React 18 String Refs Migration String refs ( ref="myInput" + this.refs.myInput ) were deprecated in React 16.3, warn in React 18.3.1, and are removed in React 19 . Quick Pattern Map Pattern Reference Single ref on a DOM element → patterns.md#single-ref Multiple refs in one component → patterns.md#multiple-refs Refs in a list / dynamic refs → patterns.md#list-refs Callback refs (alternative approach) → patterns.md#callback-refs Ref passed to a child component → patterns.md#forwarded-refs Scan Command

Find all string ref assignments in JSX

grep -rn 'ref="' src/ --include = ".js" --include = ".jsx" | grep -v ".test."

Find all this.refs accessors

grep -rn "this.refs." src/ --include = ".js" --include = ".jsx" | grep -v ".test." Both should be migrated together - find the ref="name" and the this.refs.name accesses for each component as a pair. The Migration Rule Every string ref migrates to React.createRef() : Add refName = React.createRef(); as a class field (or in constructor) Replace ref="refName" → ref={this.refName} in JSX Replace this.refs.refName → this.refName.current everywhere Read references/patterns.md for the full before/after for each case.