`react-doctor/three-no-state-in-animation-loop`

React state update inside Three.js animation loop

Category: Performance
Severity: warn
Source: oxlint-plugin-react-doctor
Framework: global
Enabled when: react, three
Tags: three, webgl
Default: Enabled

Validate the diagnostic

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

Confirm the reported code matches react-doctor/three-no-state-in-animation-loop. 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

import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
import { Mesh, WebGLRenderer } from "three";
const mesh = new Mesh();
const renderer = new WebGLRenderer();
const Spinner = () => {
  const [rotation, setRotation] = useState(0);
  useEffect(() => {
    renderer.setAnimationLoop(() => {
      setRotation((value) => value + 0.01);
    });
    return () => renderer.setAnimationLoop(null);
  }, []);
  return <primitive object={mesh} rotation-y={rotation} />;
};

Corrected pattern

import { useEffect } from "react";
import { Mesh, WebGLRenderer } from "three";
const mesh = new Mesh();
const renderer = new WebGLRenderer();
const Spinner = () => {
  useEffect(() => {
    renderer.setAnimationLoop(() => {
      mesh.rotation.y += 0.01;
    });
    return () => renderer.setAnimationLoop(null);
  }, []);
  return <primitive object={mesh} />;
};

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/three-no-state-in-animation-loop diagnostic in the current repository. Required change: - Mutate Three.js objects or refs during frames; reserve React state for guarded, infrequent transitions.

Reference transformation:Before:

import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
import { Mesh, WebGLRenderer } from "three";
const mesh = new Mesh();
const renderer = new WebGLRenderer();
const Spinner = () => {
  const [rotation, setRotation] = useState(0);
  useEffect(() => {
    renderer.setAnimationLoop(() => {
      setRotation((value) => value + 0.01);
    });
    return () => renderer.setAnimationLoop(null);
  }, []);
  return <primitive object={mesh} rotation-y={rotation} />;
};

After:

import { useEffect } from "react";
import { Mesh, WebGLRenderer } from "three";
const mesh = new Mesh();
const renderer = new WebGLRenderer();
const Spinner = () => {
  useEffect(() => {
    renderer.setAnimationLoop(() => {
      mesh.rotation.y += 0.01;
    });
    return () => renderer.setAnimationLoop(null);
  }, []);
  return <primitive object={mesh} />;
};

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. - Preserve resource ownership and cleanup. Do not move work into a hotter render or frame path. - 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, three. 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 Performance rules from the rules reference:

react-doctor/three-no-state-in-pointer-move: React state update inside Three.js pointer-move handler
react-doctor/three-require-owned-geometry-cleanup: Locally owned Three.js geometry is not disposed
react-doctor/three-require-owned-material-cleanup: Locally owned Three.js material is not disposed
react-doctor/three-require-owned-texture-cleanup: Locally owned Three.js texture is not disposed
react-doctor/three-shader-no-inverse-of-uniform: Shader inverts a uniform matrix per invocation

react-doctor/three-no-state-in-animation-loop