name: tanstack description: Latest framework knowledge and best practices for building web apps using Tanstack start with React + Vite. compatibility: opencode metadata: frameworks: React, Vite, SSR, SPA, Routing, Fetching

<@tanstack/react-router_api> Always Apply: false - This rule should only be applied when relevant files are open Always apply this rule in these files: src//*.ts, src//*.tsx

ActiveLinkOptions type

The ActiveLinkOptions type extends the LinkOptions type and contains additional options that can be used to describe how a link should be styled when it is active.

type ActiveLinkOptions = LinkOptions & {
	activeProps?:
		| React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement>
		| (() => React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement>)
	inactiveProps?:
		| React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement>
		| (() => React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement>)
}

ActiveLinkOptions properties

The ActiveLinkOptions object accepts/contains the following properties:

`activeProps`

React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement>
Optional
The props that will be applied to the anchor element when the link is active

`inactiveProps`

Type: React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement>
Optional
The props that will be applied to the anchor element when the link is inactive

AsyncRouteComponent type

The AsyncRouteComponent type is used to describe a code-split route component that can be preloaded using a component.preload() method.

type AsyncRouteComponent<TProps> = SyncRouteComponent<TProps> & {
	preload?: () => Promise<void>
}

FileRoute class

[!CAUTION] This class has been deprecated and will be removed in the next major version of TanStack Router. Please use the createFileRoute function instead.

The FileRoute class is a factory that can be used to create a file-based route instance. This route instance can then be used to automatically generate a route tree with the tsr generate and tsr watch commands.

`FileRoute` constructor

The FileRoute constructor accepts a single argument: the path of the file that the route will be generated for.

Constructor options

Type: string literal
Required, but automatically inserted and updated by the tsr generate and tsr watch commands.
The full path of the file that the route will be generated from.

Constructor returns

An instance of the FileRoute class that can be used to create a route.

`FileRoute` methods

The FileRoute class implements the following method(s):

`.createRoute` method

The createRoute method is a method that can be used to configure the file route instance. It accepts a single argument: the options that will be used to configure the file route instance.

.createRoute options

Type: Omit<RouteOptions, 'getParentRoute' | 'path' | 'id'>
RouteOptions
Optional
The same options that are available to the Route class, but with the getParentRoute, path, and id options omitted since they are unnecessary for file-based routing.

.createRoute returns

A Route instance that can be used to configure the route to be inserted into the route-tree.

⚠️ Note: For tsr generate and tsr watch to work properly, the file route instance must be exported from the file using the Route identifier.

Examples

import { FileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = new FileRoute('/').createRoute({
	loader: () => {
		return 'Hello World'
	},
	component: IndexComponent,
})

function IndexComponent() {
	const data = Route.useLoaderData()
	return <div>{data}</div>
}

LinkOptions type

The LinkOptions type extends the NavigateOptions type and contains additional options that can be used by TanStack Router when handling actual anchor element attributes.

type LinkOptions = NavigateOptions & {
	target?: HTMLAnchorElement['target']
	activeOptions?: ActiveOptions
	preload?: false | 'intent'
	preloadDelay?: number
	disabled?: boolean
}

LinkOptions properties

The LinkOptions object accepts/contains the following properties:

`target`

Type: HTMLAnchorElement['target']
Optional
The standard anchor tag target attribute

`activeOptions`

Type: ActiveOptions
Optional
The options that will be used to determine if the link is active

`preload`

Type: false | 'intent' | 'viewport' | 'render'
Optional
If set, the link's preloading strategy will be set to this value.
See the Preloading guide for more information.

`preloadDelay`

Type: number
Optional
Delay intent preloading by this many milliseconds. If the intent exits before this delay, the preload will be cancelled.

`disabled`

Type: boolean
Optional
If true, will render the link without the href attribute

LinkProps type

The LinkProps type extends the ActiveLinkOptions and React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement> types and contains additional props specific to the Link component.

type LinkProps = ActiveLinkOptions &
	Omit<React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement>, 'children'> & {
		children?:
			| React.ReactNode
			| ((state: { isActive: boolean }) => React.ReactNode)
	}

LinkProps properties

All of the props from ActiveLinkOptions
All of the props from React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement>

`children`

Type: React.ReactNode | ((state: { isActive: boolean }) => React.ReactNode)
Optional
The children that will be rendered inside of the anchor element. If a function is provided, it will be called with an object that contains the isActive boolean value that can be used to determine if the link is active.

MatchRouteOptions type

The MatchRouteOptions type is used to describe the options that can be used when matching a route.

interface MatchRouteOptions {
	pending?: boolean
	caseSensitive?: boolean /* @deprecated */
	includeSearch?: boolean
	fuzzy?: boolean
}

MatchRouteOptions properties

The MatchRouteOptions type has the following properties:

`pending` property

Type: boolean
Optional
If true, will match against pending location instead of the current location

`caseSensitive` property (deprecated)

Type: boolean
Optional
If true, will match against the current location with case sensitivity
Declare case sensitivity in the route definition instead, or globally for all routes using the caseSensitive option on the router

`includeSearch` property

Type: boolean
Optional
If true, will match against the current location's search params using a deep inclusive check. e.g. { a: 1 } will match for a current location of { a: 1, b: 2 }

`fuzzy` property

Type: boolean
Optional
If true, will match against the current location using a fuzzy match. e.g. /posts will match for a current location of /posts/123

NavigateOptions type

The NavigateOptions type is used to describe the options that can be used when describing a navigation action in TanStack Router.

type NavigateOptions = ToOptions & {
	replace?: boolean
	resetScroll?: boolean
	hashScrollIntoView?: boolean | ScrollIntoViewOptions
	viewTransition?: boolean | ViewTransitionOptions
	ignoreBlocker?: boolean
	reloadDocument?: boolean
	href?: string
}

NavigateOptions properties

The NavigateOptions object accepts the following properties:

`replace`

Type: boolean
Optional
Defaults to false.
If true, the location will be committed to the browser history using history.replace instead of history.push.

`resetScroll`

Type: boolean
Optional
Defaults to true so that the scroll position will be reset to 0,0 after the location is committed to the browser history.
If false, the scroll position will not be reset to 0,0 after the location is committed to history.

`hashScrollIntoView`

Type: boolean | ScrollIntoViewOptions
Optional
Defaults to true so the element with an id matching the hash will be scrolled into view after the location is committed to history.
If false, the element with an id matching the hash will not be scrolled into view after the location is committed to history.
If an object is provided, it will be passed to the scrollIntoView method as options.
See MDN for more information on ScrollIntoViewOptions.

`viewTransition`

Type: boolean | ViewTransitionOptions
Optional
Defaults to false.
If true, navigation will be called using document.startViewTransition().
If ViewTransitionOptions, route navigations will be called using document.startViewTransition({update, types}) where types will determine the strings array passed with ViewTransitionOptions["types"]. If the browser does not support viewTransition types, the navigation will fall back to normal document.startTransition(), same as if true was passed.
If the browser does not support this api, this option will be ignored.
See MDN for more information on how this function works.
See Google for more information on viewTransition types

`ignoreBlocker`

Type: boolean
Optional
Defaults to false.
If true, navigation will ignore any blockers that might prevent it.

`reloadDocument`

Type: boolean
Optional
Defaults to false.
If true, navigation to a route inside of router will trigger a full page load instead of the traditional SPA navigation.

`href`

Type: string
Optional
This can be used instead of to to navigate to a fully built href, e.g. pointing to an external target.
ToOptions

NotFoundError

The NotFoundError type is used to represent a not-found error in TanStack Router.

export type NotFoundError = {
	global?: boolean
	data?: any
	throw?: boolean
	routeId?: string
	headers?: HeadersInit
}

NotFoundError properties

The NotFoundError object accepts/contains the following properties:

`global` property (⚠️ deprecated, use `routeId: rootRouteId` instead)

Type: boolean
Optional - default: false
If true, the not-found error will be handled by the notFoundComponent of the root route instead of bubbling up from the route that threw it. This has the same behavior as importing the root route and calling RootRoute.notFound().

`data` property

Type: any
Optional
Custom data that is passed into to notFoundComponent when the not-found error is handled

`throw` property

Type: boolean
Optional - default: false
If provided, will throw the not-found object instead of returning it. This can be useful in places where throwing in a function might cause it to have a return type of never. In that case, you can use notFound({ throw: true }) to throw the not-found object instead of returning it.

`route` property

Type: string
Optional
The ID of the route that will attempt to handle the not-found error. If the route does not have a notFoundComponent, the error will bubble up to the parent route (and be handled by the root route if necessary). By default, TanStack Router will attempt to handle the not-found error with the route that threw it.

`headers` property

Type: HeadersInit
Optional
HTTP headers to be included when the not-found error is handled on the server side.

NotFoundRoute class

[!CAUTION] This class has been deprecated and will be removed in the next major version of TanStack Router. Please use the notFoundComponent route option that is present during route configuration. See the Not Found Errors guide for more information.

The NotFoundRoute class extends the Route class and can be used to create a not found route instance. A not found route instance can be passed to the routerOptions.notFoundRoute option to configure a default not-found/404 route for every branch of the route tree.

Constructor options

The NotFoundRoute constructor accepts an object as its only argument.

Type:

Omit<
	RouteOptions,
	| 'path'
	| 'id'
	| 'getParentRoute'
	| 'caseSensitive'
	| 'parseParams'
	| 'stringifyParams'
>

RouteOptions
Required
The options that will be used to configure the not found route instance.

Examples

import { NotFoundRoute, createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { Route as rootRoute } from './routes/__root'
import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen'

const notFoundRoute = new NotFoundRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	component: () => <div>Not found!!!</div>,
})

const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
	notFoundRoute,
})

// ... other code

ParsedHistoryState type

The ParsedHistoryState type represents a parsed state object. Additionally to HistoryState, it contains the index and the unique key of the route.

export type ParsedHistoryState = HistoryState & {
	key?: string // TODO: Remove in v2 - use __TSR_key instead
	__TSR_key?: string
	__TSR_index: number
}

ParsedLocation type

The ParsedLocation type represents a parsed location in TanStack Router. It contains a lot of useful information about the current location, including the pathname, search params, hash, location state, and route masking information.

interface ParsedLocation {
	href: string
	pathname: string
	search: TFullSearchSchema
	searchStr: string
	state: ParsedHistoryState
	hash: string
	maskedLocation?: ParsedLocation
	unmaskOnReload?: boolean
}

Redirect type

The Redirect type is used to represent a redirect action in TanStack Router.

export type Redirect = {
	statusCode?: number
	throw?: any
	headers?: HeadersInit
} & NavigateOptions

NavigateOptions

Redirect properties

The Redirect object accepts/contains the following properties:

`statusCode` property

Type: number
Optional
The HTTP status code to use when redirecting

`throw` property

Type: any
Optional
If provided, will throw the redirect object instead of returning it. This can be useful in places where throwing in a function might cause it to have a return type of never. In that case, you can use redirect({ throw: true }) to throw the redirect object instead of returning it.

`headers` property

Type: HeadersInit
Optional
The HTTP headers to use when redirecting.

Since Redirect extends NavigateOptions, it also supports navigation properties:

to: Use for internal application routes (e.g., /dashboard, ../profile)
href: Use for external URLs (e.g., https://example.com, https://authprovider.com)

Important: For external URLs, always use the href property instead of to. The to property is designed for internal navigation within your application.

Register type

This type is used to register a route tree with a router instance. Doing so unlocks the full type safety of TanStack Router, including top-level exports from the @tanstack/react-router package.

export type Register = {
	// router: [Your router type here]
}

To register a route tree with a router instance, use declaration merging to add the type of your router instance to the Register interface under the router property:

Examples

const router = createRouter({
	// ...
})

declare module '@tanstack/react-router' {
	interface Register {
		router: typeof router
	}
}

RootRoute class

[!CAUTION] This class has been deprecated and will be removed in the next major version of TanStack Router. Please use the createRootRoute function instead.

The RootRoute class extends the Route class and can be used to create a root route instance. A root route instance can then be used to create a route tree.

`RootRoute` constructor

The RootRoute constructor accepts an object as its only argument.

Constructor options

The options that will be used to configure the root route instance.

Type:

Omit<
	RouteOptions,
	| 'path'
	| 'id'
	| 'getParentRoute'
	| 'caseSensitive'
	| 'parseParams'
	| 'stringifyParams'
>

RouteOptions
Optional

Constructor returns

A new Route instance.

Examples

import { RootRoute, createRouter, Outlet } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const rootRoute = new RootRoute({
	component: () => <Outlet />,
	// ... root route options
})

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([
	// ... other routes
])

const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
})

RouteApi class

[!CAUTION] This class has been deprecated and will be removed in the next major version of TanStack Router. Please use the getRouteApi function instead.

The RouteApi class provides type-safe version of common hooks like useParams, useSearch, useRouteContext, useNavigate, useLoaderData, and useLoaderDeps that are pre-bound to a specific route ID and corresponding registered route types.

Constructor options

The RouteApi constructor accepts a single argument: the options that will be used to configure the RouteApi instance.

`opts.routeId` option

Type: string
Required
The route ID to which the RouteApi instance will be bound

Constructor returns

An instance of the RouteApi that is pre-bound to the route ID that it was called with.

Examples

import { RouteApi } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const routeApi = new RouteApi({ id: '/posts' })

export function PostsPage() {
	const posts = routeApi.useLoaderData()
	// ...
}

RouteApi Type

The RouteApi describes an instance that provides type-safe versions of common hooks like useParams, useSearch, useRouteContext, useNavigate, useLoaderData, and useLoaderDeps that are pre-bound to a specific route ID and corresponding registered route types.

`RouteApi` properties and methods

The RouteApi has the following properties and methods:

`useMatch` method

  useMatch<TSelected = TAllContext>(opts?: {
    select?: (match: TAllContext) => TSelected
  }): TSelected

A type-safe version of the useMatch hook that is pre-bound to the route ID that the RouteApi instance was created with.
Options
- opts.select
  - Optional
  - (match: RouteMatch) => TSelected
  - If supplied, this function will be called with the route match and the return value will be returned from useMatch. This value will also be used to determine if the hook should re-render its parent component using shallow equality checks.
- opts.structuralSharing
  - Optional
  - boolean
  - Configures whether structural sharing is enabled for the value returned by select.
  - See the Render Optimizations guide for more information.
Returns
- If a select function is provided, the return value of the select function.
- If no select function is provided, the RouteMatch object or a loosened version of the RouteMatch object if opts.strict is false.

