Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.
Are you the author of Advanced Event Handler Refs?
Add the live security badge to your README. It updates with every re-scan.
[](https://www.skillsdirectory.com/skills/anubhavg-icpl-advanced-event-handler-refs)
---
name: advanced-event-handler-refs
description: Store Event Handlers in Refs. Use when you need help with advanced event handler refs.
license: CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0
metadata:
risk: unknown
source: community
kind: mode
category: rules
---
## Store Event Handlers in Refs
Store callbacks in refs when used in effects that shouldn't re-subscribe on callback changes.
**Incorrect (re-subscribes on every render):**
```tsx
function useWindowEvent(event: string, handler: () => void) {
useEffect(() => {
window.addEventListener(event, handler);
return () => window.removeEventListener(event, handler);
}, [event, handler]);
}
```
**Correct (stable subscription):**
```tsx
function useWindowEvent(event: string, handler: () => void) {
const handlerRef = useRef(handler);
useEffect(() => {
handlerRef.current = handler;
}, [handler]);
useEffect(() => {
const listener = () => handlerRef.current();
window.addEventListener(event, listener);
return () => window.removeEventListener(event, listener);
}, [event]);
}
```
**Alternative: use `useEffectEvent` if you're on latest React:**
```tsx
import { useEffectEvent } from "react";
function useWindowEvent(event: string, handler: () => void) {
const onEvent = useEffectEvent(handler);
useEffect(() => {
window.addEventListener(event, onEvent);
return () => window.removeEventListener(event, onEvent);
}, [event]);
}
```
`useEffectEvent` provides a cleaner API for the same pattern: it creates a stable function reference that always calls the latest version of the handler.
