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useForm

useForm is used to manage forms. It returns the necessary properties and methods to control the <form> element. It has been developed by using useForm imported from the @refinedev/core package.

Good to know:

All the data related hooks (useTable, useForm, useList etc.) of Refine can be given some common properties like resource, meta etc.

For more information, refer to the General Concepts documentation.

Installation

Install the @refinedev/react-hook-form library.

npm i @refinedev/react-hook-form

Usage

For more detailed usage examples please refer to the React Hook Form documentation.

We'll show the basic usage of useForm by adding an editing form.

pages/posts/edit.tsx
import { useSelect } from "@refinedev/core";
import { useForm } from "@refinedev/react-hook-form";

export const PostEdit: React.FC = () => {
const {
refineCore: { onFinish, formLoading, queryResult },
register,
handleSubmit,
resetField,
formState: { errors },
} = useForm();

const { options } = useSelect({
resource: "categories",
defaultValue: queryResult?.data?.data.category.id,
});

useEffect(() => {
resetField("category.id");
}, [options]);

return (
<form onSubmit={handleSubmit(onFinish)}>
<label>Title: </label>
<input {...register("title", { required: true })} />
{errors.title && <span>This field is required</span>}
<br />
<label>Status: </label>
<select {...register("status")}>
<option value="published">published</option>
<option value="draft">draft</option>
<option value="rejected">rejected</option>
</select>
<br />
<label>Category: </label>
<select
{...register("category.id", {
required: true,
})}
defaultValue={queryResult?.data?.data.category.id}
>
{options?.map((category) => (
<option key={category.value} value={category.value}>
{category.label}
</option>
))}
</select>
{errors.category && <span>This field is required</span>}
<br />
<label>Content: </label>
<br />
<textarea
{...register("content", { required: true })}
rows={10}
cols={50}
/>
{errors.content && <span>This field is required</span>}
<br />

{queryResult?.data?.data?.thumbnail && (
<>
<br />
<label>Image: </label>
<br />

<img
src={queryResult?.data?.data?.thumbnail}
width={200}
height={200}
/>
<br />
<br />
</>
)}

<input type="submit" value="Submit" />
{formLoading && <p>Loading</p>}
</form>
);
};

If you want to show a form in a modal or drawer where necessary route params might not be there you can use the useModalForm.

Properties

action

useForm can handle edit, create and clone actions.

By default, it determines the action from route. The action is inferred by matching the resource's action path with the current route.

It can be overridden by passing the action prop where it isn't possible to determine the action from the route (e.g. when using form in a modal or using a custom route).

action: "create" is used for creating a new record that didn't exist before.

useForm uses useCreate under the hood for mutations on create mode.

In the following example, we'll show how to use useForm with action: "create".

localhost:3000/posts/create
import { useForm } from "@refinedev/react-hook-form";

const PostCreatePage: React.FC = () => {
const {
refineCore: { onFinish, formLoading },
register,
handleSubmit,
formState: { errors },
} = useForm();

return (
<form onSubmit={handleSubmit(onFinish)}>
<label>Title: </label>
<input {...register("title", { required: true })} />
{errors.title && <span>This field is required</span>}
<br />
<label>Status: </label>
<select {...register("status")}>
<option value="published">published</option>
<option value="draft">draft</option>
<option value="rejected">rejected</option>
</select>
<br />
<label>Content: </label>
<br />
<textarea
{...register("content", { required: true })}
rows={10}
cols={50}
/>
{errors.content && <span>This field is required</span>}
<br />
<br />
<input type="submit" disabled={formLoading} value="Submit" />
{formLoading && <p>Loading</p>}
</form>
);
};

resource

It will be passed to the dataProvider's method as a params. This parameter is usually used to as a API endpoint path. It all depends on how to handle the resource in your dataProvider. See the creating a data provider section for an example of how resource are handled.

By default it reads the resource value from the current URL.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
resource: "categories",
},
});

If the resource is passed, the id from the current URL will be ignored because it may belong to a different resource. To retrieve the id value from the current URL, use the useParsed hook and pass the id value to the useForm hook.

import { useParsed } from "@refinedev/core";
import { useForm } from "@refinedev/react-hook-form";

const { id } = useParsed();

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
resource: "custom-resource",
id,
},
});

Or you can use the setId function to set the id value.

import { useForm } from "@refinedev/react-hook-form";

const {
refineCore: { setId },
} = useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
resource: "custom-resource",
},
});

setId("123");

If you have multiple resources with the same name, you can pass the identifier instead of the name of the resource. It will only be used as the main matching key for the resource, data provider methods will still work with the name of the resource defined in the <Refine/> component.

