williamlimasilva/react18-string-refs

React 18 String Refs Migration

String refs (ref="myInput" + this.refs.myInput) were deprecated in React 16.3, warn in React 18.3.1, and are removed in React 19.

Quick Pattern Map

| Pattern | Reference | |---|---| | Single ref on a DOM element | → patterns.md#single-ref | | Multiple refs in one component | → patterns.md#multiple-refs | | Refs in a list / dynamic refs | → patterns.md#list-refs | | Callback refs (alternative approach) | → patterns.md#callback-refs | | Ref passed to a child component | → patterns.md#forwarded-refs |

Scan Command

# Find all string ref assignments in JSX
grep -rn 'ref="' src/ --include="*.js" --include="*.jsx" | grep -v "\.test\."

# Find all this.refs accessors
grep -rn "this\.refs\." src/ --include="*.js" --include="*.jsx" | grep -v "\.test\."

Both should be migrated together - find the ref="name" and the this.refs.name accesses for each component as a pair.

The Migration Rule

Every string ref migrates to React.createRef():

1. Add refName = React.createRef(); as a class field (or in constructor)
2. Replace ref="refName" → ref={this.refName} in JSX
3. Replace this.refs.refName → this.refName.current everywhere

Read references/patterns.md for the full before/after for each case.