From f1a8e32b1a674c9ee30678be4d93630d4474afa5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Pieter De Baets <pieterdb@meta.com>
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 2026 02:51:09 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Align ref helper flow types (#57850)

Summary:

React ref callbacks may return only `void` or a cleanup function. Align `TRefCallbackFor` and the related shared callback-ref helpers directly with the core Flow React ref types, then update consumers whose callbacks returned incompatible values. This keeps the contracts canonical and avoids introducing a parallel restricted variant.

Changelog:
[Internal] - Align ref helper types with the React callback contract.

Differential Revision: D115064072
---
 packages/react-native/Libraries/Utilities/useRefEffect.js    | 4 +---
 .../src/private/animated/createAnimatedPropsHook.js          | 5 ++---
 2 files changed, 3 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/react-native/Libraries/Utilities/useRefEffect.js b/packages/react-native/Libraries/Utilities/useRefEffect.js
index 8f9ed0b3842d..e1e38a0dd7ac 100644
--- a/packages/react-native/Libraries/Utilities/useRefEffect.js
+++ b/packages/react-native/Libraries/Utilities/useRefEffect.js
@@ -10,8 +10,6 @@
 
 import {useCallback, useRef} from 'react';
 
-type CallbackRef<T> = T => unknown;
-
 /**
  * Constructs a callback ref that provides similar semantics as `useEffect`. The
  * supplied `effect` callback will be called with non-null component instances.
@@ -28,7 +26,7 @@ type CallbackRef<T> = T => unknown;
  */
 export default function useRefEffect<TInstance>(
   effect: TInstance => (() => void) | void,
-): CallbackRef<TInstance | null> {
+): React.RefCallback<TInstance> {
   const cleanupRef = useRef<(() => void) | void>(undefined);
   return useCallback(
     (instance: null | TInstance) => {
diff --git a/packages/react-native/src/private/animated/createAnimatedPropsHook.js b/packages/react-native/src/private/animated/createAnimatedPropsHook.js
index 0e930cdae4a0..b6dcef3bd329 100644
--- a/packages/react-native/src/private/animated/createAnimatedPropsHook.js
+++ b/packages/react-native/src/private/animated/createAnimatedPropsHook.js
@@ -35,11 +35,10 @@ type ReducedProps<TProps> = {
   collapsable: boolean,
   ...
 };
-type CallbackRef<T> = T => unknown;
 
 export type AnimatedPropsHook = <TProps extends {...}, TInstance>(
   props: TProps,
-) => [ReducedProps<TProps>, CallbackRef<TInstance | null>];
+) => [ReducedProps<TProps>, React.RefCallback<TInstance>];
 
 type UpdateCallback = () => void;
 
@@ -55,7 +54,7 @@ export default function createAnimatedPropsHook(
 
   return function useAnimatedProps<TProps extends {...}, TInstance>(
     props: TProps,
-  ): [ReducedProps<TProps>, CallbackRef<TInstance | null>] {
+  ): [ReducedProps<TProps>, React.RefCallback<TInstance>] {
     const [, scheduleUpdate] = useReducer<number, void>(count => count + 1, 0);
     const onUpdateRef = useRef<UpdateCallback | null>(null);
     const timerRef = useRef<TimeoutID | null>(null);

From 9e3c9c3e3a54457eeb02017f51daedd99aaddd8c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Pieter De Baets <pieterdb@meta.com>
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 2026 02:51:09 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Remove accidental ref callback return values (#57849)

Summary:

Ref callbacks commonly used expression bodies that returned assignment or collection method results. Use block bodies so these callbacks return `void`, matching React's ref contract.

Changelog:
[Internal] - Make callback refs return `void` explicitly.

Differential Revision: D115064073
---
 .../js/examples/TextInput/TextInputSharedExamples.js          | 4 +++-
 packages/rn-tester/js/examples/Timer/TimerExample.js          | 4 +++-
 2 files changed, 6 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/rn-tester/js/examples/TextInput/TextInputSharedExamples.js b/packages/rn-tester/js/examples/TextInput/TextInputSharedExamples.js
index 3aa30acc36ac..81eac46a8e49 100644
--- a/packages/rn-tester/js/examples/TextInput/TextInputSharedExamples.js
+++ b/packages/rn-tester/js/examples/TextInput/TextInputSharedExamples.js
@@ -563,7 +563,9 @@ class SelectionExample extends React.Component<
             onChangeText={value => this.setState({value})}
             // $FlowFixMe[method-unbinding] added when improving typing for this parameters
             onSelectionChange={this.onSelectionChange.bind(this)}
-            ref={textInput => (this._textInput = textInput)}
+            ref={textInput => {
+              this._textInput = textInput;
+            }}
             selection={this.props.imperative ? undefined : this.state.selection}
             style={this.props.style}
             value={this.state.value}
diff --git a/packages/rn-tester/js/examples/Timer/TimerExample.js b/packages/rn-tester/js/examples/Timer/TimerExample.js
index a80bdbac9f65..d9417d4c33b6 100644
--- a/packages/rn-tester/js/examples/Timer/TimerExample.js
+++ b/packages/rn-tester/js/examples/Timer/TimerExample.js
@@ -297,7 +297,9 @@ class IntervalExample extends React.Component<
     return (
       <View>
         <TimerTester
-          ref={ref => (this._timerTester = ref)}
+          ref={ref => {
+            this._timerTester = ref;
+          }}
           dt={25}
           type="setInterval"
         />