`react-doctor/no-mutate-then-set-or-return-same-reference`

State mutated in place then set by same reference

Category: Bugs
Severity: warn
Source: oxlint-plugin-react-doctor
Framework: global
Enabled when: react
Tags: test-noise
Default: Enabled

Validate the diagnostic

Confirm the reported code matches this rule before you edit it.

Confirm the reported code matches react-doctor/no-mutate-then-set-or-return-same-reference. Compare it with the Before example and verify the same API, framework, and execution context. Treat it as a false positive only when one of those conditions differs.

Compare the code

The corrected pattern shows a focused way to address the diagnostic.

Reported pattern

const List = ({ nextRow }) => {
  const [rows, setRows] = useState([]);
  const addRow = () => {
    setRows((currentRows) => {
      currentRows.push(nextRow);
      return currentRows;
    });
  };
  return <button onClick={addRow}>{rows.length}</button>;
};

Corrected pattern

const List = ({ nextRow }) => {
  const [rows, setRows] = useState([]);
  const addRow = () => {
    setRows((currentRows) => [...currentRows, nextRow]);
  };
  return <button onClick={addRow}>{rows.length}</button>;
};

How to fix

Use the corrected pattern as a reference. Preserve behavior that the rule does not require you to change.

Copyable fix prompt

Copy this self-contained prompt into your coding agent after you confirm the diagnostic.

Fix every confirmed react-doctor/no-mutate-then-set-or-return-same-reference diagnostic in the current repository. Required change: - Copy state before mutating it, then pass the fresh reference to the matching useState setter.

Reference transformation:Before:

const List = ({ nextRow }) => {
  const [rows, setRows] = useState([]);
  const addRow = () => {
    setRows((currentRows) => {
      currentRows.push(nextRow);
      return currentRows;
    });
  };
  return <button onClick={addRow}>{rows.length}</button>;
};

After:

const List = ({ nextRow }) => {
  const [rows, setRows] = useState([]);
  const addRow = () => {
    setRows((currentRows) => [...currentRows, nextRow]);
  };
  return <button onClick={addRow}>{rows.length}</button>;
};

Constraints: - Confirm the reported code matches the Before pattern. - Make the smallest change that fixes the root cause. - Preserve behavior and interfaces unrelated to this diagnostic. - Reuse existing project components, utilities, and conventions. - Do not introduce render-phase side effects, render-phase state updates, or Hooks rule violations. - Adapt identifiers and framework details instead of copying blindly. - Do not disable the rule or suppress matching code. - Confirm this rule is enabled for the project: react. Verification: - Run focused tests for the changed behavior. - Run React Doctor and confirm this diagnostic no longer appears. - Report the files changed and any checks you could not run.

More Bugs rules from the rules reference:

react-doctor/no-mutating-array-method-on-prop-or-hook-result: In-place array mutation on a prop or hook result
react-doctor/no-mutating-reducer-state: Return a new reducer state object/array/collection instead of mutating the current state and returning the same top-level reference.
react-doctor/no-namespace: Drop the namespace and use a plain (Pascal-cased) component or DOM tag.
react-doctor/no-nested-component-definition: Move to a separate file or to module scope above the parent component
react-doctor/no-non-literal-selector-query-without-try-catch: Unguarded querySelector with href-derived selector

react-doctor/no-mutate-then-set-or-return-same-reference