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statestate-managementxstate

Difference between { actions: "" } and { entry: "" } in xstate?

It seems to me that you can fire an action in one of the following ways:

Explicitly

{
  ...
  states: {
    foo: {
      on: {
        BAR: {
          actions: "performSomeAction",   
          target: "bar",
        },
      },
    },
    bar: {},
  },
  ...
}

Implicitly with "entry"

{
  ...
  states: {
    foo: {
      on: {
        BAR: "bar",
      }
    },
    bar: {
      entry: "performSomeAction",
    },
  },
  ...
}

In what circumstances would you choose one over the other?

Solution

  • David Kourshid (creator of xstate) answered this on Spectrum:

    They mean different things.

    • Transition actions mean "execute this action only on this transition"
    • Entry/exit actions mean "execute this action on any transition that enters/exits this state"