Bug: StrictMode is not detecting "ref-trashing"

[theKashey]

React version:

• any (18.2.0 currently)

Steps To Reproduce

1. create unstable ref on a component (<div ref={(node) => setState(node)}/>)
2. render/re-render component
3. StrictMode will not report about the problem of ref being unstable between renders

Link to code example:

there are many different ways to create unstable ref:

• use createRef instead of useRef (happens)
• use functions without useCallback
• use different "mergeRefs" solutions leading to unstable refs, see Non referentially stable refs cause multiple updates gregberge/react-merge-refs#5

The current behavior

• nothing enforces the correct usage of refs or able to inform about the incorrect ones

The expected behavior

• StrictMode is capable of reporting refs being updated on every render

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I've monkey-patched react code (markRef here and here) to get informed about ref change and found a few changes that should not happen.

This a problem very hard to detect without a support from the platform, and my little experiment is incapable to understand the legacy of ref update, only the fact of such update.

[sophiebits]

This is not technically incorrect code. Generally there should not be a need to store a DOM node in state.

Thanks for the idea but we don't have plans to add more to StrictMode at this time; I would recommend using a lint rule to prevent the patterns you mentioned if this is important for your project.