---
title: useOptimizelyClient for the React SDK v4+
slug: feature-experimentation/docs/useoptimizely-client-for-the-react-sdk
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-08-05T20:39:57.000Z
---

## Minimum SDK version

v4.0.0+

For versions 3.x and earlier, the equivalent functionality was provided by the `withOptimizely` higher-order component. See [React SDK prior to v4](docId:5JN5IRXNwScjoyQD81kXK).

## Description

The `useOptimizelyClient` hook returns the Optimizely `Client` instance from context. Use this hook when you need direct access to the client for operations not covered by the decide hooks.

To use this hook, call `useOptimizelyClient` within a component wrapped by `OptimizelyProvider`. See [OptimizelyProvider for the React SDK](docId\:rCHtKgccqa7z1Fd5pLkKB).

## Returns

Returns the Optimizely `Client` instance provided to `<OptimizelyProvider>` via the `client` prop.

## Example

```javascript
import { useOptimizelyClient } from '@optimizely/react-sdk';

function MyComponent() {
  const client = useOptimizelyClient();

  const handleClick = () => {
    if (client) {
      const user = client.createUserContext('user-123', { plan: 'gold' });
      const decision = user.decide('flag-key');
      console.log('Decision:', decision);
    }
  };

  return <button onClick={handleClick}>Check Flag</button>;
}
```

## Source files

The language and platform source files containing the implementation for the React SDK are available on [GitHub](https://github.com/optimizely/react-sdk).