Using Efficient Effects

Using Efficient Effects — pick the cheapest correct effect API

Compose ships three effect APIs by default: LaunchedEffect (coroutine, restarts on key change), DisposableEffect (setup/teardown with a cleanup block), and SideEffect (runs on every successful composition). The skydoves/compose-effects library adds RememberedEffect — a non-coroutine analog of LaunchedEffect. Picking the wrong API wastes a coroutine scope, leaks a listener, or silently drops the latest version of a callback. This skill is the decision tree.

When to use this skill

• The user asks which effect API to choose, or why a LaunchedEffect restarts unexpectedly.
• A long-lived LaunchedEffect calls a stale version of a callback that the parent has updated.
• A non-Compose subscriber (listener, observer, broadcast receiver, GL surface) needs setup at composition entry and teardown on key change or exit.
• A composable just needs to react to a key change synchronously and a coroutine scope is overkill.
• A LazyColumn row needs its own ViewModel instance (e.g. one VM per chat row, one VM per feed card) and the parent VM store would leak state across rows.
• The user is debugging unexpected effect restarts, leaked listeners, or per-frame allocations from SideEffect.

When NOT to use this skill

• Pure derivation of one State<T> from another — use derivedStateOf. See ../../recomposition/choosing-derivedstateof/SKILL.md.
• Collecting a flow that originates outside the composition — use collectAsStateWithLifecycle. See ../collecting-flows-safely/SKILL.md.
• One-shot computation that must survive recomposition without re-running — use remember { ... }, not LaunchedEffect(Unit).

Prerequisites

• Familiarity with Compose's composition lifecycle: enter, recompose, leave. Effects run after composition commits.
• Compose UI 1.4+.
• For RememberedEffect, add com.github.skydoves:compose-effects (latest GA — see https://github.com/skydoves/compose-effects).
• For ViewModelStoreScope, also depend on com.github.skydoves:compose-effects-viewmodel. Import path: com.skydoves.compose.effects.viewmodel.ViewModelStoreScope.
• For ViewModelStoreScope with Hilt, also androidx.hilt:hilt-navigation-compose for hiltViewModel().

Workflow — decision tree

• Need a coroutine? → LaunchedEffect(key1, key2, ...). The block is launched in the composition's CoroutineScope and cancelled/relaunched whenever any key changes. Use for network calls, animations, suspending work.
• Need setup + cleanup with no coroutine? → DisposableEffect(key) { onDispose { ... } }. The onDispose block runs on key change AND when the composable leaves composition. Use for listeners, observers, manual subscriptions.
• Need to react synchronously to a key change with no coroutine? → RememberedEffect(key) { ... } from skydoves/compose-effects. Cheaper than spinning a LaunchedEffect scope just to call a synchronous function. No onDispose — pair with DisposableEffect if you need teardown.
• Long-lived LaunchedEffect that consumes a callback that may change? → wrap the callback with val latest by rememberUpdatedState(callback) and reference latest inside the effect. The effect keeps the same coroutine; the callback reference stays fresh.
• Per-composable ViewModel (one per row in a LazyColumn, etc.)? → wrap the row body in ViewModelStoreScope(key = <stableId>) { ... } from com.github.skydoves:compose-effects-viewmodel and call hiltViewModel() (or viewModel()) inside. The key is required and must be a stable identifier (the row's id, etc.); each key gets its own store.
• Side effect that must run after every successful composition? → SideEffect { ... }. Rare. Use for publishing Compose state to a non-Compose system that you cannot subscribe to via DisposableEffect (e.g. updating a View's field on every commit). Avoid for per-frame work — it really does run every commit.

Patterns

Pattern: stale callback inside a long-lived LaunchedEffect

// WRONG
@Composable
fun Timer(onTick: () -> Unit) {
    LaunchedEffect(Unit) {
        while (true) {
            delay(1_000)
            onTick()
        }
    }
}
// WRONG because: onTick is captured by the first composition's value; later parents pass an
// updated lambda but the running coroutine still holds the original reference -> the new
// onTick is silently ignored.

// RIGHT
@Composable
fun Timer(onTick: () -> Unit) {
    val latest by rememberUpdatedState(onTick)
    LaunchedEffect(Unit) {
        while (true) {
            delay(1_000)
            latest()
        }
    }
}
// rememberUpdatedState updates the ref on every recomposition; the coroutine reads the freshest
// reference each tick without restarting.

Pattern: DisposableEffect for a non-coroutine subscriber

// WRONG
@Composable
fun LocationBadge(client: LocationClient) {
    LaunchedEffect(client) {
        try {
            val listener = LocationListener { /* ... */ }
            client.register(listener)
            awaitCancellation()
        } finally {
            client.unregisterAll()
        }
    }
}
// WRONG because: spawning a coroutine just to hold a listener wastes a scope and obscures the
// teardown contract; awaitCancellation is the wrong primitive for a non-suspending subscriber.

// RIGHT
@Composable
fun LocationBadge(client: LocationClient) {
    DisposableEffect(client) {
        val listener = LocationListener { /* ... */ }
        client.register(listener)
        onDispose { client.unregister(listener) }
    }
}

Pattern: RememberedEffect over LaunchedEffect for synchronous key reactions

// WRONG (over-engineered)
LaunchedEffect(themeKey) {
    applyTheme(themeKey)
}
// WRONG because: spawns and cancels a coroutine scope just to call a synchronous function on
// key change. No suspension happens; the scope is pure overhead.

