Have you ever encountered a frustrating bug where your rich text editor suddenly loses all content when you toggle a seemingly unrelated component? I recently ran into this exact issue and want to share the root cause and solution.

The Problem

Consider this form component with a rich text editor and a toggle switch:

<FormProvider {...methods}>
  <Stack as={'form'} noValidate onSubmit={handleSubmit(onSubmit)}>
    <Flex>
     <FormLabel htmlFor={'content'}>Comments</FormLabel>
     <RichTextEditorWrapper
       onEditorValueUpdate={(jsonStringEditorState) => {
         handleInputChange(jsonStringEditorState);
       }}
       defaultEditorStateValue={null}
       isEditMode={isEditMode}
     />
   </Flex>
   <Flex alignItems={'center'} direction={'row'}>
    <FormLabel htmlFor="isInternal">
      <span>{isInternal ? 'Internal Only' : 'Public'} </span>
      <Switch
        colorScheme={'red'}
        id="is-internal"
        size={'sm'}
        isChecked={isInternal}
        onChange={(v) => {
          setValue('isInternal', v.target.checked, { shouldDirty: true });
        }}
      />
    </FormLabel>
   </Flex>
  </Stack>
</FormProvider>

The issue: when a user types content in the RichTextEditorWrapper and then toggles the isInternal switch, all the typed text disappears and focus resets to the beginning.

The Root Cause

This happens because of how React handles re-renders and component identity. When any state or prop of the parent component changes—like toggling isInternal—React re-evaluates the entire JSX tree.

Here's the critical insight: even if the props to RichTextEditorWrapper appear identical, React treats them as new objects on each render. This is especially true for:

  • Function props (like onEditorValueUpdate)
  • Object props (like defaultEditorStateValue)

When React sees these "new" props, it considers the component to be a completely different element, causing it to unmount the old editor and mount a fresh one. Since defaultEditorStateValue is null, the new editor starts blank.

The Solution: Memoization

The fix is to memoize the RichTextEditorWrapper component using useMemo:

const memoizedEditor = useMemo(() => (
  <RichTextEditorWrapper
    onEditorValueUpdate={handleInputChange}
    defaultEditorStateValue={getValues('content')}
    isEditMode={isEditMode}
  />
), [isEditMode]);

Then render {memoizedEditor} instead of the component directly.

With this approach, React only re-evaluates the editor JSX when isEditMode changes. Toggling the isInternal switch won't trigger a re-render of the RichTextEditorWrapper because it's been "frozen" in the useMemo dependency array.

Alternative Approaches

If you need more flexibility while still preventing editor resets, consider these strategies:

1. Stable prop references: Avoid passing new objects or functions on every render by moving them outside the component or memoizing them separately.

2. External state management: Manage the editor's state outside the component and rehydrate it when needed, rather than relying on defaultEditorStateValue.

3. Component keys: Use a stable key prop to help React identify when a component should persist versus remount.

Key Takeaway

This issue highlights a fundamental React concept: component identity matters. When React can't determine if a component is the "same" between renders, it takes the safe route and creates a new instance. Understanding this behavior helps you write more predictable React applications and avoid mysterious bugs like disappearing editor content.

The next time you see unexpected component resets, ask yourself: "What's changing in the parent that might be affecting component identity?" The answer often lies in unstable prop references or missing memoization.