`useRouteContext` method

  useRouteContext<TSelected = TAllContext>(opts?: {
    select?: (search: TAllContext) => TSelected
  }): TSelected

A type-safe version of the useRouteContext hook that is pre-bound to the route ID that the RouteApi instance was created with.
Options
- opts.select
  - Optional
  - (match: RouteContext) => TSelected
  - If supplied, this function will be called with the route match and the return value will be returned from useRouteContext. This value will also be used to determine if the hook should re-render its parent component using shallow equality checks.
Returns
- If a select function is provided, the return value of the select function.
- If no select function is provided, the RouteContext object or a loosened version of the RouteContext object if opts.strict is false.

`useSearch` method

  useSearch<TSelected = TFullSearchSchema>(opts?: {
    select?: (search: TFullSearchSchema) => TSelected
  }): TSelected

A type-safe version of the useSearch hook that is pre-bound to the route ID that the RouteApi instance was created with.
Options
- opts.select
  - Optional
  - (match: TFullSearchSchema) => TSelected
  - If supplied, this function will be called with the route match and the return value will be returned from useSearch. This value will also be used to determine if the hook should re-render its parent component using shallow equality checks.
- opts.structuralSharing
  - Optional
  - boolean
  - Configures whether structural sharing is enabled for the value returned by select.
  - See the Render Optimizations guide for more information.
Returns
- If a select function is provided, the return value of the select function.
- If no select function is provided, the TFullSearchSchema object or a loosened version of the TFullSearchSchema object if opts.strict is false.

`useParams` method

  useParams<TSelected = TAllParams>(opts?: {
    select?: (params: TAllParams) => TSelected
  }): TSelected

A type-safe version of the useParams hook that is pre-bound to the route ID that the RouteApi instance was created with.
Options
- opts.select
  - Optional
  - (match: TAllParams) => TSelected
  - If supplied, this function will be called with the route match and the return value will be returned from useParams. This value will also be used to determine if the hook should re-render its parent component using shallow equality checks.
- opts.structuralSharing
  - Optional
  - boolean
  - Configures whether structural sharing is enabled for the value returned by select.
  - See the Render Optimizations guide for more information.
Returns
- If a select function is provided, the return value of the select function.
- If no select function is provided, the TAllParams object or a loosened version of the TAllParams object if opts.strict is false.

`useLoaderData` method

  useLoaderData<TSelected = TLoaderData>(opts?: {
    select?: (search: TLoaderData) => TSelected
  }): TSelected

A type-safe version of the useLoaderData hook that is pre-bound to the route ID that the RouteApi instance was created with.
Options
- opts.select
  - Optional
  - (match: TLoaderData) => TSelected
  - If supplied, this function will be called with the route match and the return value will be returned from useLoaderData. This value will also be used to determine if the hook should re-render its parent component using shallow equality checks.
- opts.structuralSharing
  - Optional
  - boolean
  - Configures whether structural sharing is enabled for the value returned by select.
  - See the Render Optimizations guide for more information.
Returns
- If a select function is provided, the return value of the select function.
- If no select function is provided, the TLoaderData object or a loosened version of the TLoaderData object if opts.strict is false.

`useLoaderDeps` method

  useLoaderDeps<TSelected = TLoaderDeps>(opts?: {
    select?: (search: TLoaderDeps) => TSelected
  }): TSelected

A type-safe version of the useLoaderDeps hook that is pre-bound to the route ID that the RouteApi instance was created with.
Options
- opts.select
  - Optional
  - (match: TLoaderDeps) => TSelected
  - If supplied, this function will be called with the route match and the return value will be returned from useLoaderDeps.
- opts.structuralSharing
  - Optional
  - boolean
  - Configures whether structural sharing is enabled for the value returned by select.
  - See the Render Optimizations guide for more information.
Returns
- If a select function is provided, the return value of the select function.
- If no select function is provided, the TLoaderDeps object.

`useNavigate` method

  useNavigate(): // navigate function

A type-safe version of useNavigate that is pre-bound to the route ID that the RouteApi instance was created with.

Route class

[!CAUTION] This class has been deprecated and will be removed in the next major version of TanStack Router. Please use the createRoute function instead.

The Route class implements the RouteApi class and can be used to create route instances. A route instance can then be used to create a route tree.

`Route` constructor

The Route constructor accepts an object as its only argument.

Constructor options

Type: RouteOptions
Required
The options that will be used to configure the route instance

Constructor returns

A new Route instance.

Examples

import { Route } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { rootRoute } from './__root'

const indexRoute = new Route({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: '/',
	loader: () => {
		return 'Hello World'
	},
	component: IndexComponent,
})

function IndexComponent() {
	const data = indexRoute.useLoaderData()
	return <div>{data}</div>
}

RouteMask type

The RouteMask type extends the ToOptions type and has other the necessary properties to create a route mask.

RouteMask properties

The RouteMask type accepts an object with the following properties:

`...ToOptions`

Type: ToOptions
Required
The options that will be used to configure the route mask

`options.routeTree`

Type: TRouteTree
Required
The route tree that this route mask will support

`options.unmaskOnReload`

Type: boolean
Optional
If true, the route mask will be removed when the page is reloaded

RouteMatch type

The RouteMatch type represents a route match in TanStack Router.

interface RouteMatch {
	id: string
	routeId: string
	pathname: string
	params: Route['allParams']
	status: 'pending' | 'success' | 'error' | 'redirected' | 'notFound'
	isFetching: false | 'beforeLoad' | 'loader'
	showPending: boolean
	error: unknown
	paramsError: unknown
	searchError: unknown
	updatedAt: number
	loaderData?: Route['loaderData']
	context: Route['allContext']
	search: Route['fullSearchSchema']
	fetchedAt: number
	abortController: AbortController
	cause: 'enter' | 'stay'
	ssr?: boolean | 'data-only'
}

RouteOptions type

The RouteOptions type is used to describe the options that can be used when creating a route.

RouteOptions properties

The RouteOptions type accepts an object with the following properties:

`getParentRoute` method

Type: () => TParentRoute
Required
A function that returns the parent route of the route being created. This is required to provide full type safety to child route configurations and to ensure that the route tree is built correctly.

`path` property

Type: string
Required, unless an id is provided to configure the route as a pathless layout route
The path segment that will be used to match the route.

`id` property

Type: string
Optional, but required if a path is not provided
The unique identifier for the route if it is to be configured as a pathless layout route. If provided, the route will not match against the location pathname and its routes will be flattened into its parent route for matching.

`component` property

Type: RouteComponent or LazyRouteComponent
Optional - Defaults to <Outlet />
The content to be rendered when the route is matched.

`errorComponent` property

Type: RouteComponent or LazyRouteComponent
Optional - Defaults to routerOptions.defaultErrorComponent
The content to be rendered when the route encounters an error.

`pendingComponent` property

Type: RouteComponent or LazyRouteComponent
Optional - Defaults to routerOptions.defaultPendingComponent
The content to be rendered if and when the route is pending and has reached its pendingMs threshold.

`notFoundComponent` property

Type: NotFoundRouteComponent or LazyRouteComponent
Optional - Defaults to routerOptions.defaultNotFoundComponent
The content to be rendered when the route is not found.

`validateSearch` method

Type: (rawSearchParams: unknown) => TSearchSchema
Optional
A function that will be called when this route is matched and passed the raw search params from the current location and return valid parsed search params. If this function throws, the route will be put into an error state and the error will be thrown during render. If this function does not throw, its return value will be used as the route's search params and the return type will be inferred into the rest of the router.
Optionally, the parameter type can be tagged with the SearchSchemaInput type like this: (searchParams: TSearchSchemaInput & SearchSchemaInput) => TSearchSchema. If this tag is present, TSearchSchemaInput will be used to type the search property of <Link /> and navigate() instead of TSearchSchema. The difference between TSearchSchemaInput and TSearchSchema can be useful, for example, to express optional search parameters.

`search.middlewares` property

Type: (({search: TSearchSchema, next: (newSearch: TSearchSchema) => TSearchSchema}) => TSearchSchema)[]
Optional
Search middlewares are functions that transform the search parameters when generating new links for a route or its descendants.
A search middleware is passed in the current search (if it is the first middleware to run) or is invoked by the previous middleware calling next.

`parseParams` method (⚠️ deprecated, use `params.parse` instead)

Type: (rawParams: Record<string, string>) => TParams
Optional
A function that will be called when this route is matched and passed the raw params from the current location and return valid parsed params. If this function throws, the route will be put into an error state and the error will be thrown during render. If this function does not throw, its return value will be used as the route's params and the return type will be inferred into the rest of the router.

`stringifyParams` method (⚠️ deprecated, use `params.stringify` instead)

Type: (params: TParams) => Record<string, string>
Required if parseParams is provided
A function that will be called when this route's parsed params are being used to build a location. This function should return a valid object of Record<string, string> mapping.

`params.parse` method

Type: (rawParams: Record<string, string>) => TParams
Optional
A function that will be called when this route is matched and passed the raw params from the current location and return valid parsed params. If this function throws, the route will be put into an error state and the error will be thrown during render. If this function does not throw, its return value will be used as the route's params and the return type will be inferred into the rest of the router.

`params.stringify` method

Type: (params: TParams) => Record<string, string>
A function that will be called when this route's parsed params are being used to build a location. This function should return a valid object of Record<string, string> mapping.

`beforeLoad` method

Type:

type beforeLoad = (
	opts: RouteMatch & {
		search: TFullSearchSchema
		abortController: AbortController
		preload: boolean
		params: TAllParams
		context: TParentContext
		location: ParsedLocation
		navigate: NavigateFn<AnyRoute> // @deprecated
		buildLocation: BuildLocationFn<AnyRoute>
		cause: 'enter' | 'stay'
	},
) => Promise<TRouteContext> | TRouteContext | void

Optional
ParsedLocation
This async function is called before a route is loaded. If an error is thrown here, the route's loader will not be called and the route will not render. If thrown during a navigation, the navigation will be canceled and the error will be passed to the onError function. If thrown during a preload event, the error will be logged to the console and the preload will fail.
If this function returns a promise, the route will be put into a pending state and cause rendering to suspend until the promise resolves. If this route's pendingMs threshold is reached, the pendingComponent will be shown until it resolves. If the promise rejects, the route will be put into an error state and the error will be thrown during render.
If this function returns a TRouteContext object, that object will be merged into the route's context and be made available in the loader and other related route components/methods.
It's common to use this function to check if a user is authenticated and redirect them to a login page if they are not. To do this, you can either return or throw a redirect object from this function.

🚧 opts.navigate has been deprecated and will be removed in the next major release. Use throw redirect({ to: '/somewhere' }) instead. Read more about the redirect function here.

`loader` method

Type:

type loader = (
	opts: RouteMatch & {
		abortController: AbortController
		cause: 'preload' | 'enter' | 'stay'
		context: TAllContext
		deps: TLoaderDeps
		location: ParsedLocation
		params: TAllParams
		preload: boolean
		parentMatchPromise: Promise<MakeRouteMatchFromRoute<TParentRoute>>
		navigate: NavigateFn<AnyRoute> // @deprecated
		route: AnyRoute
	},
) => Promise<TLoaderData> | TLoaderData | void

Optional
ParsedLocation
This async function is called when a route is matched and passed the route's match object. If an error is thrown here, the route will be put into an error state and the error will be thrown during render. If thrown during a navigation, the navigation will be canceled and the error will be passed to the onError function. If thrown during a preload event, the error will be logged to the console and the preload will fail.
If this function returns a promise, the route will be put into a pending state and cause rendering to suspend until the promise resolves. If this route's pendingMs threshold is reached, the pendingComponent will be shown until it resolves. If the promise rejects, the route will be put into an error state and the error will be thrown during render.
If this function returns a TLoaderData object, that object will be stored on the route match until the route match is no longer active. It can be accessed using the useLoaderData hook in any component that is a child of the route match before another <Outlet /> is rendered.
Deps must be returned by your loaderDeps function in order to appear.

🚧 opts.navigate has been deprecated and will be removed in the next major release. Use throw redirect({ to: '/somewhere' }) instead. Read more about the redirect function here.

`loaderDeps` method

Type:

type loaderDeps = (opts: { search: TFullSearchSchema }) => Record<string, any>

Optional
A function that will be called before this route is matched to provide additional unique identification to the route match and serve as a dependency tracker for when the match should be reloaded. It should return any serializable value that can uniquely identify the route match from navigation to navigation.
By default, path params are already used to uniquely identify a route match, so it's unnecessary to return these here.
If your route match relies on search params for unique identification, it's required that you return them here so they can be made available in the loader's deps argument.

`staleTime` property

Type: number
Optional
Defaults to routerOptions.defaultStaleTime, which defaults to 0
The amount of time in milliseconds that a route match's loader data will be considered fresh. If a route match is matched again within this time frame, its loader data will not be reloaded.

`preloadStaleTime` property

Type: number
Optional
Defaults to routerOptions.defaultPreloadStaleTime, which defaults to 30_000 ms (30 seconds)
The amount of time in milliseconds that a route match's loader data will be considered fresh when preloading. If a route match is preloaded again within this time frame, its loader data will not be reloaded. If a route match is loaded (for navigation) within this time frame, the normal staleTime is used instead.

`gcTime` property

Type: number
Optional
Defaults to routerOptions.defaultGcTime, which defaults to 30 minutes.
The amount of time in milliseconds that a route match's loader data will be kept in memory after a preload or it is no longer in use.

`shouldReload` property

Type: boolean | ((args: LoaderArgs) => boolean)
Optional
If false or returns false, the route match's loader data will not be reloaded on subsequent matches.
If true or returns true, the route match's loader data will be reloaded on subsequent matches.
If undefined or returns undefined, the route match's loader data will adhere to the default stale-while-revalidate behavior.

`caseSensitive` property

Type: boolean
Optional
If true, this route will be matched as case-sensitive.

`wrapInSuspense` property

Type: boolean
Optional
If true, this route will be forcefully wrapped in a suspense boundary, regardless if a reason is found to do so from inspecting its provided components.

`pendingMs` property

Type: number
Optional
Defaults to routerOptions.defaultPendingMs, which defaults to 1000
The threshold in milliseconds that a route must be pending before its pendingComponent is shown.

`pendingMinMs` property

Type: number
Optional
Defaults to routerOptions.defaultPendingMinMs which defaults to 500
The minimum amount of time in milliseconds that the pending component will be shown for if it is shown. This is useful to prevent the pending component from flashing on the screen for a split second.

`preloadMaxAge` property

Type: number
Optional
Defaults to 30_000 ms (30 seconds)
The maximum amount of time in milliseconds that a route's preloaded route data will be cached for. If a route is not matched within this time frame, its loader data will be discarded.

`preSearchFilters` property (⚠️ deprecated, use `search.middlewares` instead)

Type: ((search: TFullSearchSchema) => TFullSearchSchema)[]
Optional
An array of functions that will be called when generating any new links to this route or its grandchildren.
Each function will be called with the current search params and should return a new search params object that will be used to generate the link.
It has a pre prefix because it is called before the user-provided function that is passed to navigate/Link etc has a chance to modify the search params.

