SolidJS Utilities

Context API

Use createContext to create context. Provider component wraps children and passes value. useContext consumes context.

import { createContext, useContext, createSignal } from "solid-js";

// Create context
const ThemeContext = createContext();

// Provider with signal
function ThemeProvider(props) {
  const [theme, setTheme] = createSignal("light");
  
  return (
    <ThemeContext.Provider value={{ theme, setTheme }}>
      {props.children}
    </ThemeContext.Provider>
  );
}

// Custom hook with error handling
function useTheme() {
  const ctx = useContext(ThemeContext);
  if (!ctx) throw new Error("useTheme must be used within ThemeProvider");
  return ctx;
}

// Use in component
function Component() {
  const { theme, setTheme } = useTheme();
  return <div class={theme()}>Content</div>;
}

Props

Props are reactive - access properties directly
Use mergeProps to combine props with defaults
Use splitProps to separate props
Props with default or initial prefix are common for one-time initialization; the linter allows this pattern without explicit untrack

import { mergeProps, splitProps } from "solid-js";

// Merge props
function Button(props) {
  const merged = mergeProps({ type: "button" }, props);
  return <button {...merged}>Click</button>;
}

// Split props
function Component(props) {
  const [local, others] = splitProps(props, ["name", "age"]);
  return <div {...others}>{local.name}</div>;
}

// Default/initial props (no tracking needed)
function Input(props) {
  const [value, setValue] = createSignal(props.initialValue);
  return <input value={value()} onInput={e => setValue(e.target.value)} />;
}

children Helper

Use children helper for complex child manipulation. Prevents duplicate DOM creation.

import { children } from "solid-js";

function Wrapper(props) {
  // Resolve children once (prevents duplicate DOM)
  const resolved = children(() => props.children);
  
  // Reuse resolved children multiple times
  return (
    <div>
      {resolved()}
      <div>Duplicate: {resolved()}</div>
    </div>
  );
}

When to use:

Accessing props.children multiple times
Accessing props.children outside tracking scope
Resolving/transforming children before use

Important: children helper evaluates immediately - use conditionally for conditional rendering:

// ❌ Always evaluates
const resolved = children(() => props.children);
<Show when={visible()}>{resolved()}</Show>

// ✅ Conditional evaluation
const resolved = children(() => visible() && props.children);

Array normalization:

const resolved = children(() => props.children);
const array = resolved.toArray(); // Normalize to array

JSX Attributes

class and classList

// Static class
<div class="active" />

// Dynamic class
<div class={isActive() ? "active" : undefined} />

// classList object
<div
  classList={{
    active: isActive(),
    disabled: isDisabled(),
    "large-text": size() === "large"
  }}
/>

// Signal classList
const [classes, setClasses] = createSignal({});
<div classList={classes()} />

Event Handlers

// onClick, onInput, etc. (lowercase 'on')
<button onClick={handleClick}>Click</button>
<input onInput={e => console.log(e.target.value)} />

// Event delegation with on:eventName
<button on:click={handler} />
<div on:mousedown={handler} />

Other Attributes

// ref callback
let inputEl;
<input ref={inputEl} />

// style object (reactive)
<div style={{ color: color(), fontSize: "14px" }} />

// innerHTML (dangerous, use carefully)
<div innerHTML={htmlContent()} />

// use:* directives
<div use:someDirective={arg} />

Refs and Directives

Use ref attribute to access DOM elements directly
ref can be a variable or a callback function
In TypeScript, use let myElement!: HTMLDivElement; for definitive assignment
Signal setters or callbacks can be used as refs for dynamic elements
Forward refs by passing props.ref to child's element
Directives (use:) attach reusable behaviors to DOM elements
- Function signature: (element: Element, accessor: () => any): void
- Can have multiple directives on an element
- Can pass reactive data to accessor

import { createSignal, Show } from "solid-js";

// Basic ref
let myInput!: HTMLInputElement;
<input ref={myInput} />;

// Callback ref
let myDiv;
<div ref={(el) => (myDiv = el)}>Content</div>;

// Signal as ref
const [show, setShow] = createSignal(false);
let element!: HTMLParagraphElement;
<Show when={show()}>
  <p ref={element}>This is the ref element</p>
</Show>;

// Forwarding refs
function ChildComponent(props) {
  return <input ref={props.ref} />;
}
function ParentComponent() {
  let inputRef;
  return <ChildComponent ref={inputRef} />;
}

