TSharedRef::SharedReferenceCount

property Core Since 4.0

#include "Templates/SharedPointer.h"

Access: private

Description

The reference-counter handle shared with all TSharedPtr and TSharedRef instances that co-own the same object. Manages object lifetime and exposes the count via the public GetSharedReferenceCount() method.

Caveats & Gotchas

• SharedReferenceCount is private. Call GetSharedReferenceCount() for the count — and only for debugging, as it is documented as not necessarily fast.
• TSharedRef guarantees at least one live shared reference exists at all times, so GetSharedReferenceCount() on a TSharedRef always returns >= 1, unlike TSharedPtr which can be null with count 0.
• The reference controller is shared with any TWeakPtr pointing to the same object. It is freed only when both the shared count and weak count reach zero — holding weak pointers prevents controller deallocation.

Signature

SharedPointerInternals::FSharedReferencer< Mode > SharedReferenceCount

Example

Observing reference count across TSharedRef and TSharedPtr C++

TSharedRef<FMyData> Ref1 = MakeShared<FMyData>();
TSharedRef<FMyData> Ref2 = Ref1; // count = 2
TSharedPtr<FMyData> Ptr = Ref1;  // count = 3

UE_LOG(LogTemp, Log, TEXT("%d"), Ref1.GetSharedReferenceCount()); // 3

Version History

Introduced in: 4.0

Version	Status	Notes
5.6	stable	—

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