`postSearchFilters` property (⚠️ deprecated, use `search.middlewares` instead)

Type: ((search: TFullSearchSchema) => TFullSearchSchema)[]
Optional
An array of functions that will be called when generating any new links to this route or its grandchildren.
Each function will be called with the current search params and should return a new search params object that will be used to generate the link.
It has a post prefix because it is called after the user-provided function that is passed to navigate/Link etc has modified the search params.

`onError` property

Type: (error: any) => void
Optional
A function that will be called when an error is thrown during a navigation or preload event.
If this function throws a redirect, then the router will process and apply the redirect immediately.

`onEnter` property

Type: (match: RouteMatch) => void
Optional
A function that will be called when a route is matched and loaded after not being matched in the previous location.

`onStay` property

Type: (match: RouteMatch) => void
Optional
A function that will be called when a route is matched and loaded after being matched in the previous location.

`onLeave` property

Type: (match: RouteMatch) => void
Optional
A function that will be called when a route is no longer matched after being matched in the previous location.

`onCatch` property

Type: (error: Error, errorInfo: ErrorInfo) => void
Optional - Defaults to routerOptions.defaultOnCatch
A function that will be called when errors are caught when the route encounters an error.

`remountDeps` method

Type:

type remountDeps = (opts: RemountDepsOptions) => any

interface RemountDepsOptions<
	in out TRouteId,
	in out TFullSearchSchema,
	in out TAllParams,
	in out TLoaderDeps,
> {
	routeId: TRouteId
	search: TFullSearchSchema
	params: TAllParams
	loaderDeps: TLoaderDeps
}

Optional
A function that will be called to determine whether a route component shall be remounted after navigation. If this function returns a different value than previously, it will remount.
The return value needs to be JSON serializable.
By default, a route component will not be remounted if it stays active after a navigation.

Example: If you want to configure to remount a route component upon params change, use:

remountDeps: ({ params }) => params

`headers` method

Type:

type headers = (opts: {
	matches: Array<RouteMatch>
	match: RouteMatch
	params: TAllParams
	loaderData?: TLoaderData
}) => Promise<Record<string, string>> | Record<string, string>

Optional
Allows you to specify custom HTTP headers to be sent when this route is rendered during SSR. The function receives the current match context and should return a plain object of header name/value pairs.

`head` method

Type:

type head = (ctx: {
	matches: Array<RouteMatch>
	match: RouteMatch
	params: TAllParams
	loaderData?: TLoaderData
}) =>
	| Promise<{
			links?: RouteMatch['links']
			scripts?: RouteMatch['headScripts']
			meta?: RouteMatch['meta']
			styles?: RouteMatch['styles']
	  }>
	| {
			links?: RouteMatch['links']
			scripts?: RouteMatch['headScripts']
			meta?: RouteMatch['meta']
			styles?: RouteMatch['styles']
	  }

Optional
Returns additional elements to inject into the document <head> for this route. Use it to add route-level SEO metadata, preload links, inline styles, or custom scripts.

`scripts` method

Type:

type scripts = (ctx: {
	matches: Array<RouteMatch>
	match: RouteMatch
	params: TAllParams
	loaderData?: TLoaderData
}) => Promise<RouteMatch['scripts']> | RouteMatch['scripts']

Optional
A shorthand helper to return only <script> elements. Equivalent to returning the scripts field from the head method.

`codeSplitGroupings` property

Type: Array<Array<'loader' | 'component' | 'pendingComponent' | 'notFoundComponent' | 'errorComponent'>>
Optional
Fine-grained control over how the router groups lazy-loaded pieces of a route into chunks. Each inner array represents a group of assets that will be placed into the same bundle during code-splitting.

Route type

The Route type is used to describe a route instance.

`Route` properties and methods

An instance of the Route has the following properties and methods:

`.addChildren` method

Type: (children: Route[]) => this
Adds child routes to the route instance and returns the route instance (but with updated types to reflect the new children).

`.update` method

Type: (options: Partial<UpdatableRouteOptions>) => this
Updates the route instance with new options and returns the route instance (but with updated types to reflect the new options).
In some circumstances, it can be useful to update a route instance's options after it has been created to avoid circular type references.
...RouteApi methods

`.lazy` method

Type: (lazyImporter: () => Promise<Partial<UpdatableRouteOptions>>) => this
Updates the route instance with a new lazy importer which will be resolved lazily when loading the route. This can be useful for code splitting.

...`RouteApi` methods

All of the methods from RouteApi are available.

Router Class

[!CAUTION] This class has been deprecated and will be removed in the next major version of TanStack Router. Please use the createRouter function instead.

The Router class is used to instantiate a new router instance.

`Router` constructor

The Router constructor accepts a single argument: the options that will be used to configure the router instance.

Constructor options

Type: RouterOptions
Required
The options that will be used to configure the router instance.

Constructor returns

An instance of the Router.

Examples

import { Router, RouterProvider } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen'

const router = new Router({
	routeTree,
	defaultPreload: 'intent',
})

export default function App() {
	return <RouterProvider router={router} />
}

RouterEvents type

The RouterEvents type contains all of the events that the router can emit. Each top-level key of this type, represents the name of an event that the router can emit. The values of the keys are the event payloads.

type RouterEvents = {
	onBeforeNavigate: {
		type: 'onBeforeNavigate'
		fromLocation?: ParsedLocation
		toLocation: ParsedLocation
		pathChanged: boolean
		hrefChanged: boolean
	}
	onBeforeLoad: {
		type: 'onBeforeLoad'
		fromLocation?: ParsedLocation
		toLocation: ParsedLocation
		pathChanged: boolean
		hrefChanged: boolean
	}
	onLoad: {
		type: 'onLoad'
		fromLocation?: ParsedLocation
		toLocation: ParsedLocation
		pathChanged: boolean
		hrefChanged: boolean
	}
	onResolved: {
		type: 'onResolved'
		fromLocation?: ParsedLocation
		toLocation: ParsedLocation
		pathChanged: boolean
		hrefChanged: boolean
	}
	onBeforeRouteMount: {
		type: 'onBeforeRouteMount'
		fromLocation?: ParsedLocation
		toLocation: ParsedLocation
		pathChanged: boolean
		hrefChanged: boolean
	}
	onInjectedHtml: {
		type: 'onInjectedHtml'
	}
	onRendered: {
		type: 'onRendered'
		fromLocation?: ParsedLocation
		toLocation: ParsedLocation
	}
}

RouterEvents properties

Once an event is emitted, the following properties will be present on the event payload.

`type` property

Type: onBeforeNavigate | onBeforeLoad | onLoad | onBeforeRouteMount | onResolved
The type of the event
This is useful for discriminating between events in a listener function.

`fromLocation` property

Type: ParsedLocation
The location that the router is transitioning from.

`toLocation` property

Type: ParsedLocation
The location that the router is transitioning to.

`pathChanged` property

Type: boolean
true if the path has changed between the fromLocation and toLocation.

`hrefChanged` property

Type: boolean
true if the href has changed between the fromLocation and toLocation.

Example

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen'

const router = createRouter({ routeTree })

const unsub = router.subscribe('onResolved', (evt) => {
	// ...
})

RouterOptions

The RouterOptions type contains all of the options that can be used to configure a router instance.

RouterOptions properties

The RouterOptions type accepts an object with the following properties and methods:

`routeTree` property

Type: AnyRoute
Required
The route tree that will be used to configure the router instance.

`history` property

Type: RouterHistory
Optional
The history object that will be used to manage the browser history. If not provided, a new createBrowserHistory instance will be created and used.

`stringifySearch` method

Type: (search: Record<string, any>) => string
Optional
A function that will be used to stringify search params when generating links.
Defaults to defaultStringifySearch.

`parseSearch` method

Type: (search: string) => Record<string, any>
Optional
A function that will be used to parse search params when parsing the current location.
Defaults to defaultParseSearch.

`search.strict` property

Type: boolean
Optional
Defaults to false
Configures how unknown search params (= not returned by any validateSearch) are treated.
If false, unknown search params will be kept.
If true, unknown search params will be removed.

`defaultPreload` property

Type: undefined | false | 'intent' | 'viewport' | 'render'
Optional
Defaults to false
If false, routes will not be preloaded by default in any way.
If 'intent', routes will be preloaded by default when the user hovers over a link or a touchstart event is detected on a <Link>.
If 'viewport', routes will be preloaded by default when they are within the viewport of the browser.
If 'render', routes will be preloaded by default as soon as they are rendered in the DOM.

`defaultPreloadDelay` property

Type: number
Optional
Defaults to 50
The delay in milliseconds that a route must be hovered over or touched before it is preloaded.

`defaultComponent` property

Type: RouteComponent
Optional
Defaults to Outlet
The default component a route should use if no component is provided.

`defaultErrorComponent` property

Type: RouteComponent
Optional
Defaults to ErrorComponent
The default errorComponent a route should use if no error component is provided.

`defaultNotFoundComponent` property

Type: NotFoundRouteComponent
Optional
Defaults to NotFound
The default notFoundComponent a route should use if no notFound component is provided.

`defaultPendingComponent` property

Type: RouteComponent
Optional
The default pendingComponent a route should use if no pending component is provided.

`defaultPendingMs` property

Type: number
Optional
Defaults to 1000
The default pendingMs a route should use if no pendingMs is provided.

`defaultPendingMinMs` property

Type: number
Optional
Defaults to 500
The default pendingMinMs a route should use if no pendingMinMs is provided.

`defaultStaleTime` property

Type: number
Optional
Defaults to 0
The default staleTime a route should use if no staleTime is provided.

`defaultPreloadStaleTime` property

Type: number
Optional
Defaults to 30_000 ms (30 seconds)
The default preloadStaleTime a route should use if no preloadStaleTime is provided.

`defaultPreloadGcTime` property

Type: number
Optional
Defaults to routerOptions.defaultGcTime, which defaults to 30 minutes.
The default preloadGcTime a route should use if no preloadGcTime is provided.

`defaultGcTime` property

Type: number
Optional
Defaults to 30 minutes.
The default gcTime a route should use if no gcTime is provided.

`defaultOnCatch` property

Type: (error: Error, errorInfo: ErrorInfo) => void
Optional
The default onCatch handler for errors caught by the Router ErrorBoundary

`disableGlobalCatchBoundary` property

Type: boolean
Optional
Defaults to false
When true, disables the global catch boundary that normally wraps all route matches. This allows unhandled errors to bubble up to top-level error handlers in the browser.
Useful for testing tools, error reporting services, and debugging scenarios.

`defaultViewTransition` property

Type: boolean | ViewTransitionOptions
Optional
If true, route navigations will be called using document.startViewTransition().
If ViewTransitionOptions, route navigations will be called using document.startViewTransition({update, types}) where types will be the strings array passed with ViewTransitionOptions["types"]. If the browser does not support viewTransition types, the navigation will fall back to normal document.startTransition(), same as if true was passed.
If the browser does not support this api, this option will be ignored.
See MDN for more information on how this function works.
See Google for more information on viewTransition types

`defaultHashScrollIntoView` property

Type: boolean | ScrollIntoViewOptions
Optional
Defaults to true so the element with an id matching the hash will be scrolled into view after the location is committed to history.
If false, the element with an id matching the hash will not be scrolled into view after the location is committed to history.
If an object is provided, it will be passed to the scrollIntoView method as options.
See MDN for more information on ScrollIntoViewOptions.

`caseSensitive` property

Type: boolean
Optional
Defaults to false
If true, all routes will be matched as case-sensitive.

`basepath` property

Type: string
Optional
Defaults to /
The basepath for the entire router. This is useful for mounting a router instance at a subpath.

`context` property

Type: any
Optional or required if the root route was created with createRootRouteWithContext().
The root context that will be provided to all routes in the route tree. This can be used to provide a context to all routes in the tree without having to provide it to each route individually.

`dehydrate` method

Type: () => TDehydrated
Optional
A function that will be called when the router is dehydrated. The return value of this function will be serialized and stored in the router's dehydrated state.

`hydrate` method

Type: (dehydrated: TDehydrated) => void
Optional
A function that will be called when the router is hydrated. The return value of this function will be serialized and stored in the router's dehydrated state.

`routeMasks` property

Type: RouteMask[]
Optional
An array of route masks that will be used to mask routes in the route tree. Route masking is when you display a route at a different path than the one it is configured to match, like a modal popup that when shared will unmask to the modal's content instead of the modal's context.

`unmaskOnReload` property

Type: boolean
Optional
Defaults to false
If true, route masks will, by default, be removed when the page is reloaded. This can be overridden on a per-mask basis by setting the unmaskOnReload option on the mask, or on a per-navigation basis by setting the unmaskOnReload option in the Navigate options.

`Wrap` property

Type: React.Component
Optional
A component that will be used to wrap the entire router. This is useful for providing a context to the entire router. Only non-DOM-rendering components like providers should be used, anything else will cause a hydration error.

Example

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const router = createRouter({
  // ...
  Wrap: ({ children }) => {
    return <MyContext.Provider value={myContext}>{children}</MyContext>
  },
})

`InnerWrap` property

Type: React.Component
Optional
A component that will be used to wrap the inner contents of the router. This is useful for providing a context to the inner contents of the router where you also need access to the router context and hooks. Only non-DOM-rendering components like providers should be used, anything else will cause a hydration error.

Example

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const router = createRouter({
  // ...
  InnerWrap: ({ children }) => {
    const routerState = useRouterState()

    return (
      <MyContext.Provider value={myContext}>
        {children}
      </MyContext>
    )
  },
})

`notFoundMode` property

Type: 'root' | 'fuzzy'
Optional
Defaults to 'fuzzy'
This property controls how TanStack Router will handle scenarios where it cannot find a route to match the current location. See the Not Found Errors guide for more information.

`notFoundRoute` property

Deprecated
Type: NotFoundRoute
Optional
A route that will be used as the default not found route for every branch of the route tree. This can be overridden on a per-branch basis by providing a not found route to the NotFoundRoute option on the root route of the branch.

`trailingSlash` property

Type: 'always' | 'never' | 'preserve'
Optional
Defaults to never
Configures how trailing slashes are treated. 'always' will add a trailing slash if not present, 'never' will remove the trailing slash if present and 'preserve' will not modify the trailing slash.

`pathParamsAllowedCharacters` property

Type: Array<';' | ':' | '@' | '&' | '=' | '+' | '$' | ','>
Optional
Configures which URI characters are allowed in path params that would ordinarily be escaped by encodeURIComponent.

`defaultStructuralSharing` property

Type: boolean
Optional
Defaults to false
Configures whether structural sharing is enabled by default for fine-grained selectors.
See the Render Optimizations guide for more information.

