Why putting all CRUD logic in one React hook backfires as apps grow

A developer building an admin panel consolidated all CRUD operations — list, detail, create, update, and delete — into a single custom React hook called useItems, using React Query under the hood. The approach initially felt clean and efficient, reducing boilerplate and keeping the feature contained in one place. Over time, problems emerged: cache invalidations fired at wrong moments, unrelated queries triggered unnecessary re-renders, and detail pages carried overhead from list queries they never needed. The developer ultimately split the monolith into focused hooks — useItemsList, useItem, and individual mutation hooks — resulting in clearer imports, fewer surprise refetches, and lighter components. The key takeaway is that consolidating logic into one hook can suit small prototypes, but needs to be revisited before it scales into a growing application.