Queueing a Series of State Updates

React batches state updates

You might expect that clicking the “+3” button will increment the counter three times because it calls setNumber(number + 1) three times:

However, as you might recall from the previous section, each render’s state values are fixed, so the value of number inside the first render’s event handler is always 0, no matter how many times you call setNumber(1):

setNumber(0 + 1);
setNumber(0 + 1);
setNumber(0 + 1);

But there is one other factor at work here to discuss. React waits until all code in the event handlers has run before processing your state updates. This is why the re-render only happens after all these setNumber() calls.

This might remind you of a waiter taking an order at the restaurant. A waiter doesn’t run to the kitchen at the mention of your first dish! Instead, they let you finish your order, let you make changes to it, and even take orders from other people at the table.

This lets you update multiple state variables—even from multiple components—without triggering too many re-renders. But this also means that the UI won’t be updated until after your event handler, and any code in it, completes. This behavior, also known as batching, makes your React app run much faster. It also avoids dealing with confusing “half-finished” renders where only some of the variables have been updated.

React does not batch across multiple intentional events like clicks—each click is handled separately. Rest assured that React only does batching when it’s generally safe to do. This ensures that, for example, if the first button click disables a form, the second click would not submit it again.

Updating the same state variable multiple times before the next render

It is an uncommon use case, but if you would like to update the same state variable multiple times before the next render, instead of passing the next state value like setNumber(number + 1), you can pass a function that calculates the next state based on the previous one in the queue, like setNumber(n => n + 1). It is a way to tell React to “do something with the state value” instead of just replacing it.

Try incrementing the counter now:

Here, n => n + 1 is called an updater function. When you pass it to a state setter:

1. React queues this function to be processed after all the other code in the event handler has run.
2. During the next render, React goes through the queue and gives you the final updated state.

setNumber(n => n + 1);
setNumber(n => n + 1);
setNumber(n => n + 1);

Here’s how React works through these lines of code while executing the event handler:

1. setNumber(n => n + 1): n => n + 1 is a function. React adds it to a queue.
2. setNumber(n => n + 1): n => n + 1 is a function. React adds it to a queue.
3. setNumber(n => n + 1): n => n + 1 is a function. React adds it to a queue.

When you call useState during the next render, React goes through the queue. The previous number state was 0, so that’s what React passes to the first updater function as the n argument. Then React takes the return value of your previous updater function and passes it to the next updater as n, and so on:

React stores 3 as the final result and returns it from useState.

This is why clicking “+3” in the above example correctly increments the value by 3.

What happens if you update state after replacing it

What about this event handler? What do you think number will be in the next render?

<button onClick={() => {
  setNumber(number + 5);
  setNumber(n => n + 1);
}}>

Here’s what this event handler tells React to do:

1. setNumber(number + 5): number is 0, so setNumber(0 + 5). React adds “replace with 5” to its queue.
2. setNumber(n => n + 1): n => n + 1 is an updater function. React adds that function to its queue.

During the next render, React goes through the state queue:

React stores 6 as the final result and returns it from useState.

You may have noticed that setState(x) actually works like setState(n => x), but n is unused!

What happens if you replace state after updating it

Let’s try one more example. What do you think number will be in the next render?

<button onClick={() => {
  setNumber(number + 5);
  setNumber(n => n + 1);
  setNumber(42);
}}>

Here’s how React works through these lines of code while executing this event handler:

1. setNumber(number + 5): number is 0, so setNumber(0 + 5). React adds “replace with 5” to its queue.
2. setNumber(n => n + 1): n => n + 1 is an updater function. React adds that function to its queue.
3. setNumber(42): React adds “replace with 42” to its queue.

During the next render, React goes through the state queue:

Then React stores 42 as the final result and returns it from useState.

To summarize, here’s how you can think of what you’re passing to the setNumber state setter:

• An updater function (e.g. n => n + 1) gets added to the queue.
• Any other value (e.g. number 5) adds “replace with 5” to the queue, ignoring what’s already queued.

After the event handler completes, React will trigger a re-render. During the re-render, React will process the queue. Updater functions run during rendering, so updater functions must be pure and only return the result. Don’t try to set state from inside of them or run other side effects. In Strict Mode, React will run each updater function twice (but discard the second result) to help you find mistakes.

Naming conventions

It’s common to name the updater function argument by the first letters of the corresponding state variable:

setEnabled(e => !e);
setLastName(ln => ln.reverse());
setFriendCount(fc => fc * 2);

If you prefer more verbose code, another common convention is to repeat the full state variable name, like setEnabled(enabled => !enabled), or to use a prefix like setEnabled(prevEnabled => !prevEnabled).