`defaultRemountDeps` property

Type:

type defaultRemountDeps = (opts: RemountDepsOptions) => any

interface RemountDepsOptions<
	in out TRouteId,
	in out TFullSearchSchema,
	in out TAllParams,
	in out TLoaderDeps,
> {
	routeId: TRouteId
	search: TFullSearchSchema
	params: TAllParams
	loaderDeps: TLoaderDeps
}

Optional
A default function that will be called to determine whether a route component shall be remounted after navigation. If this function returns a different value than previously, it will remount.
The return value needs to be JSON serializable.
By default, a route component will not be remounted if it stays active after a navigation

Example:
If you want to configure to remount all route components upon params change, use:

remountDeps: ({ params }) => params

RouterState type

The RouterState type represents shape of the internal state of the router. The Router's internal state is useful, if you need to access certain internals of the router, such as any pending matches, is the router in its loading state, etc.

type RouterState = {
	status: 'pending' | 'idle'
	isLoading: boolean
	isTransitioning: boolean
	matches: Array<RouteMatch>
	pendingMatches: Array<RouteMatch>
	location: ParsedLocation
	resolvedLocation: ParsedLocation
}

RouterState properties

The RouterState type contains all of the properties that are available on the router state.

`status` property

Type: 'pending' | 'idle'
The current status of the router. If the router is pending, it means that it is currently loading a route or the router is still transitioning to the new route.

`isLoading` property

Type: boolean
true if the router is currently loading a route or waiting for a route to finish loading.

`isTransitioning` property

Type: boolean
true if the router is currently transitioning to a new route.

`matches` property

Type: Array<RouteMatch>
An array of all of the route matches that have been resolved and are currently active.

`pendingMatches` property

Type: Array<RouteMatch>
An array of all of the route matches that are currently pending.

`location` property

Type: ParsedLocation
The latest location that the router has parsed from the browser history. This location may not be resolved and loaded yet.

`resolvedLocation` property

Type: ParsedLocation
The location that the router has resolved and loaded.

Router type

The Router type is used to describe a router instance.

`Router` properties and methods

An instance of the Router has the following properties and methods:

`.update` method

Type: (newOptions: RouterOptions) => void
Updates the router instance with new options.

`state` property

Type: RouterState
The current state of the router.

⚠️⚠️⚠️ router.state is always up to date, but NOT REACTIVE. If you use router.state in a component, the component will not re-render when the router state changes. To get a reactive version of the router state, use the useRouterState hook.

`.subscribe` method

Type: (eventType: TType, fn: ListenerFn<RouterEvents[TType]>) => (event: RouterEvent) => void
Subscribes to a RouterEvent.
Returns a function that can be used to unsubscribe from the event.
The callback provided to the returned function will be called with the event that was emitted.

`.matchRoutes` method

Type: (pathname: string, locationSearch?: Record<string, any>, opts?: { throwOnError?: boolean; }) => RouteMatch[]
Matches a pathname and search params against the router's route tree and returns an array of route matches.
If opts.throwOnError is true, any errors that occur during the matching process will be thrown (in addition to being returned in the route match's error property).

`.cancelMatch` method

Type: (matchId: string) => void
Cancels a route match that is currently pending by calling match.abortController.abort().

`.cancelMatches` method

Type: () => void
Cancels all route matches that are currently pending by calling match.abortController.abort() on each one.

`.buildLocation` method

Builds a new parsed location object that can be used later to navigate to a new location.

Type: (opts: BuildNextOptions) => ParsedLocation
Properties
- from
  - Type: string
  - Optional
  - The path to navigate from. If not provided, the current path will be used.
- to
  - Type: string | number | null
  - Optional
  - The path to navigate to. If null, the current path will be used.
- params
  - Type: true | Updater<unknown>
  - Optional
  - If true, the current params will be used. If a function is provided, it will be called with the current params and the return value will be used.
- search
  - Type: true | Updater<unknown>
  - Optional
  - If true, the current search params will be used. If a function is provided, it will be called with the current search params and the return value will be used.
- hash
  - Type: true | Updater<string>
  - Optional
  - If true, the current hash will be used. If a function is provided, it will be called with the current hash and the return value will be used.
- state
  - Type: true | NonNullableUpdater<ParsedHistoryState, HistoryState>
  - Optional
  - If true, the current state will be used. If a function is provided, it will be called with the current state and the return value will be used.
- mask
  - Type: object
  - Optional
  - Contains all of the same BuildNextOptions, with the addition of unmaskOnReload.
  - unmaskOnReload
    - Type: boolean
    - Optional
    - If true, the route mask will be removed when the page is reloaded. This can be overridden on a per-navigation basis by setting the unmaskOnReload option in the Navigate options.

`.commitLocation` method

Commits a new location object to the browser history.

Type

type commitLocation = (
	location: ParsedLocation & {
		replace?: boolean
		resetScroll?: boolean
		hashScrollIntoView?: boolean | ScrollIntoViewOptions
		ignoreBlocker?: boolean
	},
) => Promise<void>

Properties
- location
  - Type: ParsedLocation
  - Required
  - The location to commit to the browser history.
- replace
  - Type: boolean
  - Optional
  - Defaults to false.
  - If true, the location will be committed to the browser history using history.replace instead of history.push.
- resetScroll
  - Type: boolean
  - Optional
  - Defaults to true so that the scroll position will be reset to 0,0 after the location is committed to the browser history.
  - If false, the scroll position will not be reset to 0,0 after the location is committed to history.
- hashScrollIntoView
  - Type: boolean | ScrollIntoViewOptions
  - Optional
  - Defaults to true so the element with an id matching the hash will be scrolled into view after the location is committed to history.
  - If false, the element with an id matching the hash will not be scrolled into view after the location is committed to history.
  - If an object is provided, it will be passed to the scrollIntoView method as options.
  - See MDN for more information on ScrollIntoViewOptions.
- ignoreBlocker
  - Type: boolean
  - Optional
  - Defaults to false.
  - If true, navigation will ignore any blockers that might prevent it.

`.navigate` method

Navigates to a new location.

Type

type navigate = (options: NavigateOptions) => Promise<void>

`.invalidate` method

Invalidates route matches by forcing their beforeLoad and load functions to be called again.

Type: (opts?: {filter?: (d: MakeRouteMatchUnion<TRouter>) => boolean, sync?: boolean, forcePending?: boolean }) => Promise<void>
This is useful any time your loader data might be out of date or stale. For example, if you have a route that displays a list of posts, and you have a loader function that fetches the list of posts from an API, you might want to invalidate the route matches for that route any time a new post is created so that the list of posts is always up-to-date.
if filter is not supplied, all matches will be invalidated
if filter is supplied, only matches for which filter returns true will be invalidated.
if sync is true, the promise returned by this function will only resolve once all loaders have finished.
if forcePending is true, the invalidated matches will be put into 'pending' state regardless whether they are in 'error' state or not.
You might also want to invalidate the Router if you imperatively reset the router's CatchBoundary to trigger loaders again.

`.clearCache` method

Remove cached route matches.

Type: (opts?: {filter?: (d: MakeRouteMatchUnion<TRouter>) => boolean}) => void
if filter is not supplied, all cached matches will be removed
if filter is supplied, only matches for which filter returns true will be removed.

`.load` method

Loads all of the currently matched route matches and resolves when they are all loaded and ready to be rendered.

⚠️⚠️⚠️ router.load() respects route.staleTime and will not forcefully reload a route match if it is still fresh. If you need to forcefully reload a route match, use router.invalidate() instead.

Type: (opts?: {sync?: boolean}) => Promise<void>
if sync is true, the promise returned by this function will only resolve once all loaders have finished.
The most common use case for this method is to call it when doing SSR to ensure that all of the critical data for the current route is loaded before attempting to stream or render the application to the client.

`.preloadRoute` method

Preloads all of the matches that match the provided NavigateOptions.

⚠️⚠️⚠️ Preloaded route matches are not stored long-term in the router state. They are only stored until the next attempted navigation action.

Type: (opts?: NavigateOptions) => Promise<RouteMatch[]>
Properties
- opts
  - Type: NavigateOptions
  - Optional, defaults to the current location.
  - The options that will be used to determine which route matches to preload.
Returns
- A promise that resolves with an array of all of the route matches that were preloaded.

`.loadRouteChunk` method

Loads the JS chunk of the route.

Type: (route: AnyRoute) => Promise<void>

`.matchRoute` method

Matches a pathname and search params against the router's route tree and returns a route match's params or false if no match was found.

Type: (dest: ToOptions, matchOpts?: MatchRouteOptions) => RouteMatch['params'] | false
Properties
- dest
  - Type: ToOptions
  - Required
  - The destination to match against.
- matchOpts
  - Type: MatchRouteOptions
  - Optional
  - Options that will be used to match the destination.
Returns
- A route match's params if a match was found.
- false if no match was found.

`.dehydrate` method

Dehydrates the router's critical state into a serializable object that can be sent to the client in an initial request.

Type: () => DehydratedRouter
Returns
- A serializable object that contains the router's critical state.

`.hydrate` method

Hydrates the router's critical state from a serializable object that was sent from the server in an initial request.

Type: (dehydrated: DehydratedRouter) => void
Properties
- dehydrated
  - Type: DehydratedRouter
  - Required
  - The dehydrated router state that was sent from the server.

ToMaskOptions type

The ToMaskOptions type extends the ToOptions type and describes additional options available when using route masks.

type ToMaskOptions = ToOptions & {
	unmaskOnReload?: boolean
}

ToOptions

ToOptions type

The ToOptions type contains several properties that can be used to describe a router destination.

type ToOptions = {
	from?: ValidRoutePath | string
	to?: ValidRoutePath | string
	hash?: true | string | ((prev?: string) => string)
	state?: true | HistoryState | ((prev: HistoryState) => HistoryState)
} & SearchParamOptions &
	PathParamOptions

type SearchParamOptions = {
	search?: true | TToSearch | ((prev: TFromSearch) => TToSearch)
}

type PathParamOptions = {
	path?: true | Record<string, TPathParam> | ((prev: TFromParams) => TToParams)
}

UseMatchRouteOptions type

The UseMatchRouteOptions type extends the ToOptions type and describes additional options available when using the useMatchRoute hook.

export type UseMatchRouteOptions = ToOptions & MatchRouteOptions

ViewTransitionOptions type

The ViewTransitionOptions type is used to define a viewTransition type.

interface ViewTransitionOptions {
	types:
		| Array<string>
		| ((locationChangeInfo: {
				fromLocation?: ParsedLocation
				toLocation: ParsedLocation
				pathChanged: boolean
				hrefChanged: boolean
				hashChanged: boolean
		  }) => Array<string> | false)
}

ViewTransitionOptions properties

The ViewTransitionOptions type accepts an object with a single property:

`types` property

Type: Array<string> | ((locationChangeInfo: { fromLocation?: ParsedLocation toLocation: ParsedLocation pathChanged: boolean hrefChanged: boolean hashChanged: boolean }) => (Array<string> | false))
Required
Either one of:
- An array of strings that will be passed to the document.startViewTransition({update, types}) call
- A function that accepts locationChangeInfo object and returns either:
  - An array of strings that will be passed to the document.startViewTransition({update, types}) call
  - or false to skip the view transition

Await component

The Await component is a component that suspends until the provided promise is resolved or rejected. This is only necessary for React 18. If you are using React 19, you can use the use() hook instead.

Await props

The Await component accepts the following props:

`props.promise` prop

Type: Promise<T>
Required
The promise to await.

`props.children` prop

Type: (result: T) => React.ReactNode
Required
A function that will be called with the resolved value of the promise.

Await returns

Throws an error if the promise is rejected.
Suspends (throws a promise) if the promise is pending.
Returns the resolved value of a deferred promise if the promise is resolved using props.children as the render function.

Examples

import { Await } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	const { deferredPromise } = route.useLoaderData()

	return (
		<Await promise={deferredPromise}>
			{(data) => <div>{JSON.stringify(data)}</div>}
		</Await>
	)
}

CatchBoundary component

The CatchBoundary component is a component that catches errors thrown by its children, renders an error component and optionally calls the onCatch callback. It also accepts a getResetKey function that can be used to declaratively reset the component's state when the key changes.

CatchBoundary props

The CatchBoundary component accepts the following props:

`props.getResetKey` prop

Type: () => string
Required
A function that returns a string that will be used to reset the component's state when the key changes.

`props.children` prop

Type: React.ReactNode
Required
The component's children to render when there is no error

`props.errorComponent` prop

Type: React.ReactNode
Optional - default: ErrorComponent
The component to render when there is an error.

`props.onCatch` prop

Type: (error: any) => void
Optional
A callback that will be called with the error that was thrown by the component's children.

CatchBoundary returns

Returns the component's children if there is no error.
Returns the errorComponent if there is an error.

Examples

import { CatchBoundary } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	return (
		<CatchBoundary
			getResetKey={() => 'reset'}
			onCatch={(error) => console.error(error)}
		>
			<div>My Component</div>
		</CatchBoundary>
	)
}

CatchNotFound Component

The CatchNotFound component is a component that catches not-found errors thrown by its children, renders a fallback component and optionally calls the onCatch callback. It resets when the pathname changes.

CatchNotFound props

The CatchNotFound component accepts the following props:

`props.children` prop

Type: React.ReactNode
Required
The component's children to render when there is no error

`props.fallback` prop

Type: (error: NotFoundError) => React.ReactElement
Optional
The component to render when there is an error

`props.onCatch` prop

Type: (error: any) => void
Optional
A callback that will be called with the error that was thrown by the component's children

CatchNotFound returns

Returns the component's children if there is no error.
Returns the fallback if there is an error.

Examples

import { CatchNotFound } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	return (
		<CatchNotFound
			fallback={(error) => <p>Not found error! {JSON.stringify(error)}</p>}
		>
			<ComponentThatMightThrowANotFoundError />
		</CatchNotFound>
	)
}

ClientOnly Component

The ClientOnly component is used to render a components only in the client, without breaking the server-side rendering due to hydration errors. It accepts a fallback prop that will be rendered if the JS is not yet loaded in the client.

Props

The ClientOnly component accepts the following props:

`props.fallback` prop

The fallback component to render if the JS is not yet loaded in the client.

`props.children` prop

The component to render if the JS is loaded in the client.

Returns

Returns the component's children if the JS is loaded in the client.
Returns the fallback component if the JS is not yet loaded in the client.

Examples

// src/routes/dashboard.tsx
import { ClientOnly, createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import {
	Charts,
	FallbackCharts,
} from './charts-that-break-server-side-rendering'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/dashboard')({
	component: Dashboard,
	// ... other route options
})

function Dashboard() {
	return (
		<div>
			<p>Dashboard</p>
			<ClientOnly fallback={<FallbackCharts />}>
				<Charts />
			</ClientOnly>
		</div>
	)
}

createFileRoute function

The createFileRoute function is a factory that can be used to create a file-based route instance. This route instance can then be used to automatically generate a route tree with the tsr generate and tsr watch commands.

createFileRoute options

The createFileRoute function accepts a single argument of type string that represents the path of the file that the route will be generated from.

