"useRef" is a React hook which returns a mutable ref object whose .current property is initialized to the passed argument (initialValue). The returned object will persist for the full lifetime of the component.
Docs
https://reactjs.org/docs/hooks-reference.html#useref
Code example
function TextInputWithFocusButton() {
const inputEl = useRef(null);
const onButtonClick = () => {
// `current` points to the mounted text input element
inputEl.current.focus();
};
return (
<>
<input ref={inputEl} type="text" />
<button onClick={onButtonClick}>Focus the input</button>
</>
);
}
