React18 Legacy Context

---
name: react18-legacy-context
description: React legacy context → modern Context API — contextTypes, childContextTypes migration patterns
source: "https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot"
attribution: "github/awesome-copilot by GitHub Community"
---

> **Attribution:** Sourced from [github/awesome-copilot](https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot) by [GitHub Community](https://github.com/github).

# React 18 Legacy Context Migration

Legacy context (`contextTypes`, `childContextTypes`, `getChildContext`) was deprecated in React 16.3 and warns in React 18.3.1. It is **removed in React 19**.

## This Is Always a Cross-File Migration

Unlike most other migrations that touch one file at a time, context migration requires coordinating:
1. Create the context object (usually a new file)
2. Update the **provider** component
3. Update **every consumer** component

Missing any consumer leaves the app broken - it will read from the wrong context or get `undefined`.

## Migration Steps (Always Follow This Order)

```
Step 1: Find the provider (childContextTypes + getChildContext)
Step 2: Find ALL consumers (contextTypes)
Step 3: Create the context file
Step 4: Update the provider
Step 5: Update each consumer (class components → contextType, function components → useContext)
Step 6: Verify - run the app, check no legacy context warnings remain
```

## Scan Commands

```bash
# Find all providers
grep -rn "childContextTypes\|getChildContext" src/ --include="*.js" --include="*.jsx" | grep -v "\.test\."

# Find all consumers
grep -rn "contextTypes\s*=" src/ --include="*.js" --include="*.jsx" | grep -v "\.test\."

# Find this.context usage (may be legacy or modern - check which)
grep -rn "this\.context\." src/ --include="*.js" --include="*.jsx" | grep -v "\.test\."
```

## Reference Files

- **`references/single-context.md`** - complete migration for one context (theme, auth, etc.) with provider + class consumer + function consumer
- **`references/multi-context.md`** - apps with multiple legacy contexts (nested providers, multiple consumers of different contexts)
- **`references/context-file-template.md`** - the standard file structure for a new context module