`path` option

Type: string literal
Required, but automatically inserted and updated by the tsr generate and tsr watch commands
The full path of the file that the route will be generated from

createFileRoute returns

A new function that accepts a single argument of type RouteOptions that will be used to configure the file Route instance.

⚠️ Note: For tsr generate and tsr watch to work properly, the file route instance must be exported from the file using the Route identifier.

Examples

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/')({
	loader: () => {
		return 'Hello World'
	},
	component: IndexComponent,
})

function IndexComponent() {
	const data = Route.useLoaderData()
	return <div>{data}</div>
}

createLazyFileRoute function

The createLazyFileRoute function is used for creating a partial file-based route route instance that is lazily loaded when matched. This route instance can only be used to configure the non-critical properties of the route, such as component, pendingComponent, errorComponent, and the notFoundComponent.

createLazyFileRoute options

The createLazyFileRoute function accepts a single argument of type string that represents the path of the file that the route will be generated from.

`path`

Type: string
Required, but automatically inserted and updated by the tsr generate and tsr watch commands
The full path of the file that the route will be generated from.

createLazyFileRoute returns

A new function that accepts a single argument of partial of the type RouteOptions that will be used to configure the file Route instance.

Type:

Pick<
	RouteOptions,
	'component' | 'pendingComponent' | 'errorComponent' | 'notFoundComponent'
>

RouteOptions

⚠️ Note: For tsr generate and tsr watch to work properly, the file route instance must be exported from the file using the Route identifier.

Examples

import { createLazyFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createLazyFileRoute('/')({
	component: IndexComponent,
})

function IndexComponent() {
	const data = Route.useLoaderData()
	return <div>{data}</div>
}

createLazyRoute function

The createLazyRoute function is used for creating a partial code-based route route instance that is lazily loaded when matched. This route instance can only be used to configure the non-critical properties of the route, such as component, pendingComponent, errorComponent, and the notFoundComponent.

createLazyRoute options

The createLazyRoute function accepts a single argument of type string that represents the id of the route.

`id`

Type: string
Required
The route id of the route.

createLazyRoute returns

A new function that accepts a single argument of partial of the type RouteOptions that will be used to configure the file Route instance.

Type:

Pick<
	RouteOptions,
	'component' | 'pendingComponent' | 'errorComponent' | 'notFoundComponent'
>

RouteOptions

⚠️ Note: This route instance must be manually lazily loaded against its critical route instance using the lazy method returned by the createRoute function.

Examples

// src/route-pages/index.tsx
import { createLazyRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createLazyRoute('/')({
	component: IndexComponent,
})

function IndexComponent() {
	const data = Route.useLoaderData()
	return <div>{data}</div>
}

// src/routeTree.tsx
import {
	createRootRouteWithContext,
	createRoute,
	Outlet,
} from '@tanstack/react-router'

interface MyRouterContext {
	foo: string
}

const rootRoute = createRootRouteWithContext<MyRouterContext>()({
	component: () => <Outlet />,
})

const indexRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: '/',
}).lazy(() => import('./route-pages/index').then((d) => d.Route))

export const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([indexRoute])

createRootRoute function

The createRootRoute function returns a new root route instance. A root route instance can then be used to create a route-tree.

createRootRoute options

The options that will be used to configure the root route instance.

Type:

Omit<
	RouteOptions,
	| 'path'
	| 'id'
	| 'getParentRoute'
	| 'caseSensitive'
	| 'parseParams'
	| 'stringifyParams'
>

RouteOptions
Optional

createRootRoute returns

A new Route instance.

Examples

import { createRootRoute, createRouter, Outlet } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const rootRoute = createRootRoute({
	component: () => <Outlet />,
	// ... root route options
})

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([
	// ... other routes
])

const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
})

createRootRouteWithContext function

The createRootRouteWithContext function is a helper function that can be used to create a root route instance that requires a context type to be fulfilled when the router is created.

createRootRouteWithContext generics

The createRootRouteWithContext function accepts a single generic argument:

`TRouterContext` generic

Type: TRouterContext
Optional, but recommended.
The context type that will be required to be fulfilled when the router is created

createRootRouteWithContext returns

A factory function that can be used to create a new createRootRoute instance.
It accepts a single argument, the same as the createRootRoute function.

Examples

import {
	createRootRouteWithContext,
	createRouter,
} from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { QueryClient } from '@tanstack/react-query'

interface MyRouterContext {
	queryClient: QueryClient
}

const rootRoute = createRootRouteWithContext<MyRouterContext>()({
	component: () => <Outlet />,
	// ... root route options
})

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([
	// ... other routes
])

const queryClient = new QueryClient()

const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
	context: {
		queryClient,
	},
})

createRoute function

The createRoute function implements returns a Route instance. A route instance can then be passed to a root route's children to create a route tree, which is then passed to the router.

createRoute options

Type: RouteOptions
Required
The options that will be used to configure the route instance

createRoute returns

A new Route instance.

Examples

import { createRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { rootRoute } from './__root'

const Route = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: '/',
	loader: () => {
		return 'Hello World'
	},
	component: IndexComponent,
})

function IndexComponent() {
	const data = Route.useLoaderData()
	return <div>{data}</div>
}

createRouteMask function

The createRouteMask function is a helper function that can be used to create a route mask configuration that can be passed to the RouterOptions.routeMasks option.

createRouteMask options

Type: RouteMask
Required
The options that will be used to configure the route mask

createRouteMask returns

A object with the type signature of RouteMask that can be passed to the RouterOptions.routeMasks option.

Examples

import { createRouteMask, createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const photoModalToPhotoMask = createRouteMask({
	routeTree,
	from: '/photos/$photoId/modal',
	to: '/photos/$photoId',
	params: true,
})

// Set up a Router instance
const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
	routeMasks: [photoModalToPhotoMask],
})

createRouter function

The createRouter function accepts a RouterOptions object and creates a new Router instance.

createRouter options

Type: RouterOptions
Required
The options that will be used to configure the router instance.

createRouter returns

An instance of the Router.

Examples

import { createRouter, RouterProvider } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen'

const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
	defaultPreload: 'intent',
})

export default function App() {
	return <RouterProvider router={router} />
}

DefaultGlobalNotFound component

The DefaultGlobalNotFound component is a component that renders "Not Found" on the root route when there is no other route that matches and a notFoundComponent is not provided.

DefaultGlobalNotFound returns

<p>Not Found</p>

defer function

[!CAUTION] You don't need to call defer manually anymore, Promises are handled automatically now.

The defer function wraps a promise with a deferred state object that can be used to inspect the promise's state. This deferred promise can then be passed to the useAwaited hook or the <Await> component for suspending until the promise is resolved or rejected.

The defer function accepts a single argument, the promise to wrap with a deferred state object.

defer options

Type: Promise<T>
Required
The promise to wrap with a deferred state object.

defer returns

A promise that can be passed to the useAwaited hook or the <Await> component.

Examples

import { defer } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const route = createRoute({
	loader: () => {
		const deferredPromise = defer(fetch('/api/data'))
		return { deferredPromise }
	},
	component: MyComponent,
})

function MyComponent() {
	const { deferredPromise } = Route.useLoaderData()

	const data = useAwaited({ promise: deferredPromise })

	// or

	return (
		<Await promise={deferredPromise}>
			{(data) => <div>{JSON.stringify(data)}</div>}
		</Await>
	)
}

ErrorComponent component

The ErrorComponent component is a component that renders an error message and optionally the error's message.

ErrorComponent props

The ErrorComponent component accepts the following props:

`props.error` prop

Type: TError (defaults to Error)
The error that was thrown by the component's children

`props.info` prop

Type: { componentStack: string }
Optional
Additional information about where the error was thrown, such as the React component stack trace.

`props.reset` prop

Type: () => void
A function to programmatically reset the error state

ErrorComponent returns

Returns a formatted error message with the error's message if it exists.
The error message can be toggled by clicking the "Show Error" button.
By default, the error message will be shown in development.

getRouteApi function

The getRouteApi function provides type-safe version of common hooks like useParams, useSearch, useRouteContext, useNavigate, useLoaderData, and useLoaderDeps that are pre-bound to a specific route ID and corresponding registered route types.

getRouteApi options

The getRouteApi function accepts a single argument, a routeId string literal.

`routeId` option

Type: string
Required
The route ID to which the RouteApi instance will be bound

getRouteApi returns

An instance of the RouteApi that is pre-bound to the route ID that the getRouteApi function was called with.

Examples

import { getRouteApi } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const routeApi = getRouteApi('/posts')

export function PostsPage() {
	const posts = routeApi.useLoaderData()
	// ...
}

HistoryState interface

The HistoryState interface is an interface exported by the history package that describes the shape of the state object that can be used in conjunction with the history package and the window.location API.

You can extend this interface to add additional properties to the state object across your application.

// src/main.tsx
declare module '@tanstack/react-router' {
	// ...

	interface HistoryState {
		additionalRequiredProperty: number
		additionalProperty?: string
	}
}

isNotFound function

The isNotFound function can be used to determine if an object is a NotFoundError object.

isNotFound options

The isNotFound function accepts a single argument, an input.

`input` option

Type: unknown
Required
An object to check if it is a NotFoundError.

isNotFound returns

Type: boolean
true if the object is a NotFoundError.
false if the object is not a NotFoundError.

Examples

import { isNotFound } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function somewhere(obj: unknown) {
	if (isNotFound(obj)) {
		// ...
	}
}

isRedirect function

The isRedirect function can be used to determine if an object is a redirect object.

isRedirect options

The isRedirect function accepts a single argument, an input.

`input`

Type: unknown
Required
An object to check if it is a redirect object

isRedirect returns

Type: boolean
true if the object is a redirect object
false if the object is not a redirect object

Examples

import { isRedirect } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function somewhere(obj: unknown) {
	if (isRedirect(obj)) {
		// ...
	}
}

lazyRouteComponent function

[!IMPORTANT] If you are using file-based routing, it's recommended to use the createLazyFileRoute function instead.

The lazyRouteComponent function can be used to create a one-off code-split route component that can be preloaded using a component.preload() method.

lazyRouteComponent options

The lazyRouteComponent function accepts two arguments:

`importer` option

Type: () => Promise<T>
Required
A function that returns a promise that resolves to an object that contains the component to be loaded.

`exportName` option

Type: string
Optional
The name of the component to be loaded from the imported object. Defaults to 'default'.

lazyRouteComponent returns

A React.lazy component that can be preloaded using a component.preload() method.

Examples

import { lazyRouteComponent } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const route = createRoute({
	path: '/posts/$postId',
	component: lazyRouteComponent(() => import('./Post')), // default export
})

// or

const route = createRoute({
	path: '/posts/$postId',
	component: lazyRouteComponent(
		() => import('./Post'),
		'PostByIdPageComponent', // named export
	),
})

Link component

The Link component is a component that can be used to create a link that can be used to navigate to a new location. This includes changes to the pathname, search params, hash, and location state.

Link props

The Link component accepts the following props:

`...props`

Type: LinkProps & React.RefAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement>
LinkProps

Link returns

An anchor element that can be used to navigate to a new location.

Examples

import { Link } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	return (
		<Link
			to="/somewhere/$somewhereId"
			params={{ somewhereId: 'baz' }}
			search={(prev) => ({ ...prev, foo: 'bar' })}
		>
			Click me
		</Link>
	)
}

Link options

linkOptions is a function which type checks an object literal with the intention of being used for Link, navigate or redirect

linkOptions props

The linkOptions accepts the following option:

`...props`

Type: LinkProps & React.RefAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement>
LinkProps

`linkOptions` returns

An object literal with the exact type inferred from the input

Examples

const userLinkOptions = linkOptions({
	to: '/dashboard/users/user',
	search: {
		usersView: {
			sortBy: 'email',
			filterBy: 'filter',
		},
		userId: 0,
	},
})

function DashboardComponent() {
	return <Link {...userLinkOptions} />
}

MatchRoute component

A component version of the useMatchRoute hook. It accepts the same options as the useMatchRoute with additional props to aid in conditional rendering.

MatchRoute props

The MatchRoute component accepts the same options as the useMatchRoute hook with additional props to aid in conditional rendering.

`...props` prop

Type: UseMatchRouteOptions

`children` prop

Optional
React.ReactNode
- The component that will be rendered if the route is matched.
((params: TParams | false) => React.ReactNode)
- A function that will be called with the matched route's params or false if no route was matched. This can be useful for components that need to always render, but render different props based on a route match or not.

MatchRoute returns

Either the children prop or the return value of the children function.

Examples

import { MatchRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	return (
		<div>
			<MatchRoute to="/posts/$postId" params={{ postId: '123' }} pending>
				{(match) => <Spinner show={!!match} wait="delay-50" />}
			</MatchRoute>
		</div>
	)
}

Navigate component

The Navigate component is a component that can be used to navigate to a new location when rendered. This includes changes to the pathname, search params, hash, and location state. The underlying navigation will happen inside of a useEffect hook when successfully rendered.

Navigate props

The Navigate component accepts the following props:

`...options`

Type: NavigateOptions

Navigate returns

null

NotFoundComponent component

The NotFoundComponent component is a component that renders when a not-found error occurs in a route.

NotFoundComponent props

The NotFoundComponent component accepts the following props:

`props.data` prop

Type: unknown
Optional
Custom data that is passed to the notFoundComponent when the not-found error is handled
This data comes from the data property of the NotFoundError object

`props.isNotFound` prop

Type: boolean
Required
A boolean value indicating whether the current state is a not-found error state
This value is always true

`props.routeId` prop

Type: RouteIds<RegisteredRouter['routeTree']>
Required
The ID of the route that is attempting to handle the not-found error
Must be one of the valid route IDs from the router's route tree

NotFoundComponent returns

Returns appropriate UI for not-found error situations
Typically includes a "page not found" message along with links to go home or navigate to previous pages

notFound function

The notFound function returns a new NotFoundError object that can be either returned or thrown from places like a Route's beforeLoad or loader callbacks to trigger the notFoundComponent.

notFound options

The notFound function accepts a single optional argument, the options to create the not-found error object.

Type: Partial<NotFoundError>
Optional

notFound returns

If the throw property is true in the options object, the NotFoundError object will be thrown from within the function call.
If the throw property is false | undefined in the options object, the NotFoundError object will be returned.

Examples

import { notFound, createFileRoute, rootRouteId } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const Route = new createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	// throwing a not-found object
	loader: ({ context: { post } }) => {
		if (!post) {
			throw notFound()
		}
	},
	// or if you want to show a not-found on the whole page
	loader: ({ context: { team } }) => {
		if (!team) {
			throw notFound({ routeId: rootRouteId })
		}
	},
	// ... other route options
})

Outlet component

The Outlet component is a component that can be used to render the next child route of a parent route.

