Prevent LaunchedEffect from re-running on configuration change

The simplest solution is to store information about whether you made an API call with rememberSaveable: it will live when the configuration changes.

var initialApiCalled by rememberSaveable { mutableStateOf(false) }
if (!initialApiCalled) {
    LaunchedEffect(Unit) {
        // do API call
        initialApiCalled = false
    }
}

The disadvantage of this solution is that if the configuration changes before the API call is completed, the LaunchedEffect coroutine will be cancelled, as will your API call.

The cleanest solution is to use a view model, and execute the API call inside init:

class ScreenViewModel: ViewModel() {
    init {
        viewModelScope.launch {
            // do API call
        }
    }
}

@Composable
fun Screen(viewModel: ScreenViewModel = viewModel()) {
    
}

Passing view model like this, as a parameter, is recommended by official documentation. In the prod code you don't need to pass any parameter to this view, just call it like Screen(): the view model will be created by default viewModel() parameter. It is moved to the parameter for test/preview capability as shown in this answer.

I assume the best way is to use the .also on the livedata/stateflow lazy creation so that you do guarantee as long as the view model is alive, the loadState is called only one time, and also guarantee the service itself is not called unless someone is listening to it. Then you listen to the state from the viewmodel, and no need to call anything api call from launched effect, also your code will be reacting to specic state.

Here is a code example

class MyViewModel : ViewModel() {
private val uiScreenState: : MutableStateFlow<WhatEverState> =
    MutableStateFlow(WhatEverIntialState).also {
        loadState()
    }

fun loadState(): StateFlow<WhatEverState>> {
    return users
}

private fun loadUsers() {
    // Do an asynchronous operation to fetch users.
}
}

When using this code, you do not have to call loadstate at all in the activity, you just listen to the observer.

You may check the below code for the listening

class MyFragment : Fragment {
override fun onCreateView(
    inflater: LayoutInflater,
    container: ViewGroup?,
    savedInstanceState: Bundle?
): View {
    return ComposeView(requireContext()).apply {
        setContent {
            StartingComposeTheme {
                Box(modifier = Modifier.fillMaxSize()) {
                    val state by viewModel.uiScreenState.collectAsState()
                    when (state) {
                        //do something
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

}}

@Islam Mansour answer work good for dedicated viewModel to UI but my case is shared ViewModel by many UIs fragments

In my case above answers does not solve my problem for calling API for just only first time call when user navigate to the concerned UI section.

Because I have multiple composable UIs in NavHost as Fragment

And my ViewModel through all fragments

so, the API should only call when user navigate to the desired fragment

so, the below lazy property initialiser solve my problem;

val myDataList by lazy {
    Log.d("test","call only once when called from UI used inside)")
    loadDatatoThisList()
    mutableStateListOf<MyModel>()
}

mutableStateListOf<LIST_TYPE> automatically recompose UI when data added to this

variable appeded by by lazy intialized only once when explicilty called