Mastering React useEffect: An AI Agent Skill for Idiomatic Side Effects

Originally published at https://www.bampouris.eu/blog/react-useeffect-guide-skill/ Introduction useEffect is arguably the most misunderstood hook in the React ecosystem. Since its introduction in React 16.8, it has become the default escape hatch for everything from data fetching and subscriptions to manual DOM mutations and state synchronization. Yet, its flexibility is also its greatest liability: developers routinely reach for useEffect when a derived value, an event handler, or a simple key