// RIGHT (with com.github.skydoves:compose-effects)
import com.skydoves.compose.effects.RememberedEffect

RememberedEffect(themeKey) {
    applyTheme(themeKey)
}

Pattern: ViewModelStoreScope for per-row ViewModels in a LazyColumn

// WRONG
@Composable
fun Feed(rows: List<Row>) {
    LazyColumn {
        items(rows, key = { it.id }) { row ->
            // hiltViewModel() here resolves to the parent screen's store -> every row shares
            // the same VM instance, leaking state across rows.
            val vm = hiltViewModel<RowVm>()
            RowContent(row, vm)
        }
    }
}
// WRONG because: every row's hiltViewModel call resolves against the parent NavBackStackEntry
// store -> one VM is shared across all rows -> per-row state collapses into one slot.

// RIGHT
import com.skydoves.compose.effects.viewmodel.ViewModelStoreScope

@Composable
fun Feed(rows: List<Row>) {
    LazyColumn {
        items(rows, key = { it.id }) { row ->
            ViewModelStoreScope(key = row.id) {
                val vm = hiltViewModel<RowVm>()
                RowContent(row, vm)
            }
        }
    }
}
// ViewModelStoreScope(key = ...) installs a composable-scoped ViewModelStore tied to the
// supplied key; each row gets its own VM and onCleared fires when the row leaves composition.
// The key MUST be stable across recompositions — the row's id is the canonical choice.

Pattern: remember { } vs LaunchedEffect(Unit) for one-shot work

// WRONG
@Composable
fun Greeter(name: String) {
    LaunchedEffect(Unit) {
        Log.d("Greeter", "First seen: $name")
    }
}
// WRONG because: LaunchedEffect(Unit) re-runs after configuration change recreation when the
// composable is re-attached to a new composition. For "do this once and never again across
// the lifetime of this composable instance", use remember.

// RIGHT
@Composable
fun Greeter(name: String) {
    remember { Log.d("Greeter", "First seen: $name") }
}
// remember { } evaluates its block once per slot and never again unless the slot is removed
// and re-created. No coroutine, no effect machinery.

Mandatory rules

• MUST wrap externally-passed callbacks in rememberUpdatedState when consumed inside a long-lived LaunchedEffect (one whose key set does not change when the callback identity changes). Otherwise the effect captures the stale lambda forever.
• MUST prefer DisposableEffect over LaunchedEffect { try { } finally { } } for non-coroutine subscribers. The cleanup contract is explicit and runs on key change as well as composition exit.
• MUST NOT use LaunchedEffect(Unit) to run a one-shot operation that must survive recomposition without re-running. Use remember { ... } for that.
• MUST NOT use SideEffect for per-frame work or for anything that allocates. It runs on every successful commit.
• MUST key effects on every value the effect closes over that should restart it. Lying about the key set is the most common source of "my effect doesn't see the new value" bugs.
• MUST use ViewModelStoreScope(key = <stableId>) { hiltViewModel<T>() } (from com.github.skydoves:compose-effects-viewmodel) when calling hiltViewModel() inside a LazyColumn / LazyRow item that needs its own VM instance — without it, all rows share the parent screen's store. The key parameter is required and MUST be a stable id (e.g. the row's domain id).
• PREFERRED: RememberedEffect(key) { ... } from skydoves/compose-effects over LaunchedEffect(key) { ... } when the body does not suspend. Cheaper than allocating a coroutine scope on every key change.
• PREFERRED: for flow consumption, do not write LaunchedEffect(viewModel) { viewModel.flow.collect { ... } } — use collectAsStateWithLifecycle() instead. See ../collecting-flows-safely/SKILL.md.

Verification

• [ ] @TraceRecomposition on the host composable shows the expected number of effect runs per key change (typically: one teardown + one setup per key change; zero on unrelated recompositions). See ../../measurement/tracing-recompositions-at-runtime/SKILL.md.
• [ ] Add a logcat line in every DisposableEffect.onDispose { ... } and confirm it fires on key change AND on backgrounding the host screen.
• [ ] Drive the parent to update a callback rapidly (e.g. counter in state); confirm the long-lived LaunchedEffect sees the latest value via rememberUpdatedState.
• [ ] For ViewModelStoreScope rows, log the row VM's init { } and onCleared() — they should fire per row, scoped to that row's identity, not once for the whole list.
• [ ] No SideEffect { } block in the codebase performs allocation-heavy work; it should be a thin pointer write to a non-Compose subscriber.
• [ ] No LaunchedEffect(Unit) { /* non-suspending work */ } remains — replace with remember { ... } (one-shot) or RememberedEffect(key) { ... } (key-driven).

References

• Android Developers — Side effects in Compose: https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/compose/side-effects
• Android Developers — Lifecycle of composables: https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/compose/lifecycle
• Skydoves — compose-effects (RememberedEffect, ViewModelStoreScope): https://github.com/skydoves/compose-effects
• Skydoves — 6 Jetpack Compose Guidelines: https://medium.com/proandroiddev/6-jetpack-compose-guidelines-to-optimize-your-app-performance-be18533721f9
• Ben Trengrove — Debugging recomposition: https://medium.com/androiddevelopers/jetpack-compose-debugging-recomposition-bfcf4a6f8d37
• Sibling skill: ../collecting-flows-safely/SKILL.md for collectAsStateWithLifecycle and the Flow-as-parameter antipattern.
• Sibling skill: ../../recomposition/choosing-derivedstateof/SKILL.md for the State→State derivation case (not an effect).
• Sibling skill: ../../measurement/tracing-recompositions-at-runtime/SKILL.md for @TraceRecomposition setup.