This post by React dev lead Dan Abramov goes deep into this question (much more detail than is available in the React Hooks FAQ or the ReactConf talks). https:/

This post by React dev lead Dan Abramov goes deep into this question (much more detail than is available in the React Hooks FAQ or the ReactConf talks). https://overreacted.io/why-do-hooks-rely-on-call-order/ https://overreacted.io/why-do-hooks-rely-on-call-order/ tl;dr: The primary design goal of hooks is to support the creation of custom hooks, which can eliminate the need for higher-order components in many cases. An ideal alternative implementation would support custom hooks, without relying on call ordering, and without requiring a linter to guarantee safety. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be an approach that satisfies all of these requirements. Depending on call order is apparently the least-bad approach to hooks.