Outlet props

The Outlet component does not accept any props.

Outlet returns

If matched, the child route match's component/errorComponent/pendingComponent/notFoundComponent.
If not matched, null.

redirect function

The redirect function returns a new Redirect object that can be either returned or thrown from places like a Route's beforeLoad or loader callbacks to trigger redirect to a new location.

redirect options

The redirect function accepts a single argument, the options to determine the redirect behavior.

Type: Redirect
Required

redirect returns

If the throw property is true in the options object, the Redirect object will be thrown from within the function call.
If the throw property is false | undefined in the options object, the Redirect object will be returned.

Examples

import { redirect } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const route = createRoute({
	// throwing an internal redirect object using 'to' property
	loader: () => {
		if (!user) {
			throw redirect({
				to: '/login',
			})
		}
	},
	// throwing an external redirect object using 'href' property
	loader: () => {
		if (needsExternalAuth) {
			throw redirect({
				href: 'https://authprovider.com/login',
			})
		}
	},
	// or forcing `redirect` to throw itself
	loader: () => {
		if (!user) {
			redirect({
				to: '/login',
				throw: true,
			})
		}
	},
	// ... other route options
})

Search middleware to retain search params

retainSearchParams is a search middleware that allows to keep search params.

retainSearchParams props

The retainSearchParams either accepts true or a list of keys of those search params that shall be retained. If true is passed in, all search params will be retained.

Examples

import { z } from 'zod'
import { createRootRoute, retainSearchParams } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { zodValidator } from '@tanstack/zod-adapter'

const searchSchema = z.object({
	rootValue: z.string().optional(),
})

export const Route = createRootRoute({
	validateSearch: zodValidator(searchSchema),
	search: {
		middlewares: [retainSearchParams(['rootValue'])],
	},
})

import { z } from 'zod'
import { createFileRoute, retainSearchParams } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { zodValidator } from '@tanstack/zod-adapter'

const searchSchema = z.object({
	one: z.string().optional(),
	two: z.string().optional(),
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/')({
	validateSearch: zodValidator(searchSchema),
	search: {
		middlewares: [retainSearchParams(true)],
	},
})

rootRouteWithContext function

[!CAUTION] This function is deprecated and will be removed in the next major version of TanStack Router. Please use the createRootRouteWithContext function instead.

The rootRouteWithContext function is a helper function that can be used to create a root route instance that requires a context type to be fulfilled when the router is created.

rootRouteWithContext generics

The rootRouteWithContext function accepts a single generic argument:

`TRouterContext` generic

Type: TRouterContext
Optional, but recommended.
The context type that will be required to be fulfilled when the router is created

rootRouteWithContext returns

A factory function that can be used to create a new createRootRoute instance.
It accepts a single argument, the same as the createRootRoute function.

Examples

import { rootRouteWithContext, createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { QueryClient } from '@tanstack/react-query'

interface MyRouterContext {
	queryClient: QueryClient
}

const rootRoute = rootRouteWithContext<MyRouterContext>()({
	component: () => <Outlet />,
	// ... root route options
})

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([
	// ... other routes
])

const queryClient = new QueryClient()

const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
	context: {
		queryClient,
	},
})

Search middleware to strip search params

stripSearchParams is a search middleware that allows to remove search params.

stripSearchParams props

stripSearchParams accepts one of the following inputs:

true: if the search schema has no required params, true can be used to strip all search params
a list of keys of those search params that shall be removed; only keys of optional search params are allowed.
an object that conforms to the partial input search schema. The search params are compared against the values of this object; if the value is deeply equal, it will be removed. This is especially useful to strip out default search params.

Examples

import { z } from 'zod'
import { createFileRoute, stripSearchParams } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { zodValidator } from '@tanstack/zod-adapter'

const defaultValues = {
	one: 'abc',
	two: 'xyz',
}

const searchSchema = z.object({
	one: z.string().default(defaultValues.one),
	two: z.string().default(defaultValues.two),
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/')({
	validateSearch: zodValidator(searchSchema),
	search: {
		// strip default values
		middlewares: [stripSearchParams(defaultValues)],
	},
})

import { z } from 'zod'
import { createRootRoute, stripSearchParams } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { zodValidator } from '@tanstack/zod-adapter'

const searchSchema = z.object({
	hello: z.string().default('world'),
	requiredParam: z.string(),
})

export const Route = createRootRoute({
	validateSearch: zodValidator(searchSchema),
	search: {
		// always remove `hello`
		middlewares: [stripSearchParams(['hello'])],
	},
})

import { z } from 'zod'
import { createFileRoute, stripSearchParams } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { zodValidator } from '@tanstack/zod-adapter'

const searchSchema = z.object({
	one: z.string().default('abc'),
	two: z.string().default('xyz'),
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/')({
	validateSearch: zodValidator(searchSchema),
	search: {
		// remove all search params
		middlewares: [stripSearchParams(true)],
	},
})

useAwaited hook

The useAwaited method is a hook that suspends until the provided promise is resolved or rejected.

useAwaited options

The useAwaited hook accepts a single argument, an options object.

`options.promise` option

Type: Promise<T>
Required
The deferred promise to await.

useAwaited returns

Throws an error if the promise is rejected.
Suspends (throws a promise) if the promise is pending.
Returns the resolved value of a deferred promise if the promise is resolved.

Examples

import { useAwaited } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	const { deferredPromise } = route.useLoaderData()

	const data = useAwaited({ promise: myDeferredPromise })
	// ...
}

useBlocker hook

The useBlocker method is a hook that blocks navigation when a condition is met.

⚠️ The following new useBlocker API is currently experimental.

useBlocker options

The useBlocker hook accepts a single required argument, an option object:

`options.shouldBlockFn` option

Required
Type: ShouldBlockFn
This function should return a boolean or a Promise<boolean> that tells the blocker if it should block the current navigation
The function has the argument of type ShouldBlockFnArgs passed to it, which tells you information about the current and next route and the action performed
Think of this function as telling the router if it should block the navigation, so returning true mean that it should block the navigation and false meaning that it should be allowed

interface ShouldBlockFnLocation<...> {
  routeId: TRouteId
  fullPath: TFullPath
  pathname: string
  params: TAllParams
  search: TFullSearchSchema
}

type ShouldBlockFnArgs = {
  current: ShouldBlockFnLocation
  next: ShouldBlockFnLocation
  action: HistoryAction
}

`options.disabled` option

Optional - defaults to false
Type: boolean
Specifies if the blocker should be entirely disabled or not

`options.enableBeforeUnload` option

Optional - defaults to true
Type: boolean | (() => boolean)
Tell the blocker to sometimes or always block the browser beforeUnload event or not

`options.withResolver` option

Optional - defaults to false
Type: boolean
Specify if the resolver returned by the hook should be used or whether your shouldBlockFn function itself resolves the blocking

`options.blockerFn` option (⚠️ deprecated)

Optional
Type: BlockerFn
The function that returns a boolean or Promise<boolean> indicating whether to allow navigation.

`options.condition` option (⚠️ deprecated)

Optional - defaults to true
Type: boolean
A navigation attempt is blocked when this condition is true.

useBlocker returns

An object with the controls to allow manual blocking and unblocking of navigation.

status - A string literal that can be either 'blocked' or 'idle'
next - When status is blocked, a type narrrowable object that contains information about the next location
current - When status is blocked, a type narrrowable object that contains information about the current location
action - When status is blocked, a HistoryAction string that shows the action that triggered the navigation
proceed - When status is blocked, a function that allows navigation to continue
reset - When status is blocked, a function that cancels navigation (status will be reset to 'idle')

void when withResolver is false

Examples

Two common use cases for the useBlocker hook are:

Basic usage

import { useBlocker } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function MyComponent() {
	const [formIsDirty, setFormIsDirty] = useState(false)

	useBlocker({
		shouldBlockFn: () => formIsDirty,
	})

	// ...
}

Custom UI

import { useBlocker } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function MyComponent() {
  const [formIsDirty, setFormIsDirty] = useState(false)

  const { proceed, reset, status, next } = useBlocker({
    shouldBlockFn: () => formIsDirty,
    withResolver: true,
  })

  // ...

  return (
    <>
      {/* ... */}
      {status === 'blocked' && (
        <div>
          <p>You are navigating to {next.pathname}</p>
          <p>Are you sure you want to leave?</p>
          <button onClick={proceed}>Yes</button>
          <button onClick={reset}>No</button>
        </div>
      )}
    </>
}

Conditional blocking

import { useBlocker } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function MyComponent() {
	const { proceed, reset, status } = useBlocker({
		shouldBlockFn: ({ next }) => {
			return !next.pathname.includes('step/')
		},
		withResolver: true,
	})

	// ...

	return (
		<>
			{/* ... */}
			{status === 'blocked' && (
				<div>
					<p>Are you sure you want to leave?</p>
					<button onClick={proceed}>Yes</button>
					<button onClick={reset}>No</button>
				</div>
			)}
		</>
	)
}

Without resolver

import { useBlocker } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function MyComponent() {
	const [formIsDirty, setFormIsDirty] = useState(false)

	useBlocker({
		shouldBlockFn: ({ next }) => {
			if (next.pathname.includes('step/')) {
				return false
			}

			const shouldLeave = confirm('Are you sure you want to leave?')
			return !shouldLeave
		},
	})

	// ...
}

Type narrowing

import { useBlocker } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function MyComponent() {
	const [formIsDirty, setFormIsDirty] = useState(false)

	// block going from editor-1 to /foo/123?hello=world
	const { proceed, reset, status } = useBlocker({
		shouldBlockFn: ({ current, next }) => {
			if (
				current.routeId === '/editor-1' &&
				next.fullPath === '/foo/$id' &&
				next.params.id === '123' &&
				next.search.hello === 'world'
			) {
				return true
			}
			return false
		},
		enableBeforeUnload: false,
		withResolver: true,
	})

	// ...
}

useCanGoBack hook

The useCanGoBack hook returns a boolean representing if the router history can safely go back without exiting the application.

⚠️ The following new useCanGoBack API is currently experimental.

useCanGoBack returns

If the router history is not at index 0, true.
If the router history is at index 0, false.

Limitations

The router history index is reset after a navigation with reloadDocument set as true. This causes the router history to consider the new location as the initial one and will cause useCanGoBack to return false.

Examples

Showing a back button

import { useRouter, useCanGoBack } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	const router = useRouter()
	const canGoBack = useCanGoBack()

	return (
		<div>
			{canGoBack ? (
				<button onClick={() => router.history.back()}>Go back</button>
			) : null}

			{/* ... */}
		</div>
	)
}

useChildMatches hook

The useChildMatches hook returns all of the child RouteMatch objects from the closest match down to the leaf-most match. It does not include the current match, which can be obtained using the useMatch hook.

[!IMPORTANT] If the router has pending matches and they are showing their pending component fallbacks, router.state.pendingMatches will used instead of router.state.matches.

useChildMatches options

The useChildMatches hook accepts a single optional argument, an options object.

`opts.select` option

Optional
(matches: RouteMatch[]) => TSelected
If supplied, this function will be called with the route matches and the return value will be returned from useChildMatches. This value will also be used to determine if the hook should re-render its parent component using shallow equality checks.

`opts.structuralSharing` option

Type: boolean
Optional
Configures whether structural sharing is enabled for the value returned by select.
See the Render Optimizations guide for more information.

useChildMatches returns

If a select function is provided, the return value of the select function.
If no select function is provided, an array of RouteMatch objects.

Examples

import { useChildMatches } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	const childMatches = useChildMatches()
	// ...
}

useLinkProps hook

The useLinkProps hook that takes an object as its argument and returns a React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement> props object. These props can then be safely applied to an anchor element to create a link that can be used to navigate to the new location. This includes changes to the pathname, search params, hash, and location state.

useLinkProps options

type UseLinkPropsOptions = ActiveLinkOptions &
	React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement>

ActiveLinkOptions
The useLinkProps options are used to build a LinkProps object.
It also extends the React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement> type, so that any additional props that are passed to the useLinkProps hook will be merged with the LinkProps object.

useLinkProps returns

A React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement> object that can be applied to an anchor element to create a link that can be used to navigate to the new location

useLoaderData hook

The useLoaderData hook returns the loader data from the closest RouteMatch in the component tree.

useLoaderData options

The useLoaderData hook accepts an options object.

`opts.from` option

Type: string
The route id of the closest parent match
Optional, but recommended for full type safety.
If opts.strict is true, TypeScript will warn for this option if it is not provided.
If opts.strict is false, TypeScript will provided loosened types for the returned loader data.

`opts.strict` option

Type: boolean
Optional - default: true
If false, the opts.from option will be ignored and types will be loosened to to reflect the shared types of all possible loader data.

`opts.select` option

Optional
(loaderData: TLoaderData) => TSelected
If supplied, this function will be called with the loader data and the return value will be returned from useLoaderData. This value will also be used to determine if the hook should re-render its parent component using shallow equality checks.

`opts.structuralSharing` option

Type: boolean
Optional
Configures whether structural sharing is enabled for the value returned by select.
See the Render Optimizations guide for more information.

useLoaderData returns

If a select function is provided, the return value of the select function.
If no select function is provided, the loader data or a loosened version of the loader data if opts.strict is false.

Examples

import { useLoaderData } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	const loaderData = useLoaderData({ from: '/posts/$postId' })
	//     ^? { postId: string, body: string, ... }
	// ...
}

useLoaderDeps hook

The useLoaderDeps hook is a hook that returns an object with the dependencies that are used to trigger the loader for a given route.

useLoaderDepsHook options

The useLoaderDepsHook hook accepts an options object.

`opts.from` option

Type: string
Required
The RouteID or path to get the loader dependencies from.

`opts.select` option

Type: (deps: TLoaderDeps) => TSelected
Optional
If supplied, this function will be called with the loader dependencies object and the return value will be returned from useLoaderDeps.

`opts.structuralSharing` option

Type: boolean
Optional
Configures whether structural sharing is enabled for the value returned by select.
See the Render Optimizations guide for more information.

useLoaderDeps returns

An object of the loader dependencies or TSelected if a select function is provided.

Examples

import { useLoaderDeps } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const routeApi = getRouteApi('/posts/$postId')

function Component() {
	const deps = useLoaderDeps({ from: '/posts/$postId' })

	// OR

	const routeDeps = routeApi.useLoaderDeps()

	// OR

	const postId = useLoaderDeps({
		from: '/posts',
		select: (deps) => deps.view,
	})

	// ...
}

useLocation hook

The useLocation method is a hook that returns the current location object. This hook is useful for when you want to perform some side effect whenever the current location changes.

useLocation options

The useLocation hook accepts an optional options object.

`opts.select` option

Type: (state: ParsedLocationType) => TSelected
Optional
If supplied, this function will be called with the location object and the return value will be returned from useLocation.

useLocation returns

The current location object or TSelected if a select function is provided.

