Managing forms in React can be challenging, especially as your application grows. Traditional approaches often require you to choose between controlled and uncontrolled components. Controlled components keep form data in React state, updating on every keystroke. While this approach gives you full control and makes validation straightforward, it can lead to performance problems in large forms because every input change causes a re-render. On the other hand, uncontrolled components rely on the DOM to manage input state, making them less verbose but harder to validate and synchronize with your application state. Both approaches can result in a lot of boilerplate code for registering fields, handling input changes, and managing validation messages. This complexity increases the risk of bugs and makes maintenance harder in bigger projects.

React Hook Form was created to address these challenges and simplify form management in React. Its main goal is to reduce the amount of code you need to write while improving performance and developer experience. React Hook Form uses uncontrolled inputs under the hood, which means it lets the browser handle most of the input state, reducing the number of re-renders when users interact with the form. This design leads to faster forms, especially with many fields.

The library's core principles include:

• Embracing uncontrolled components to minimize React state usage;
• Minimizing re-renders to boost performance;
• Providing a simple API for registering fields and handling validation;
• Reducing boilerplate by abstracting away common tasks.

React Hook Form is ideal for any scenario where you need efficient, scalable form handling, such as user registration, checkout pages, or dynamic surveys. Its lightweight footprint and compatibility with existing UI libraries make it a popular choice for both simple and complex forms.