Skill: ahooks

Scope

• Applies to: ahooks v3+ utility hooks for React state management, grouped state updates, localStorage persistence
• Does NOT cover: Data fetching (use TanStack Query), URL state management (use nuqs), complex state machines, async operations

Assumptions

• ahooks v3+
• React 18+ with hooks support
• TypeScript v5+ (for type inference)
• Client-side only (hooks require browser APIs for localStorage)

Principles

• Use useSetState for grouped state that changes together (not URL-shareable)
• Use useLocalStorageState for persistent state across browser sessions
• Prefer nuqs for URL-shareable state over localStorage
• Prefer TanStack Query for async operations and loading states
• Use useState only for simple independent state (rare)

Constraints

MUST

• Use useSetState for grouped state not in URL (form state, game engine state, ephemeral UI state)
• Use useLocalStorageState for localStorage persistence

SHOULD

• Prefer nuqs for URL-shareable state over localStorage
• Prefer TanStack Query for async operations and loading states
• Use TypeScript generics for type-safe state: useLocalStorageState<boolean>('key', { defaultValue: false })

AVOID

• Using for URL state (use nuqs instead)
• Using for loading/error states (use TanStack Query instead)
• Using for complex async operations (use TanStack Query instead)
• Mixing URL state with localStorage without explicit sync logic

Interactions

• Complements nuqs-v2 for URL state management (can sync bidirectionally)
• Complements TanStack Query for async operations (use TanStack Query for data fetching)
• Part of state management decision tree (see React rules)
• Works with React 18+ hooks architecture

Patterns

useSetState Pattern

Use for grouped state that updates together:

import { useSetState } from 'ahooks'

const [state, setState] = useSetState({
  name: '',
  email: '',
  age: 0,
})

// Partial updates (shallow merge)
setState({ name: 'John' })
setState(prev => ({ ...prev, email: 'john@example.com' }))

When to use: Form state, game engine state, UI state that changes together (if not URL-shareable)

When NOT to use: URL-shareable state (use nuqs), loading states (use TanStack Query)

useLocalStorageState Pattern

Use for state that persists across browser sessions:

import { useLocalStorageState } from 'ahooks'

const [value, setValue] = useLocalStorageState<boolean>('key', {
  defaultValue: false,
})

// Type-safe with generics
const [settings, setSettings] = useLocalStorageState<Settings>('settings', {
  defaultValue: { theme: 'light', fontSize: 14 },
})

When to use: User preferences, debug flags, settings that should persist across sessions

When NOT to use: URL-shareable state (use nuqs), sensitive data (use secure storage)

Integration with nuqs

Bidirectional sync between URL and localStorage:

import { useLocalStorageState } from 'ahooks'
import { useQueryState } from 'nuqs'
import { useEffect, useRef } from 'react'

const [queryState, setQueryState] = useQueryState('debug')
const [storageState, setStorageState] = useLocalStorageState<boolean>('debug', {
  defaultValue: false,
})
const isFirstMount = useRef(true)

// Sync on mount: localStorage → URL
useEffect(() => {
  if (isFirstMount.current) {
    isFirstMount.current = false
    if (storageState && queryState !== 'true') {
      setQueryState('true')
      return
    }
  }
  // Sync changes: URL → localStorage
  if (queryState === 'true' && !storageState) {
    setStorageState(true)
  } else if (queryState === 'false' && storageState) {
    setStorageState(false)
  }
}, [queryState, storageState, setQueryState, setStorageState])

Use case: Debug flags, feature toggles that should be both URL-shareable and persistent

State Management Decision Tree

1. URL-shareable state → Use nuqs (filters, search, tabs, pagination)
2. Grouped state not in URL → Use useSetState (form state, game engine, ephemeral UI)
3. Async operations → Use TanStack Query (data fetching, mutations, caching)
4. localStorage persistence → Use useLocalStorageState (preferences, settings)
5. Simple independent state → Use useState (rare, prefer other options)

References

• ahooks documentation - Official documentation
• React rules - State management decision tree and patterns
• TanStack Query - Async operations and data fetching patterns