For more information, refer to the identifier of the <Refine/> component documentation

id

id is used for determining the record to edit or clone. By default, it uses the id from the route. It can be changed with the setId function or id property.

It is useful when you want to edit or clone a resource from a different page. Keep in mind that id is required when action: "edit" or action: "clone".

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
action: "edit", // or clone
resource: "categories",
id: 1, // <BASE_URL_FROM_DATA_PROVIDER>/categories/1
},
});

redirect

redirect is used for determining the page to redirect after the form is submitted. By default, it uses the list. It can be changed with the redirect property.

It can be set to "show" | "edit" | "list" | "create" or false to prevent the page from redirecting to the list page after the form is submitted.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
redirect: false,
},
});

onMutationSuccess

It's a callback function that will be called after the mutation is successful.

It receives the following parameters:

  • data: Returned value from useCreate or useUpdate depending on the action.
  • variables: The variables passed to the mutation.
  • context: react-query context.
  • isAutoSave: It's a boolean value that indicates whether the mutation is triggered by the autoSave feature or not.
useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
onMutationSuccess: (data, variables, context, isAutoSave) => {
console.log({ data, variables, context, isAutoSave });
},
},
});

onMutationError

It's a callback function that will be called after the mutation is failed.

It receives the following parameters:

  • data: Returned value from useCreate or useUpdate depending on the action.
  • variables: The variables passed to the mutation.
  • context: react-query context.
  • isAutoSave: It's a boolean value that indicates whether the mutation is triggered by the autoSave feature or not.
useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
onMutationError: (data, variables, context, isAutoSave) => {
console.log({ data, variables, context, isAutoSave });
},
},
});

invalidates

You can use it to manage the invalidations that will occur at the end of the mutation.

By default it's invalidates following queries from the current resource:

  • on create or clone mode: "list" and "many"
  • on edit mode: "list", "many" and "detail"
useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
invalidates: ["list", "many", "detail"],
},
});

dataProviderName

If there is more than one dataProvider, you should use the dataProviderName that you will use. It is useful when you want to use a different dataProvider for a specific resource.

If you want to use a different dataProvider on all resource pages, you can use the dataProvider prop of the <Refine> component.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
dataProviderName: "second-data-provider",
},
});

mutationMode

Mutation mode determines which mode the mutation runs with. Mutations can run under three different modes: pessimistic, optimistic and undoable. Default mode is pessimistic. Each mode corresponds to a different type of user experience.

For more information about mutation modes, please check Mutation Mode documentation page.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
mutationMode: "undoable", // "pessimistic" | "optimistic" | "undoable",
},
});

successNotification

NotificationProvider is required for this prop to work.

After form is submitted successfully, useForm will call open function from NotificationProvider to show a success notification. With this prop, you can customize the success notification.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
successNotification: (data, values, resource) => {
return {
message: `Post Successfully created with ${data.title}`,
description: "Success with no errors",
type: "success",
};
},
},
});

errorNotification

NotificationProvider is required for this prop to work.

After form is submit is failed, Refine will show a error notification. With this prop, you can customize the error notification.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
action: "create",
resource: "post",
errorNotification: (data, values, resource) => {
return {
message: `Something went wrong when deleting ${data.id}`,
description: "Error",
type: "error",
};
},
},
});
Default values
{
"message": "Error when updating <resource-name> (status code: ${err.statusCode})" or "Error when creating <resource-name> (status code: ${err.statusCode})",
"description": "Error",
"type": "error",
}

meta

meta is a special property that can be used to pass additional information to data provider methods for the following purposes:

  • Customizing the data provider methods for specific use cases.
  • Generating GraphQL queries using plain JavaScript Objects (JSON).
  • Providing additional parameters to the redirection path after the form is submitted.

Refer to the meta section of the General Concepts documentation for more information

In the following example, we pass the headers property in the meta object to the create method. With similar logic, you can pass any properties to specifically handle the data provider methods.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
meta: {
headers: { "x-meta-data": "true" },
},
},
});

const myDataProvider = {
//...
create: async ({ resource, variables, meta }) => {
const headers = meta?.headers ?? {};
const url = `${apiUrl}/${resource}`;

const { data } = await httpClient.post(url, variables, { headers });

return {
data,
};
},
//...
};

queryMeta

In addition to the meta property, you can also pass the queryMeta property to the useForm hook. This property is used to pass additional information to the useOne hook that is used to fetch the data in the edit and clone modes. This is useful when you have to apply different values to the useOne hook from the useCreate or useUpdate hook mutations.

useForm({
queryMeta: {
querySpecificValue: "someValue",
},
});

