React Reference Guide: Context API

React's Context API provides a solution for managing shared data across multiple components, eliminating the need to pass props through numerous layers of components, known as prop drilling. The API includes methods like React.createContext, which creates a Context object allowing components to subscribe to its values, and Context.Provider, which wraps components to make the context values accessible to them. Context.Consumer allows components to subscribe to these context changes. Class.contextType enables a class component to consume the nearest Context value, though it limits subscription to only one context. While Context can simplify data sharing, it has caveats such as reducing component independence and potentially causing unintentional re-renders due to reference identity. Therefore, it is sometimes advisable to use component composition instead, especially when addressing prop drilling is the sole concern. Overuse of Context can lead to complications, and careful management is required to prevent performance issues.