/react-native-skills

State Must Represent Ground Truth

State variables—both React useState and Reanimated shared values—should represent the actual state of something (e.g., pressed, progress, isOpen), not derived visual values (e.g., scale, opacity, translateY). Derive visual values from state using computation or interpolation.

Incorrect (storing the visual output):

const scale = useSharedValue(1)

const tap = Gesture.Tap()
  .onBegin(() => {
    scale.set(withTiming(0.95))
  })
  .onFinalize(() => {
    scale.set(withTiming(1))
  })

const animatedStyle = useAnimatedStyle(() => ({
  transform: [{ scale: scale.get() }],
}))

Correct (storing the state, deriving the visual):

const pressed = useSharedValue(0) // 0 = not pressed, 1 = pressed

const tap = Gesture.Tap()
  .onBegin(() => {
    pressed.set(withTiming(1))
  })
  .onFinalize(() => {
    pressed.set(withTiming(0))
  })

const animatedStyle = useAnimatedStyle(() => ({
  transform: [{ scale: interpolate(pressed.get(), [0, 1], [1, 0.95]) }],
}))

Why this matters:

State variables should represent real "state", not necessarily a desired end result.

1. Single source of truth — The state (pressed) describes what's happening; visuals are derived
2. Easier to extend — Adding opacity, rotation, or other effects just requires more interpolations from the same state
3. Debugging — Inspecting pressed = 1 is clearer than scale = 0.95
4. Reusable logic — The same pressed value can drive multiple visual properties

Same principle for React state:

// Incorrect: storing derived values
const [isExpanded, setIsExpanded] = useState(false)
const [height, setHeight] = useState(0)

useEffect(() => {
  setHeight(isExpanded ? 200 : 0)
}, [isExpanded])

// Correct: derive from state
const [isExpanded, setIsExpanded] = useState(false)
const height = isExpanded ? 200 : 0

State is the minimal truth. Everything else is derived.