Examples

import { useLocation } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	const location = useLocation()
	//    ^ ParsedLocation

	// OR

	const pathname = useLocation({
		select: (location) => location.pathname,
	})
	//    ^ string

	// ...
}

useMatch hook

The useMatch hook returns a RouteMatch in the component tree. The raw route match contains all of the information about a route match in the router and also powers many other hooks under the hood like useParams, useLoaderData, useRouteContext, and useSearch.

useMatch options

The useMatch hook accepts a single argument, an options object.

`opts.from` option

Type: string
The route id of a match
Optional, but recommended for full type safety.
If opts.strict is true, from is required and TypeScript will warn for this option if it is not provided.
If opts.strict is false, from must not be set and TypeScript will provided loosened types for the returned RouteMatch.

`opts.strict` option

Type: boolean
Optional
default: true
If false, the opts.from must not be set and types will be loosened to Partial<RouteMatch> to reflect the shared types of all matches.

`opts.select` option

Optional
(match: RouteMatch) => TSelected
If supplied, this function will be called with the route match and the return value will be returned from useMatch. This value will also be used to determine if the hook should re-render its parent component using shallow equality checks.

`opts.structuralSharing` option

Type: boolean
Optional
Configures whether structural sharing is enabled for the value returned by select.
See the Render Optimizations guide for more information.

`opts.shouldThrow` option

Type: boolean
Optional
default: true
If false,useMatch will not throw an invariant exception in case a match was not found in the currently rendered matches; in this case, it will return undefined.

useMatch returns

If a select function is provided, the return value of the select function.
If no select function is provided, the RouteMatch object or a loosened version of the RouteMatch object if opts.strict is false.

Examples

Accessing a route match

import { useMatch } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	const match = useMatch({ from: '/posts/$postId' })
	//     ^? strict match for RouteMatch
	// ...
}

Accessing the root route's match

import {
	useMatch,
	rootRouteId, // <<<< use this token!
} from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	const match = useMatch({ from: rootRouteId })
	//     ^? strict match for RouteMatch
	// ...
}

Checking if a specific route is currently rendered

import { useMatch } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	const match = useMatch({ from: '/posts', shouldThrow: false })
	//     ^? RouteMatch | undefined
	if (match !== undefined) {
		// ...
	}
}

useMatchRoute hook

The useMatchRoute hook is a hook that returns a matchRoute function that can be used to match a route against either the current or pending location.

useMatchRoute returns

A matchRoute function that can be used to match a route against either the current or pending location.

matchRoute function

The matchRoute function is a function that can be used to match a route against either the current or pending location.

matchRoute function options

The matchRoute function accepts a single argument, an options object.

Type: UseMatchRouteOptions

matchRoute function returns

The matched route's params or false if no route was matched

Examples

import { useMatchRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

// Current location: /posts/123
function Component() {
	const matchRoute = useMatchRoute()
	const params = matchRoute({ to: '/posts/$postId' })
	//    ^ { postId: '123' }
}

// Current location: /posts/123
function Component() {
	const matchRoute = useMatchRoute()
	const params = matchRoute({ to: '/posts' })
	//    ^ false
}

// Current location: /posts/123
function Component() {
	const matchRoute = useMatchRoute()
	const params = matchRoute({ to: '/posts', fuzzy: true })
	//    ^ {}
}

// Current location: /posts
// Pending location: /posts/123
function Component() {
	const matchRoute = useMatchRoute()
	const params = matchRoute({ to: '/posts/$postId', pending: true })
	//    ^ { postId: '123' }
}

// Current location: /posts/123/foo/456
function Component() {
	const matchRoute = useMatchRoute()
	const params = matchRoute({ to: '/posts/$postId/foo/$fooId' })
	//    ^ { postId: '123', fooId: '456' }
}

// Current location: /posts/123/foo/456
function Component() {
	const matchRoute = useMatchRoute()
	const params = matchRoute({
		to: '/posts/$postId/foo/$fooId',
		params: { postId: '123' },
	})
	//    ^ { postId: '123', fooId: '456' }
}

// Current location: /posts/123/foo/456
function Component() {
	const matchRoute = useMatchRoute()
	const params = matchRoute({
		to: '/posts/$postId/foo/$fooId',
		params: { postId: '789' },
	})
	//    ^ false
}

// Current location: /posts/123/foo/456
function Component() {
	const matchRoute = useMatchRoute()
	const params = matchRoute({
		to: '/posts/$postId/foo/$fooId',
		params: { fooId: '456' },
	})
	//    ^ { postId: '123', fooId: '456' }
}

// Current location: /posts/123/foo/456
function Component() {
	const matchRoute = useMatchRoute()
	const params = matchRoute({
		to: '/posts/$postId/foo/$fooId',
		params: { postId: '123', fooId: '456' },
	})
	//    ^ { postId: '123', fooId: '456' }
}

// Current location: /posts/123/foo/456
function Component() {
	const matchRoute = useMatchRoute()
	const params = matchRoute({
		to: '/posts/$postId/foo/$fooId',
		params: { postId: '789', fooId: '456' },
	})
	//    ^ false
}

useMatches hook

The useMatches hook returns all of the RouteMatch objects from the router regardless of its callers position in the React component tree.

[!TIP] If you only want the parent or child matches, then you can use the useParentMatches or the useChildMatches based on the selection you need.

useMatches options

The useMatches hook accepts a single optional argument, an options object.

`opts.select` option

Optional
(matches: RouteMatch[]) => TSelected
If supplied, this function will be called with the route matches and the return value will be returned from useMatches. This value will also be used to determine if the hook should re-render its parent component using shallow equality checks.

`opts.structuralSharing` option

Type: boolean
Optional
Configures whether structural sharing is enabled for the value returned by select.
See the Render Optimizations guide for more information.

useMatches returns

If a select function is provided, the return value of the select function.
If no select function is provided, an array of RouteMatch objects.

Examples

import { useMatches } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	const matches = useMatches()
	//     ^? [RouteMatch, RouteMatch, ...]
	// ...
}

useNavigate hook

The useNavigate hook is a hook that returns a navigate function that can be used to navigate to a new location. This includes changes to the pathname, search params, hash, and location state.

useNavigate options

The useNavigate hook accepts a single argument, an options object.

`opts.from` option

Type: string
Optional
Description: The location to navigate from. This is useful when you want to navigate to a new location from a specific location, rather than the current location.

useNavigate returns

A navigate function that can be used to navigate to a new location.

navigate function

The navigate function is a function that can be used to navigate to a new location.

navigate function options

The navigate function accepts a single argument, an options object.

Type: NavigateOptions

navigate function returns

A Promise that resolves when the navigation is complete

Examples

import { useNavigate } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function PostsPage() {
	const navigate = useNavigate({ from: '/posts' })
	const handleClick = () => navigate({ search: { page: 2 } })
	// ...
}

function Component() {
	const navigate = useNavigate()
	return (
		<div>
			<button
				onClick={() =>
					navigate({
						to: '/posts',
					})
				}
			>
				Posts
			</button>
			<button
				onClick={() =>
					navigate({
						to: '/posts',
						search: { page: 2 },
					})
				}
			>
				Posts (Page 2)
			</button>
			<button
				onClick={() =>
					navigate({
						to: '/posts',
						hash: 'my-hash',
					})
				}
			>
				Posts (Hash)
			</button>
			<button
				onClick={() =>
					navigate({
						to: '/posts',
						state: { from: 'home' },
					})
				}
			>
				Posts (State)
			</button>
		</div>
	)
}

useParams hook

The useParams method returns all of the path parameters that were parsed for the closest match and all of its parent matches.

useParams options

The useParams hook accepts an optional options object.

`opts.strict` option

Type: boolean
Optional - default: true
If false, the opts.from option will be ignored and types will be loosened to Partial<AllParams> to reflect the shared types of all params.

`opts.shouldThrow` option

Type: boolean
Optional
default: true
If false,useParams will not throw an invariant exception in case a match was not found in the currently rendered matches; in this case, it will return undefined.

`opts.select` option

Optional
(params: AllParams) => TSelected
If supplied, this function will be called with the params object and the return value will be returned from useParams. This value will also be used to determine if the hook should re-render its parent component using shallow equality checks.

`opts.structuralSharing` option

Type: boolean
Optional
Configures whether structural sharing is enabled for the value returned by select.
See the Render Optimizations guide for more information.

useParams returns

An object of of the match's and parent match path params or TSelected if a select function is provided.

Examples

import { useParams } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const routeApi = getRouteApi('/posts/$postId')

function Component() {
	const params = useParams({ from: '/posts/$postId' })

	// OR

	const routeParams = routeApi.useParams()

	// OR

	const postId = useParams({
		from: '/posts/$postId',
		select: (params) => params.postId,
	})

	// OR

	const looseParams = useParams({ strict: false })

	// ...
}

useParentMatches hook

The useParentMatches hook returns all of the parent RouteMatch objects from the root down to the immediate parent of the current match in context. It does not include the current match, which can be obtained using the useMatch hook.

[!IMPORTANT] If the router has pending matches and they are showing their pending component fallbacks, router.state.pendingMatches will used instead of router.state.matches.

useParentMatches options

The useParentMatches hook accepts an optional options object.

`opts.select` option

Optional
(matches: RouteMatch[]) => TSelected
If supplied, this function will be called with the route matches and the return value will be returned from useParentMatches. This value will also be used to determine if the hook should re-render its parent component using shallow equality checks.

`opts.structuralSharing` option

Type: boolean
Optional
Configures whether structural sharing is enabled for the value returned by select.
See the Render Optimizations guide for more information.

useParentMatches returns

If a select function is provided, the return value of the select function.
If no select function is provided, an array of RouteMatch objects.

Examples

import { useParentMatches } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	const parentMatches = useParentMatches()
	//    ^ [RouteMatch, RouteMatch, ...]
}

useRouteContext hook

The useRouteContext method is a hook that returns the current context for the current route. This hook is useful for accessing the current route context in a component.

useRouteContext options

The useRouteContext hook accepts an options object.

`opts.from` option

Type: string
Required
The RouteID to match the route context from.

`opts.select` option

Type: (context: RouteContext) => TSelected
Optional
If supplied, this function will be called with the route context object and the return value will be returned from useRouteContext.

useRouteContext returns

The current context for the current route or TSelected if a select function is provided.

Examples

import { useRouteContext } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	const context = useRouteContext({ from: '/posts/$postId' })
	//    ^ RouteContext

	// OR

	const selected = useRouteContext({
		from: '/posts/$postId',
		select: (context) => context.postId,
	})
	//    ^ string

	// ...
}

useRouter hook

The useRouter method is a hook that returns the current instance of Router from context. This hook is useful for accessing the router instance in a component.

useRouter returns

The current Router instance.

⚠️⚠️⚠️ router.state is always up to date, but NOT REACTIVE. If you use router.state in a component, the component will not re-render when the router state changes. To get a reactive version of the router state, use the useRouterState hook.

Examples

import { useRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	const router = useRouter()
	//    ^ Router

	// ...
}

useRouterState hook

The useRouterState method is a hook that returns the current internal state of the router. This hook is useful for accessing the current state of the router in a component.

[!TIP] If you want to access the current location or the current matches, you should try out the useLocation and useMatches hooks first. These hooks are designed to be more ergonomic and easier to use than accessing the router state directly.

useRouterState options

The useRouterState hook accepts an optional options object.

`opts.select` option

Type: (state: RouterState) => TSelected
Optional
If supplied, this function will be called with the RouterState object and the return value will be returned from useRouterState.

`opts.structuralSharing` option

Type: boolean
Optional
Configures whether structural sharing is enabled for the value returned by select.
See the Render Optimizations guide for more information.

useRouterState returns

The current RouterState object or TSelected if a select function is provided.

Examples

import { useRouterState } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	const state = useRouterState()
	//    ^ RouterState

	// OR

	const selected = useRouterState({
		select: (state) => state.location,
	})
	//    ^ ParsedLocation

	// ...
}

useSearch hook

The useSearch method is a hook that returns the current search query parameters as an object for the current location. This hook is useful for accessing the current search string and query parameters in a component.

useSearch options

The useSearch hook accepts an options object.

`opts.from` option

Type: string
Required
The RouteID to match the search query parameters from.

`opts.shouldThrow` option

Type: boolean
Optional
default: true
If false,useSearch will not throw an invariant exception in case a match was not found in the currently rendered matches; in this case, it will return undefined.

`opts.select` option

Type: (search: SelectedSearchSchema) => TSelected
Optional
If supplied, this function will be called with the search object and the return value will be returned from useSearch.

`opts.structuralSharing` option

Type: boolean
Optional
Configures whether structural sharing is enabled for the value returned by select.
See the Render Optimizations guide for more information.

`opts.strict` option

Type: boolean
Optional - default: true
If false, the opts.from option will be ignored and types will be loosened to Partial<FullSearchSchema> to reflect the shared types of all search query parameters.

useSearch returns

If opts.from is provided, an object of the search query parameters for the current location or TSelected if a select function is provided.
If opts.strict is false, an object of the search query parameters for the current location or TSelected if a select function is provided.

Examples

import { useSearch } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function Component() {
	const search = useSearch({ from: '/posts/$postId' })
	//    ^ FullSearchSchema

	// OR

	const selected = useSearch({
		from: '/posts/$postId',
		select: (search) => search.postView,
	})
	//    ^ string

	// OR

	const looseSearch = useSearch({ strict: false })
	//    ^ Partial<FullSearchSchema>

	// ...
}

</@tanstack/react-router_api>

<@tanstack/react-router_guide> Always Apply: false - This rule should only be applied when relevant files are open Always apply this rule in these files: src//*.ts, src//*.tsx

Authenticated Routes

Authentication is an extremely common requirement for web applications. In this guide, we'll walk through how to use TanStack Router to build protected routes, and how to redirect users to login if they try to access them.

The `route.beforeLoad` Option

The route.beforeLoad option allows you to specify a function that will be called before a route is loaded. It receives all of the same arguments that the route.loader function does. This is a great place to check if a user is authenticated, and redirect them to a login page if they are not.

The beforeLoad function runs in relative order to these other route loading functions:

Route Matching (Top-Down)
- route.params.parse
- route.validateSearch
Route Loading (including Preloading)
- route.beforeLoad
- route.onError
Route Loading (Parallel)
- route.component.preload?
- route.load

It's important to know that the beforeLoad function for a route is called before any of its child routes' beforeLoad functions. It is essentially a middleware function for the route and all of its children.

If you throw an error in beforeLoad, none of its children will attempt to load.