If you have overlapping properties in both meta and queryMeta, the queryMeta property will be used.

mutationMeta

In addition to the meta property, you can also pass the mutationMeta property to the useForm hook. This property is used to pass additional information to the useCreate or useUpdate hook mutations. This is useful when you have to apply different values to the useCreate or useUpdate hooks from the useOne hook query.

useForm({
mutationMeta: {
mutationSpecificValue: "someValue",
},
});

If you have overlapping properties in both meta and mutationMeta, the mutationMeta property will be used.

queryOptions

Works only in action: "edit" or action: "clone" mode.

in edit or clone mode, Refine uses useOne hook to fetch data. You can pass queryOptions options by passing queryOptions property.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
queryOptions: {
retry: 3,
},
},
});

createMutationOptions

This option is only available when action: "create" or action: "clone".

In create or clone mode, Refine uses useCreate hook to create data. You can pass mutationOptions by passing createMutationOptions property.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
queryOptions: {
retry: 3,
},
},
});

updateMutationOptions

This option is only available when action: "edit".

In edit mode, Refine uses useUpdate hook to update data. You can pass mutationOptions by passing updateMutationOptions property.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
queryOptions: {
retry: 3,
},
},
});

warnWhenUnsavedChanges

When it's true, Shows a warning when the user tries to leave the page with unsaved changes. It can be used to prevent the user from accidentally leaving the page. Default value is false.

It can be set globally in Refine config.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
warnWhenUnsavedChanges: true,
},
});

liveMode

Whether to update data automatically ("auto") or not ("manual") if a related live event is received. It can be used to update and show data in Realtime throughout your app. For more information about live mode, please check Live / Realtime page.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
liveMode: "auto",
},
});

onLiveEvent

The callback function that is executed when new events from a subscription are arrived.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
onLiveEvent: (event) => {
console.log(event);
},
},
});

liveParams

Params to pass to liveProvider's subscribe method.

autoSave

If you want to save the form automatically after some delay when user edits the form, you can pass true to autoSave.enabled prop.

By default the autoSave feature does not invalidate queries. However, you can use the invalidateOnUnmount prop to invalidate queries upon unmount.

It also supports onMutationSuccess and onMutationError callback functions. You can use isAutoSave parameter to determine whether the mutation is triggered by autoSave or not.

autoSave feature operates exclusively in edit mode. Users can take advantage of this feature while editing data, as changes are automatically saved in editing mode. However, when creating new data, manual saving is still required.

onMutationSuccess and onMutationError callbacks will be called after the mutation is successful or failed.

enabled

To enable the autoSave feature, set the enabled parameter to true. By default, it is disabled.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
autoSave: {
enabled: true,
},
},
});

debounce

Set the debounce time for the autoSave prop. Default value is 1000 milliseconds.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
autoSave: {
enabled: true,
debounce: 2000,
},
},
});

onFinish

If you want to modify the data before sending it to the server, you can use onFinish callback function.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
autoSave: {
enabled: true,
onFinish: (values) => {
return {
foo: "bar",
...values,
};
},
},
},
});

invalidateOnUnmount

This prop is useful when you want to invalidate the list, many and detail queries from the current resource when hook is unmounted. By default, it invalidates the list, many and detail queries associated with the current resource. Also, You can use the invalidates prop to select which queries to invalidate.

By default, the invalidateOnUnmount prop is set to false.

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
autoSave: {
enabled: true,
invalidateOnUnmount: true,
},
},
});

Return Values

queryResult

If the action is set to "edit" or "clone" or if a resource with an id is provided, useForm will call useOne and set the returned values as the queryResult property.

const {
refineCore: { queryResult },
} = useForm();

const { data } = queryResult;

mutationResult

When in "create" or "clone" mode, useForm will call useCreate. When in "edit" mode, it will call useUpdate and set the resulting values as the mutationResult property."

const {
refineCore: { mutationResult },
} = useForm();

const { data } = mutationResult;

setId

useForm determine id from the router. If you want to change the id dynamically, you can use setId function.

const {
refineCore: { id, setId },
} = useForm();

const handleIdChange = (id: string) => {
setId(id);
};

return (
<div>
<input value={id} onChange={(e) => handleIdChange(e.target.value)} />
</div>
);

redirect

"By default, after a successful mutation, useForm will redirect to the "list" page. To redirect to a different page, you can either use the redirect function to programmatically specify the destination, or set the redirect property in the hook's options.