// Custom directive
function myDirective(element: Element, accessor: () => any) {
  createEffect(() => {
    element.textContent = accessor();
  });
}
<div use:myDirective={mySignal()}></div>;

Lifecycle

import { onMount, onCleanup, createSignal } from "solid-js";

function Component() {
  const [data, setData] = createSignal(null);

  // Runs once when component mounts
  onMount(async () => {
    const fetchedData = await fetchData();
    setData(fetchedData);
  });

  // Runs when component unmounts or effect re-runs
  onCleanup(() => {
    // Cleanup subscriptions, timers, etc.
    subscription.unsubscribe();
  });
}

Reactive Utilities

batch

Batch multiple updates - effects run once at the end:

import { batch } from "solid-js";

const [up1, setUp1] = createSignal(1);
const [up2, setUp2] = createSignal(2);
const [up3, setUp3] = createSignal(3);
const down = createMemo(() => up1() + up2() + up3());
createEffect(() => console.log("Downstream:", down()));

// Batch multiple updates
batch(() => {
  setUp1(10);
  setUp2(10);
  setUp3(10);
  // All updates processed together, 'down' recomputes once
});

untrack

Access signal without tracking:

import { untrack } from "solid-js";

// Access signal without tracking
const value = untrack(() => props.staticValue);

// Props with default/initial prefix are auto-untracked
function MyComponent(props: { initialName: string }) {
  const [name, setName] = createSignal(props.initialName); // ✅ OK
  return <div>{name()}</div>;
}

startTransition

Mark non-urgent updates:

import { startTransition } from "solid-js";

const [filter, setFilter] = createSignal("");
const [search, setSearch] = createSignal("");

startTransition(() => {
  // Non-urgent updates
  setFilter(filterValue);
  setSearch(searchValue);
});

from

Convert promises/observables to signals:

import { from } from "solid-js";

const data = from(fetch("/api/data").then(r => r.json()));

mapArray / indexArray

Transform arrays with fine-grained reactivity:

import { mapArray, indexArray } from "solid-js";

// Map by item identity
const mapped = mapArray(items, item => item.id);

// Map by index
const indexed = indexArray(items, item => item.id);

on

Execute effect when specific signal changes:

import { on } from "solid-js";

createEffect(on(count, (value) => {
  console.log("Count changed to:", value);
}, { defer: true }));

catchError

Catch errors in reactive contexts:

import { catchError } from "solid-js";

const data = catchError(() => {
  return riskyOperation();
}, (err) => {
  console.error("Error:", err);
  return defaultValue;
});

Store Utilities

produce

Mutate store data imperatively:

import { produce } from "solid-js/store";

setStore("user", produce(user => {
  user.name = "New Name";
  user.age = 31;
}));

reconcile

Merge new data efficiently (only updates changed fields):

import { reconcile } from "solid-js/store";

const newData = fetchNewData();
setStore("items", reconcile(newData)); // Only updates changed items

unwrap

Get plain object snapshot:

import { unwrap } from "solid-js/store";

const plainData = unwrap(store); // Plain JS object
// Use for serialization, API calls, etc.

createMutable

Create mutable store (use sparingly):

import { createMutable } from "solid-js/store";

const state = createMutable({ count: 0 });

// Direct mutation
state.count++;

// No setter needed, but less reactive control

Advanced Patterns

createResource

Manages asynchronous data fetching:

import { createResource, Suspense } from "solid-js";

async function fetchUser(id: string) {
  const response = await fetch(`/api/users/${id}`);
  return response.json();
}

function DataComponent(props: { userId: string }) {
  const [data, { mutate, refetch }] = createResource(
    () => props.userId,
    fetchUser,
    {
      initialValue: null,
      name: "user"
    }
  );

  return (
    <Suspense fallback={<div>Loading user...</div>}>
      <div>{data()?.name}</div>
      <button onClick={() => refetch()}>Refetch</button>
    </Suspense>
  );
}

Portals

Renders children into a different DOM node:

import { Portal } from "solid-js/web";

<Portal mount={document.body}>
  <Modal>Content</Modal>
</Portal>

Lazy Components

import { lazy, Suspense } from "solid-js";

const LazyComponent = lazy(() => import("./Component"));

<Suspense fallback={<Loading />}>
  <LazyComponent />
</Suspense>

Best Practices

Create custom context hooks for type safety and error handling
Use mergeProps for default props
Use splitProps to separate local and forwarded props
Use batch when making multiple related updates
Use untrack to read values without tracking
Use produce for complex store mutations
Use reconcile when merging fetched data
Use unwrap when serializing or sending to API