[General] Only overwrite ref if the dropped handler didn't change

[j-piasecki]

Description

It's possible that when a gesture is updated, the new values in the ref will be overwritten after being updated, due to the cleanup not checking what it's deleting.

It was possible to get this scenario:

 LOG  useGesture createGestureHandler TapGestureHandler 1 previous  -1
 LOG  useGesture useEffect TapGestureHandler 1
 LOG  useGesture createGestureHandler TapGestureHandler 2 previous TapGestureHandler 1
 LOG  useGesture useEffect cleanup TapGestureHandler 1
 LOG  useGesture createGestureHandler TapGestureHandler 2 previous  -1

where the last update would crash due to the ref being cleared by the cleanup of TapGestureHandler 1 AFTER being updated by TapGestureHandler 2.

Test plan

File 1:

import React from 'react';
import { View } from 'react-native';
import { GestureDetector, useTapGesture } from 'react-native-gesture-handler';

function Test() {
  const gesture = useTapGesture({
    onActivate: () => {
      console.log('onActivate');
    },
  });

  const COMMENT_THIS_FIRST = 2;

  return (
    <GestureDetector gesture={gesture}>
      <View style={{ width: 100, height: 100, backgroundColor: 'red' }} />
    </GestureDetector>
  );
}

export default Test;

File2:

import React from 'react';
import { GestureHandlerRootView } from 'react-native-gesture-handler';

import Test from './File1';

function Example() {
  let COMMENT_THIS_SECOND = 1;

  return (
    <GestureHandlerRootView>
      <Test />
    </GestureHandlerRootView>
  );
}

export default Example;

Comment out COMMENT_THIS_FIRST, save, then comment out COMMENT_THIS_SECOND and save.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Fixes a race where an outdated useEffect cleanup could clear currentGestureRef after a newer handler updated it, leading to erroneous re-creation and potential crashes during rapid updates (e.g., React Refresh / fast updates).

Changes:

• Guard currentGestureRef cleanup so it only resets the ref when the ref still points at the handler being dropped.

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[tomekzaw]

I've tried this PR in my app and it fixes the bug. Thanks!