In this post, we'll cover what the useRef hook is, some examples of how it can be used, and when it shouldn't be used.

What is useRef?​

The useRef hook creates a reference object that holds a mutable value, stored in its current property. This value can be anything from a DOM element to a plain object. Unlike component state via say the useState hook, changes to a reference object via useRef won't trigger a re-render of your component, improving performance.

I recently got to hang with the creator of Valibot, Fabian Hiller on a live stream. We discussed its history of the project and did some live coding with Valibot. Let’s dig in.

One of the top questions I get is “How do I find an open-source project to contribute to?” It’s a fair question because there’s a lot of encouragement to contribute, but not a clear path to find the right issue for you. The truth is that maybe you shouldn't be looking for a place to contribute at all. Maybe you need to understand what your real goals are and start by building something you need, understanding open source projects and communities, and approaching contributions with a goal to improve the project rather than improving your resume.

Recently, I was in a group that was talking about personal projects and growing your developer skills. Nick made a good point when he said that you wouldn’t expect to be an expert at the guitar when you picked it up for the first time. It takes time, practice, and understanding. And when we’re giving people advice, it can be hard to tell them where to start or how to find the “perfect issue” - although good first issues don’t exist - because everyone starts at different levels. For example, a person who’s learning the guitar but also plays the piano will likely have an easier time learning the instrument than someone who has never tried to play an instrument before. This is why understanding your own skill level can be incredibly important to find an open-source project and issue to work on.

As it stands today, the open source ecosystem can feel disconnected. Theoretically, we know that there are maintainers, contributors, and projects out there that are incredibly talented and innovative, but finding them can feel like searching for stars in a cloudy night sky. Sometimes you need to have that information – and fast – to be able to maintain your own projects.

Many open-source projects, like Facebook's Create React App (CRA), experience a familiar arc – a rapid rise followed by a perceived decline. In the last thirty days, CRA hasn’t had any merged pull requests. This begs the question: what happened to CRA?

The world runs on open source, but we know the challenges of burnout, the need for support, and loneliness. Despite all those challenges, new open source projects are appearing every day. We need to support new maintainers as they learn to maintain in the fast-paced open source ecosystem experienced maintainers are accustomed to. If we want growth, innovation, and solutions to our problems, we’ll need to have a supportive environment for new maintainers. And this is why we need to educate and support new maintainers.

Last week, we kicked off Maintainer Month with Enhancing Support for Open Source Maintainers. Now, we're continuing our love of maintainers with our Maintainer Monday post, shouting out some of our favorite maintainers and their projects.

Last week, we kicked off Maintainer Month with Enhancing Support for Open Source Maintainers. Now, we're continuing our love of maintainers with our Maintainer Monday post, shouting out some of our favorite maintainers and their projects.

At OpenSauced, we are thrilled to announce our latest feature: StarSearch. It's not just about the commits; it's about the community, the contributions, and the connections in the open source ecosystem - and you can join the waitlist now!