In the following example we will redirect to the "show" page after a successful mutation.

const {
refineCore: { onFinish, redirect },
} = useForm();

// --

const handleSubmit = async (e: React.FormEvent<HTMLFormElement>) => {
e.preventDefault();
const data = await onFinish(formValues);
redirect("show", data?.data?.id);
};

// --

onFinish

onFinish is a function that is called when the form is submitted. It will call the appropriate mutation based on the action property. You can override the default behavior by passing an onFinish function in the hook's options.

For example you can change values before sending to the API.

saveButtonProps

It contains all the props needed by the "submit" button within the form (disabled, onClick etc.). When saveButtonProps.onClick is called, it triggers handleSubmitfunction with onFinish. You can manually pass these props to your custom button.

formLoading

Loading state of a modal. It's true when useForm is currently being submitted or data is being fetched for the "edit" or "clone" mode.

autoSaveProps

If autoSave is enabled, this hook returns autoSaveProps object with data, error, and status properties from mutation.

FAQ

How can Invalidate other resources?

You can invalidate other resources with help of useInvalidate hook.

It is useful when you want to invalidate other resources don't have relation with the current resource.

import { useInvalidate } from "@refinedev/core";
import { useForm } from "@refinedev/react-hook-form";

const PostEdit = () => {
const invalidate = useInvalidate();

useForm({
refineCoreProps: {
onMutationSuccess: (data, variables, context) => {
invalidate({
resource: "users",
invalidates: ["resourceAll"],
});
},
},
});

// ---
};

How can I change the form data before submitting it to the API?

You may need to modify the form data before it is sent to the API.

For example, Let's send the values we received from the user in two separate inputs, name and surname, to the API as fullName.

pages/user/create.tsx
import { useForm } from "@refinedev/react-hook-form";
import React from "react";
import { FieldValues } from "react-hook-form";

export const UserCreate: React.FC = () => {
const {
refineCore: { onFinish },
register,
handleSubmit,
} = useForm();

const onFinishHandler = (data: FieldValues) => {
onFinish({
fullName: `${data.name} ${data.surname}`,
});
};

return (
<form onSubmit={handleSubmit(onFinishHandler)}>
<label>Name: </label>
<input {...register("name")} />
<br />

<label>Surname: </label>
<input {...register("surname")} />
<br />

<button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>
);
};

How to pass meta values only for the mutation or query?

You can use meta property to pass common values to the mutation and the query. But in some cases, you may want to pass different values to the mutation and the query. To do this, you can use mutationMeta and queryMeta properties.

API

Properties

PropertyTypeDescriptionDefault
refineCoreProps

Configuration object for the core of the useForm

warnWhenUnsavedChanges

boolean

When you have unsaved changes and try to leave the current page, refine shows a confirmation modal box.

false*

disableServerSideValidation

boolean

Disables server-side validation

false

*: These properties have default values in RefineContext and can also be set on the <Refine> component.

External Props:

It also accepts all props of useForm hook available in the React Hook Form.

For example, we can define the refineCoreProps property in the useForm hook as:

import { useForm } from "@refinedev/react-hook-form";

const { ... } = useForm({
...,
refineCoreProps: {
resource: "posts",
redirect: false,
// You can define all properties provided by Refine useForm
},
});

Return values

Returns all the properties returned by React Hook Form of the useForm hook. Also, we added the following return values:

refineCore: Returns all values returned by useForm. You can see all of them in here.

For example, we can access the refineCore return value in the useForm hook as:

import { useForm } from "@refinedev/react-hook-form";

const {
refineCore: { queryResult, ... },
} = useForm({ ... });
PropertyDescriptionType
saveButtonPropsProps for a submit button{ disabled: boolean; onClick: (e: React.BaseSyntheticEvent) => void; }
autoSavePropsAuto save props{ data: UpdateResponse<TData> | undefined, error: HttpError | null, status: "loading" | "error" | "idle" | "success" }

Type Parameters

PropertyDescriptionTypeDefault
TQueryFnDataResult data returned by the query function. Extends BaseRecordBaseRecordBaseRecord
TErrorCustom error object that extends HttpErrorHttpErrorHttpError
TVariablesField Values for mutation function{}{}
TContextSecond generic type of the useForm of the React Hook Form.{}{}
TDataResult data returned by the select function. Extends BaseRecord. If not specified, the value of TQueryFnData will be used as the default value.BaseRecordTQueryFnData
TResponseResult data returned by the mutation function. Extends BaseRecord. If not specified, the value of TData will be used as the default value.BaseRecordTData
TResponseErrorCustom error object that extends HttpError. If not specified, the value of TError will be used as the default value.HttpErrorTError

Example

Run on your local
npm create refine-app@latest -- --example form-react-hook-form-use-form