Push method in React Hooks (useState)?

When you use useState, you can get an update method for the state item:

const [theArray, setTheArray] = useState(initialArray);

then, when you want to add a new element, you use that function and pass in the new array or a function that will create the new array. Normally the latter, since state updates are asynchronous and sometimes batched:

setTheArray(oldArray => [...oldArray, newElement]);

Sometimes you can get away without using that callback form, if you only update the array in handlers for certain specific user events like click (but not like mousemove):

setTheArray([...theArray, newElement]);

The events for which React ensures that rendering is flushed are the "discrete events" listed here.

Live Example (passing a callback into setTheArray):

const {useState, useCallback} = React;
function Example() {
    const [theArray, setTheArray] = useState([]);
    const addEntryClick = () => {
        setTheArray(oldArray => [...oldArray, `Entry ${oldArray.length}`]);
    };
    return [
        <input type="button" onClick={addEntryClick} value="Add" />,
        <div>{theArray.map(entry =>
          <div>{entry}</div>
        )}
        </div>
    ];
}

ReactDOM.render(
    <Example />,
    document.getElementById("root")
);

<div id="root"></div>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/16.8.1/umd/react.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react-dom/16.8.1/umd/react-dom.production.min.js"></script>

Because the only update to theArray in there is the one in a click event (one of the "discrete" events), I could get away with a direct update in addEntry:

const {useState, useCallback} = React;
function Example() {
    const [theArray, setTheArray] = useState([]);
    const addEntryClick = () => {
        setTheArray([...theArray, `Entry ${theArray.length}`]);
    };
    return [
        <input type="button" onClick={addEntryClick} value="Add" />,
        <div>{theArray.map(entry =>
          <div>{entry}</div>
        )}
        </div>
    ];
}

ReactDOM.render(
    <Example />,
    document.getElementById("root")
);

<div id="root"></div>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/16.8.1/umd/react.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react-dom/16.8.1/umd/react-dom.production.min.js"></script>

To expand a little further, here are some common examples. Starting with:

const [theArray, setTheArray] = useState(initialArray);
const [theObject, setTheObject] = useState(initialObject);

Push element at end of array

setTheArray(prevArray => [...prevArray, newValue])

Push/update element at end of object

setTheObject(prevState => ({ ...prevState, currentOrNewKey: newValue}));

Push/update element at end of array of objects

setTheArray(prevState => [...prevState, {currentOrNewKey: newValue}]);

Push element at end of object of arrays

let specificArrayInObject = theObject.array.slice();
specificArrayInObject.push(newValue);
const newObj = { ...theObject, [event.target.name]: specificArrayInObject };
theObject(newObj);

Here are some working examples too. https://codesandbox.io/s/reacthooks-push-r991u