.

const onNavigate = useEffectEvent((visitedUrl) => {
 logVisit(visitedUrl, numberOfItems); // Uses current items via ref magic
 return myLogCleanup;
});

useEffect(() => {
 const cleanup = onNavigate(url);
 return cleanup;
}, [url]);

But peel it back. useEffectEvent promises non-reactivity—your effect only re-runs on url changes, not items. Solid. The cleanup flows through, invoked correctly on unmount or url shifts.

Is it broken? Technically, no. React won’t complain; it’ll call the returned function. Yet, community posts on Medium note this edges into gray area. useEffectEvent extracts logic to avoid effect triggers, not to delegate core lifecycle duties like cleanup.

Test it: Works for logging. But scale to intervals or WebSockets? The non-reactive wrapper might mask issues if cleanup needs reactivity itself.

Why You Should Avoid This Approach

So, should you do it? Generally, no. It fights useEffectEvent’s purpose. The React guide on separating events from effects shows useEffectEvent for handlers like onMove, but useEffect owns the cleanup (removeEventListener). No handoff.

Reasons stack up quick:

• Design intent mismatch. Effect Events ignore deps; cleanups are inherently tied to them. Returning one from a non-reactive func confuses readers—is this event logic or lifecycle?

• Debugging hell. Stack traces mix event and effect. When does myLogCleanup run? Trace back through useEffectEvent? Messy.

• Future breakage risk. React evolves fast. What if useEffectEvent gets stricter? Blogs like Syntackle call it for “events inside useEffect,” not full lifecycle proxies.

• Symmetry breaks. Official advice: Cleanup mirrors setup in the same effect. Outsourcing dilutes that.

Nico’s quick look echoes: Extract non-reactive logic, not infrastructure.

Exceptions? Rare. Ultra-complex shared teardown across multiple effects? Maybe. But 99% of cases? Avoid. “useEffect cleanup” queries (6/mo) mostly seek direct patterns, not hacks.

And performance? Negligible diff, but clarity wins.

React Best Practices for Effects and Events

Want bulletproof code? Follow these:

1. useEffectEvent for events only. Analytics fires, drags, non-dom updates. No cleanup returns. Per React useEffectEvent docs.

2. Cleanup stays in useEffect. Always return teardown directly. Symmetry rules.

3. Deps array discipline. ESLint’s exhaustive-deps is your friend—fix warnings, don’t silence.

4. Refs for stable values. useEffectEvent uses them implicitly; expose manually if needed elsewhere.

5. Layout effects for sync needs. Blocking paints? useLayoutEffect.

From Refine.dev, cleanup fights leaks; pair with events to keep effects lean.

Real talk: I’ve refactored dozens of effects. Direct cleanup scales better. Your log example? Move logVisit and myLogCleanup straight into useEffect if it’s url-tied. Or make onNavigate pure event, handle log cleanup separately.

Test unmounts rigorously. Console logs everywhere.

Working Examples Without Cleanup in useEffectEvent

Let’s code it right. Shopping cart nav tracker, sans the pattern.

Bad (your way—works but meh):

// As above—skippable

Good: Separate concerns.

import { useEffect, useEffectEvent } from 'react';

function Page({ url }) {
 const { items } = useShoppingCartContext(); // Assume context

 const logVisit = useEffectEvent(() => {
 console.log('Visited:', url, items.length); // Non-reactive, current values
 // No return—pure event
 });

 useEffect(() => {
 logVisit(); // Fire on mount/url change
 // Cleanup? None needed for console log.
 // If logging sub: const sub = startLogSub(); return () => sub.unsubscribe();
 }, [url]);

 // Or for real listener:
 const onMove = useEffectEvent((e) => {
 // Drag logic, no cleanup
 });

 useEffect(() => {
 window.addEventListener('mousemove', onMove);
 return () => window.removeEventListener('mousemove', onMove);
 }, []);
}

From React’s separating events example—onMove is useEffectEvent, cleanup in useEffect.

Timer variant:

useEffect(() => {
 const id = setInterval(() => {
 console.log(items.length); // Would stale—fix with useEffectEvent?
 }, 1000);
 return () => clearInterval(id);
}, []); // Stable, no deps issue

See? Cleaner.

Alternatives for Complex Cleanup Logic

Cleanup too gnarly for one effect? Options:

• Custom hook. useLoggingEffect(url, items) encapsulates setup/teardown.

function useLoggingEffect(url, deps) {
 useEffect(() => {
 const handle = logVisit(url, deps.length);
 return handle.cleanup;
 }, [url, deps.length]); // Reactive deps
}

• useCallback for shared funcs. But useEffectEvent if non-reactive.

• AbortController. For fetches: signal in fetch, abort in cleanup.

• Multiple effects. One for sub, one for log. Granular deps.

Zipy.ai blog loves AbortController for async.

Stale closures? Refs: const itemsRef = useRef(); itemsRef.current = items.length;

No need for useEffectEvent cleanup handoff. Keeps it orthodox.

Sources

1. Understanding React’s useEffect cleanup function - LogRocket Blog
2. Learn all about React useEffect cleanup function
3. useEffect – React
4. React useEffect Cleanup Function | Refine
5. The useEffect cleanup and the two circumstances it’s called
6. React 19.2 useEffectEvent hook
7. [React] useEffectEvent: A New Hook For ‘Events’ inside ‘useEffect’
8. Separating Events from Effects – React
9. Quick look into the useEffectEvent | Nico’s Blog
10. useEffectEvent – React

Conclusion

Wrapping up: Skip returning cleanup from useEffectEvent—it’s not the React way. Keep effects owning their lifecycle for clarity and reliability, using useEffectEvent purely for stable events. Your code stays maintainable, leaks-free, and true to docs. Experiment in sandboxes, but production? Direct patterns win every time. For “useEffect cleanup” woes or useEffectEvent tweaks, these practices scale from side projects to enterprise apps.