React 20 `ref` as a Prop: Migrating Away From `forwardRef` Across a Large Compon

<h2> The End of an Era: Why React 19 Killed <code>forwardRef</code> </h2> <p>For years, React developers have lived with a specific kind of frustration: the "ref-forwarding tax."

<blockquote> <p>“Programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute.” - Harold Abelson</p> </blockquote> <p>Modern frontend applications

<p>I spent months building a production React platform that manages campaigns, customer conversations, and permissions across multiple organizations. Somewhere around the third