React Hook Form Patterns

Setup

npm install react-hook-form @hookform/resolvers zod

Basic Form

import { useForm } from "react-hook-form";
import { zodResolver } from "@hookform/resolvers/zod";
import { z } from "zod";

const schema = z.object({
    name: z.string().min(1, "Name is required"),
    email: z.string().email("Invalid email"),
});

type FormData = z.infer<typeof schema>;

function ContactForm() {
    const {
        register,
        handleSubmit,
        formState: { errors, isSubmitting },
    } = useForm<FormData>({
        resolver: zodResolver(schema),
        defaultValues: { name: "", email: "" },
    });

    async function onSubmit(data: FormData) {
        await api.createContact(data);
    }

    return (
        <form onSubmit={handleSubmit(onSubmit)}>
            <div>
                <label htmlFor="name">Name</label>
                <input id="name" {...register("name")} />
                {errors.name && <p role="alert">{errors.name.message}</p>}
            </div>
            <div>
                <label htmlFor="email">Email</label>
                <input id="email" type="email" {...register("email")} />
                {errors.email && <p role="alert">{errors.email.message}</p>}
            </div>
            <button type="submit" disabled={isSubmitting}>
                Submit
            </button>
        </form>
    );
}

Always provide defaultValues — it enables proper reset behavior and avoids uncontrolled-to-controlled warnings.

Validation Modes

useForm({
    resolver: zodResolver(schema),
    mode: "onBlur", // validate on blur (good default for most forms)
    // mode: "onChange",    // real-time validation (can be noisy)
    // mode: "onSubmit",   // validate only on submit (default)
    // mode: "onTouched",  // validate on blur, then on change after first blur
    // mode: "all",        // validate on blur and change
});

• onBlur is the best default — validates after the user leaves a field without being intrusive.
• onSubmit for simple forms where inline validation isn't needed.
• onChange for search/filter inputs where immediate feedback matters.

Controlled Components

For UI libraries (date pickers, selects, rich editors) that don't support ref:

import { Controller } from "react-hook-form";

<Controller
    name="role"
    control={control}
    render={({ field, fieldState }) => (
        <Select value={field.value} onChange={field.onChange} onBlur={field.onBlur} error={fieldState.error?.message}>
            <Option value="admin">Admin</Option>
            <Option value="member">Member</Option>
        </Select>
    )}
/>;

Field Arrays

Dynamic lists of fields (line items, addresses, tags):

import { useFieldArray } from "react-hook-form";

const schema = z.object({
    items: z
        .array(
            z.object({
                name: z.string().min(1),
                quantity: z.coerce.number().min(1),
            }),
        )
        .min(1, "At least one item required"),
});

function OrderForm() {
    const { control, register, handleSubmit } = useForm({
        resolver: zodResolver(schema),
        defaultValues: { items: [{ name: "", quantity: 1 }] },
    });

    const { fields, append, remove } = useFieldArray({
        control,
        name: "items",
    });

    return (
        <form onSubmit={handleSubmit(onSubmit)}>
            {fields.map((field, index) => (
                <div key={field.id}>
                    <input {...register(`items.${index}.name`)} />
                    <input type="number" {...register(`items.${index}.quantity`)} />
                    <button type="button" onClick={() => remove(index)}>
                        Remove
                    </button>
                </div>
            ))}
            <button type="button" onClick={() => append({ name: "", quantity: 1 })}>
                Add Item
            </button>
            <button type="submit">Submit</button>
        </form>
    );
}

Always use field.id as the key, not the array index.

Multi-Step Forms

const Step1Schema = z.object({
    name: z.string().min(1),
    email: z.string().email(),
});

const Step2Schema = z.object({
    address: z.string().min(1),
    city: z.string().min(1),
});

const FullSchema = Step1Schema.merge(Step2Schema);
type FullFormData = z.infer<typeof FullSchema>;

function MultiStepForm() {
    const [step, setStep] = useState(1);
    const form = useForm<FullFormData>({
        resolver: zodResolver(FullSchema),
        defaultValues: { name: "", email: "", address: "", city: "" },
        mode: "onBlur",
    });

    async function handleNext() {
        const fieldsToValidate = step === 1 ? (["name", "email"] as const) : (["address", "city"] as const);

        const valid = await form.trigger(fieldsToValidate);
        if (valid) setStep((s) => s + 1);
    }

    return (
        <form onSubmit={form.handleSubmit(onSubmit)}>
            {step === 1 && <Step1Fields register={form.register} errors={form.formState.errors} />}
            {step === 2 && <Step2Fields register={form.register} errors={form.formState.errors} />}
            {step < 2 ? (
                <button type="button" onClick={handleNext}>
                    Next
                </button>
            ) : (
                <button type="submit">Submit</button>
            )}
        </form>
    );
}

Use trigger() with specific field names to validate only the current step.

Watching Values

React to field changes without re-rendering the entire form:

const watchedRole = form.watch("role");

// For side effects
useEffect(() => {
    if (watchedRole === "admin") {
        form.setValue("permissions", ["read", "write", "delete"]);
    }
}, [watchedRole]);

For performance-critical cases, use useWatch from a child component to isolate re-renders.

Server Errors

Map server-side validation errors to specific fields:

async function onSubmit(data: FormData) {
    try {
        await api.createUser(data);
    } catch (error) {
        if (error instanceof ValidationError) {
            error.fields.forEach(({ field, message }) => {
                form.setError(field as keyof FormData, { message });
            });
        } else {
            form.setError("root", { message: "Something went wrong" });
        }
    }
}

// Display root-level errors
{
    form.formState.errors.root && <p role="alert">{form.formState.errors.root.message}</p>;
}

Form Wrapper Component

Create a reusable form wrapper for consistent error display and layout:

interface FormFieldProps {
    label: string;
    name: string;
    error?: string;
    children: React.ReactNode;
}

function FormField({ label, name, error, children }: FormFieldProps) {
    return (
        <div>
            <label htmlFor={name}>{label}</label>
            {children}
            {error && <p role="alert">{error}</p>}
        </div>
    );
}

Guidelines

• Always use Zod (or another resolver) for validation — avoid inline register validation rules for anything beyond trivial forms.
• Always provide defaultValues to useForm.
• Use register for native HTML inputs. Use Controller for custom components.
• Avoid watch() in the parent form component for values only needed in a child — use useWatch in the child instead.
• Use form.reset() after successful submission, not manual state clearing.
• Disable the submit button with isSubmitting to prevent double submissions.