Get an element by ID in React

Get an element by ID in React #

To get an element by ID in React:

1. Set the ref prop on the element.
2. Use the current property to access the element in the useEffect hook.

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import {useRef, useEffect} from 'react';

export default function App() {
  const ref = useRef(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    // 👇️ use document.getElementById()
    const el = document.getElementById('my-element');
    console.log(el);

    // 👇️ (better) use a ref
    const el2 = ref.current;
    console.log(el2);
  }, []);

  return (
    <div>
      <h2 ref={ref} id="my-element">
        Some content here
      </h2>
    </div>
  );
}

The code snippet shows how to get element by ID using the document.getElementById() method and via a ref.

The useRef() hook can be passed an initial value as an argument. The hook returns a mutable ref object whose .current property is initialized to the passed argument.

When we pass a ref prop to an element, e.g. <div ref={myRef} />, React sets the .current property of the ref object to the corresponding DOM node.

We passed an empty dependencies array to the useEffect hook, so it's only going to run when the component mounts.

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useEffect(() => {
  // 👇️ use document.getElementById()
  const el = document.getElementById('my-element');
  console.log(el);

  // 👇️ (better) use a ref
  const el2 = ref.current;
  console.log(el2);
}, []);

We used the useEffect hook because we want to make sure the ref has been set on the element and the element has been rendered to the DOM.

Alternatively, you can use the document.getElementById method if you don't have access to the element and can't set a ref prop on it.

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useEffect(() => {
  // 👇️ use document.getElementById()
  const el = document.getElementById('my-element');
  console.log(el);
}, []);

You have to call the document.getElementById() method in the useEffect hook or when an event occurs.

Here is an example that gets an element by ID when an event occurs.

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import {useRef} from 'react';

export default function App() {
  const ref = useRef(null);

  const handleClick = () => {
    // 👇️ use document.getElementById()
    const el = document.getElementById('my-element');
    console.log(el);

    // 👇️ (better) use a ref
    const el2 = ref.current;
    console.log(el2);
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <h2 ref={ref} id="my-element">
        Some content here
      </h2>

      <button onClick={handleClick}>Click</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Selecting an element by ID or using a ref is also possible in an event handler function.

The useEffect hook runs after the DOM elements in the component have been rendered to the DOM, so if an element with the provided id exists, it will be selected.