# Component Lifecycle (React / Next.js)

> Mounting, updating, unmounting, useEffect cleanup, dependencies array, lifecycle patterns

- 18 interview questions
- Junior
- [Interview Questions: React / Next.js](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions.md)

## 1. What is mounting in a React component?

**Answer**

Mounting is the phase where a component is created and inserted into the DOM for the first time. During this phase, React initializes state, executes construction code and performs the first render. This is the ideal moment to trigger API calls or initialize subscriptions via useEffect.

## 2. What is unmounting in a React component?

**Answer**

Unmounting is the phase where a component is removed from the DOM and destroyed. This phase occurs when the component is no longer needed, for example during a route change or rendering condition. This is the critical moment to clean up resources: cancel timers, close WebSocket connections and remove event listeners to prevent memory leaks.

## 3. When does the function passed to useEffect execute by default?

**Answer**

By default, useEffect executes after every component render, including the first render and all subsequent re-renders. This asynchronous execution allows not blocking the user interface. To control this behavior, it's possible to use the dependencies array as second argument to limit executions only when certain values change.

## 15 more questions available

- What is the purpose of the dependency array in useEffect?
- What does it mean to pass an empty array [] as dependencies to useEffect?

Sign up for free: https://sharpskill.dev/en/login

## Other React / Next.js interview topics

- [JavaScript Essentials](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/javascript-essentials.md): 25 questions, Junior
- [React Fundamentals](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/react-fundamentals.md): 20 questions, Junior
- [React Hooks](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/react-hooks.md): 22 questions, Junior
- [React Router](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/react-router.md): 20 questions, Junior
- [State Management with Context](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/state-management-context.md): 18 questions, Junior
- [Forms & Controlled Components](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/forms-controlled-components.md): 20 questions, Mid-Level
- [Data Fetching & API](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/fetching-data-api.md): 20 questions, Mid-Level
- [React Query (TanStack Query)](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/react-query-tanstack.md): 20 questions, Mid-Level
- [Styling & CSS-in-JS](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/styling-css-in-js.md): 18 questions, Mid-Level
- [Next.js Fundamentals](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/nextjs-fundamentals.md): 25 questions, Mid-Level
- [TypeScript with React](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/typescript-react.md): 20 questions, Mid-Level
- [Next.js Data Fetching](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/nextjs-data-fetching.md): 24 questions, Mid-Level
- [Next.js Server Actions](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/nextjs-server-actions.md): 20 questions, Mid-Level
- [Next.js Routing & Navigation](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/nextjs-routing-navigation.md): 22 questions, Mid-Level
- [Next.js API Routes](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/nextjs-api-routes.md): 20 questions, Mid-Level
- [Next.js Metadata & SEO](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/nextjs-metadata-seo.md): 18 questions, Mid-Level
- [Next.js Middleware & Auth](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/nextjs-middleware-auth.md): 22 questions, Mid-Level
- [React Testing](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/react-testing.md): 20 questions, Mid-Level
- [Zustand State Management](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/zustand-state-management.md): 18 questions, Mid-Level
- [React Performance Optimization](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/react-performance-optimization.md): 22 questions, Senior
- [Error Boundaries & Error Handling](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/react-error-boundaries.md): 18 questions, Senior
- [Advanced React Patterns](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/advanced-react-patterns.md): 20 questions, Senior
- [Next.js Advanced Features](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/nextjs-advanced-features.md): 24 questions, Senior
- [Next.js Deployment & Production](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/nextjs-deployment-production.md): 20 questions, Senior
- [Architecture & Design Patterns](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/react-architecture-patterns.md): 22 questions, Senior
- [React Server Components](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/react-server-components.md): 26 questions, Senior
- [Next.js Internationalization](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/nextjs-internationalization.md): 20 questions, Senior
- [React Security & Best Practices](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/react-security-best-practices.md): 22 questions, Senior

---

Source: SharpSkill (https://sharpskill.dev), tech interview preparation for your real stack.
HTML version of this page: https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/react-next/interview-questions/component-lifecycle