Is React’s useCallback Hook Useless? | PodRocket
Dominik Dorfmeister joins PodRocket to discuss the pitfalls of overusing useCallback and useMemo in React.
Learn why these Hooks can harm readability and performance in large codebases, how the React compiler and useEffectEvent improve optimization, and best practices for PR reviews, referential stability, and modern Hook usage.
The main points:
*Why useCallback and useMemo are often unnecessary and can introduce complexity
*When memoization actually improves performance (and when it doesn’t)
*Alternatives like the latest ref pattern and React Compiler for cleaner, future-proof React code
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Links
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tkdodo.eu
Github: https://github.com/tkdodo
X: https://x.com/TkDodo
Resources
The Useless useCallback: https://tkdodo.eu/blog/the-useless-us...
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Chapters
00:00 Why talk about useCallback and useMemo
00:40 Are useCallback and useMemo actually useless?
02:00 When (if ever) memoization is worth it
07:30 Pitfalls of overusing memoization in PRs and team guidelines
12:10 Latest ref pattern as an alternative
18:40 React Compiler and ESLint support
23:30 Why self-reviews help catch unnecessary memoization
28:10 Do React docs encourage over-optimization?
33:00 Advice for React developers
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