Redirecting

While not required, some authentication flows require redirecting to a login page. To do this, you can throw a redirect() from beforeLoad:

// src/routes/_authenticated.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/_authenticated')({
	beforeLoad: async ({ location }) => {
		if (!isAuthenticated()) {
			throw redirect({
				to: '/login',
				search: {
					// Use the current location to power a redirect after login
					// (Do not use `router.state.resolvedLocation` as it can
					// potentially lag behind the actual current location)
					redirect: location.href,
				},
			})
		}
	},
})

[!TIP] The redirect() function takes all of the same options as the navigate function, so you can pass options like replace: true if you want to replace the current history entry instead of adding a new one.

Once you have authenticated a user, it's also common practice to redirect them back to the page they were trying to access. To do this, you can utilize the redirect search param that we added in our original redirect. Since we'll be replacing the entire URL with what it was, router.history.push is better suited for this than router.navigate:

router.history.push(search.redirect)

Non-Redirected Authentication

Some applications choose to not redirect users to a login page, and instead keep the user on the same page and show a login form that either replaces the main content or hides it via a modal. This is also possible with TanStack Router by simply short circuiting rendering the <Outlet /> that would normally render the child routes:

// src/routes/_authenticated.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/_authenticated')({
	component: () => {
		if (!isAuthenticated()) {
			return <Login />
		}

		return <Outlet />
	},
})

This keeps the user on the same page, but still allows you to render a login form. Once the user is authenticated, you can simply render the <Outlet /> and the child routes will be rendered.

Authentication using React context/hooks

If your authentication flow relies on interactions with React context and/or hooks, you'll need to pass down your authentication state to TanStack Router using router.context option.

[!IMPORTANT] React hooks are not meant to be consumed outside of React components. If you need to use a hook outside of a React component, you need to extract the returned state from the hook in a component that wraps your <RouterProvider /> and then pass the returned value down to TanStack Router.

We'll cover the router.context options in-detail in the Router Context section.

Here's an example that uses React context and hooks for protecting authenticated routes in TanStack Router. See the entire working setup in the Authenticated Routes example.

src/routes/__root.tsx

import { createRootRouteWithContext } from '@tanstack/react-router'

interface MyRouterContext {
	// The ReturnType of your useAuth hook or the value of your AuthContext
	auth: AuthState
}

export const Route = createRootRouteWithContext<MyRouterContext>()({
	component: () => <Outlet />,
})

src/router.tsx

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen'

export const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
	context: {
		// auth will initially be undefined
		// We'll be passing down the auth state from within a React component
		auth: undefined!,
	},
})

src/App.tsx

import { RouterProvider } from '@tanstack/react-router'

import { AuthProvider, useAuth } from './auth'

import { router } from './router'

function InnerApp() {
	const auth = useAuth()
	return <RouterProvider router={router} context={{ auth }} />
}

function App() {
	return (
		<AuthProvider>
			<InnerApp />
		</AuthProvider>
	)
}

Then in the authenticated route, you can check the auth state using the beforeLoad function, and throw a redirect() to your Login route if the user is not signed-in.

src/routes/dashboard.route.tsx

import { createFileRoute, redirect } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/dashboard')({
	beforeLoad: ({ context, location }) => {
		if (!context.auth.isAuthenticated) {
			throw redirect({
				to: '/login',
				search: {
					redirect: location.href,
				},
			})
		}
	},
})

You can optionally, also use the Non-Redirected Authentication approach to show a login form instead of calling a redirect.

This approach can also be used in conjunction with Pathless or Layout Route to protect all routes under their parent route.

For detailed, step-by-step implementation guides, see:

How to Set Up Basic Authentication - Complete setup with React Context and protected routes
How to Integrate Authentication Providers - Use Auth0, Clerk, or Supabase
How to Set Up Role-Based Access Control - Implement permissions and role-based routing

Examples

Working authentication examples are available in the repository:

Basic Authentication Example - Simple authentication with context
Firebase Authentication - Firebase Auth integration
TanStack Start Auth Examples - Various auth implementations with TanStack Start

Automatic Code Splitting

The automatic code splitting feature in TanStack Router allows you to optimize your application's bundle size by lazily loading route components and their associated data. This is particularly useful for large applications where you want to minimize the initial load time by only loading the necessary code for the current route.

To turn this feature on, simply set the autoCodeSplitting option to true in your bundler plugin configuration. This enables the router to automatically handle code splitting for your routes without requiring any additional setup.

// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import { tanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/vite'

export default defineConfig({
	plugins: [
		tanstackRouter({
			autoCodeSplitting: true, // Enable automatic code splitting
		}),
	],
})

But that's just the beginning! TanStack Router's automatic code splitting is not only easy to enable, but it also provides powerful customization options to tailor how your routes are split into chunks. This allows you to optimize your application's performance based on your specific needs and usage patterns.

How does it work?

TanStack Router's automatic code splitting works by transforming your route files both during 'development' and at 'build' time. It rewrites the route definitions to use lazy-loading wrappers for components and loaders, which allows the bundler to group these properties into separate chunks.

[!TIP] A chunk is a file that contains a portion of your application's code, which can be loaded on demand. This helps reduce the initial load time of your application by only loading the code that is needed for the current route.

So when your application loads, it doesn't include all the code for every route. Instead, it only includes the code for the routes that are initially needed. As users navigate through your application, additional chunks are loaded on demand.

This happens seamlessly, without requiring you to manually split your code or manage lazy loading. The TanStack Router bundler plugin takes care of everything, ensuring that your routes are optimized for performance right out of the box.

The transformation process

When you enable automatic code splitting, the bundler plugin does this by using static code analysis look at your the code in your route files to transform them into optimized outputs.

This transformation process produces two key outputs when each of your route files are processed:

Reference File: The bundler plugin takes your original route file (e.g., posts.route.tsx) and modifies the values for properties like component or pendingComponent to use special lazy-loading wrappers that'll fetch the actual code later. These wrappers point to a "virtual" file that the bundler will resolve later on.
Virtual File: When the bundler sees a request for one of these virtual files (e.g., posts.route.tsx?tsr-split=component), it intercepts it to generate a new, minimal on-the-fly file that only contains the code for the requested properties (e.g., just the PostsComponent).

This process ensures that your original code remains clean and readable, while the actual bundled output is optimized for initial bundle size.

What gets code split?

The decision of what to split into separate chunks is crucial for optimizing your application's performance. TanStack Router uses a concept called "Split Groupings" to determine how different parts of your route should be bundled together.

Split groupings are arrays of properties that tell TanStack Router how to bundle different parts of your route together. Each grouping is an list of property names that you want to bundle together into a single lazy-loaded chunk.

The available properties to split are:

component
errorComponent
pendingComponent
notFoundComponent
loader

By default, TanStack Router uses the following split groupings:

[
  ['component'],
  ['errorComponent'],
  ['notFoundComponent']
]

This means that it creates three separate lazy-loaded chunks for each route. Resulting in:

One for the main component
One for the error component
And one for the not-found component.

Rules of Splitting

For automatic code splitting to work, there are some rules in-place to make sure that this process can reliably and predictably happen.

Do not export route properties

Route properties like component, loader, etc., should not be exported from the route file. Exporting these properties results in them being bundled into the main application bundle, which means that they will not be code-split.

import { createRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createRoute('/posts')({
	// ...
	notFoundComponent: PostsNotFoundComponent,
})

// ❌ Do NOT do this!
// Exporting the notFoundComponent will prevent it from being code-split
// and will be included in the main bundle.
export function PostsNotFoundComponent() {
	// ❌
	// ...
}

function PostsNotFoundComponent() {
	// ✅
	// ...
}

That's it! There are no other restrictions. You can use any other JavaScript or TypeScript features in your route files as you normally would. If you run into any issues, please open an issue on GitHub.

Granular control

For most applications, the default behavior of using autoCodeSplitting: true is sufficient. However, TanStack Router provides several options to customize how your routes are split into chunks, allowing you to optimize for specific use cases or performance needs.

Global code splitting behavior (`defaultBehavior`)

You can change how TanStack Router splits your routes by changing the defaultBehavior option in your bundler plugin configuration. This allows you to define how different properties of your routes should be bundled together.

For example, to bundle all UI-related components into a single chunk, you could configure it like this:

// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import { tanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/vite'

export default defineConfig({
	plugins: [
		tanstackRouter({
			autoCodeSplitting: true,
			codeSplittingOptions: {
				defaultBehavior: [
					[
						'component',
						'pendingComponent',
						'errorComponent',
						'notFoundComponent',
					], // Bundle all UI components together
				],
			},
		}),
	],
})

Advanced programmatic control (`splitBehavior`)

For complex rulesets, you can use the splitBehavior function in your vite config to programmatically define how routes should be split into chunks based on their routeId. This function allows you to implement custom logic for grouping properties together, giving you fine-grained control over the code splitting behavior.

// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import { tanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/vite'

export default defineConfig({
	plugins: [
		tanstackRouter({
			autoCodeSplitting: true,
			codeSplittingOptions: {
				splitBehavior: ({ routeId }) => {
					// For all routes under /posts, bundle the loader and component together
					if (routeId.startsWith('/posts')) {
						return [['loader', 'component']]
					}
					// All other routes will use the `defaultBehavior`
				},
			},
		}),
	],
})

Per-route overrides (`codeSplitGroupings`)

For ultimate control, you can override the global configuration directly inside a route file by adding a codeSplitGroupings property. This is useful for routes that have unique optimization needs.

// src/routes/posts.route.tsx
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { loadPostsData } from './-heavy-posts-utils'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	// For this specific route, bundle the loader and component together.
	codeSplitGroupings: [['loader', 'component']],
	loader: () => loadPostsData(),
	component: PostsComponent,
})

function PostsComponent() {
	// ...
}

This will create a single chunk that includes both the loader and the component for this specific route, overriding both the default behavior and any programmatic split behavior defined in your bundler config.

Configuration order matters

This guide has so far describe three different ways to configure how TanStack Router splits your routes into chunks.

To make sure that the different configurations do not conflict with each other, TanStack Router uses the following order of precedence:

Per-route overrides: The codeSplitGroupings property inside a route file takes the highest precedence. This allows you to define specific split groupings for individual routes.
Programmatic split behavior: The splitBehavior function in your bundler config allows you to define custom logic for how routes should be split based on their routeId.
Default behavior: The defaultBehavior option in your bundler config serves as the fallback for any routes that do not have specific overrides or custom logic defined. This is the base configuration that applies to all routes unless overridden.

Splitting the Data Loader

The loader function is responsible for fetching data needed by the route. By default, it is bundled with into your "reference file" and loaded in the initial bundle. However, you can also split the loader into its own chunk if you want to optimize further.

[!CAUTION] Moving the loader into its own chunk is a performance trade-off. It introduces an additional trip to the server before the data can be fetched, which can lead to slower initial page loads. This is because the loader must be fetched and executed before the route can render its component. Therefore, we recommend keeping the loader in the initial bundle unless you have a specific reason to split it.

// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import { tanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/vite'

export default defineConfig({
	plugins: [
		tanstackRouter({
			autoCodeSplitting: true,
			codeSplittingOptions: {
				defaultBehavior: [
					['loader'], // The loader will be in its own chunk
					['component'],
					// ... other component groupings
				],
			},
		}),
	],
})

We highly discourage splitting the loader unless you have a specific use case that requires it. In most cases, not splitting off the loader and keep it in the main bundle is the best choice for performance.

Code Splitting

Code splitting and lazy loading is a powerful technique for improving the bundle size and load performance of an application.

Reduces the amount of code that needs to be loaded on initial page load
Code is loaded on-demand when it is needed
Results in more chunks that are smaller in size that can be cached more easily by the browser.

How does TanStack Router split code?

TanStack Router separates code into two categories:

Critical Route Configuration - The code that is required to render the current route and kick off the data loading process as early as possible.
- Path Parsing/Serialization
- Search Param Validation
- Loaders, Before Load
- Route Context
- Static Data
- Links
- Scripts
- Styles
- All other route configuration not listed below
Non-Critical/Lazy Route Configuration - The code that is not required to match the route, and can be loaded on-demand.
- Route Component
- Error Component
- Pending Component
- Not-found Component

🧠 Why is the loader not split?

The loader is already an asynchronous boundary, so you pay double to both get the chunk and wait for the loader to execute.

Categorically, it is less likely to contribute to a large bundle size than a component.

The loader is one of the most important preloadable assets for a route, especially if you're using a default preload intent, like hovering over a link, so it's important for the loader to be available without any additional async overhead.

Knowing the disadvantages of splitting the loader, if you still want to go ahead with it, head over to the Data Loader Splitting section.

Encapsulating a route's files into a directory

Since TanStack Router's file-based routing system is designed to support both flat and nested file structures, it's possible to encapsulate a route's files into a single directory without any additional configuration.

To encapsulate a route's files into a directory, move the route file itself into a .route file within a directory with the same name as the route file.

For example, if you have a route file named posts.tsx, you would create a new directory named posts and move the posts.tsx file into that directory, renaming it to route.tsx.

Before

posts.tsx

After

posts
- route.tsx

Approaches to code splitting

TanStack Router supports multiple approaches to code splitting. If you are using code-based routing, skip to the Code-Based Splitting section.

When you are using file-based routing, you can use the following approaches to code splitting:

Using automatic code-splitting ✨
Using the .lazy.tsx suffix
Using Virtual Routes

Using automatic code-splitting✨

This is the easiest and most powerful way to code split your route files.

When using the autoCodeSplitting feature, TanStack Router will automatically code split your route files based on the non-critical route configuration mentioned above.

[!IMPORTANT] The automatic code-splitting feature is ONLY available when you are using file-based routing with one of our supported bundlers. This will NOT work if you are only using the CLI (@tanstack/router-cli).

To enable automatic code-splitting, you just need to add the following to the configuration of your TanStack Router Bundler Plugin:

// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react'
import { tanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/vite'

export default defineConfig({
	plugins: [
		tanstackRouter({
			// ...
			autoCodeSplitting: true,
		}),
		react(), // Make sure to add this plugin after the TanStack Router Bundler plugin
	],
})

That's it! TanStack Router will automatically code-split all your route files by their critical and non-critical route configurations.

If you want more control over the code-splitting process, head over to the Automatic Code Splitting guide to learn more about the options available.

Using the `.lazy.tsx` suffix

If you are not able to use the automatic code-splitting feature, you can still code-split your route files using the .lazy.tsx suffix. It is as easy as moving your code into a separate file with a .lazy.tsx suffix and using the createLazyFileRoute function instead of createFileRoute.

[!IMPORTANT] The __root.tsx route file, using either createRootRoute or createRootRouteWithContext, does not support code splitting, since it's always rendered regardless of the current route.

These are the only options that createLazyFileRoute supports:

Export Name	Description
`component`	The component to render for the route.
`errorComponent`	The component to render when an error occurs while loading the route.
`pendingComponent`	The component to render while the route is loading.
`notFoundComponent`	The component to render if a not-found error gets thrown.

Example code splitting with `.lazy.tsx`

When you are using .lazy.tsx you can split your route into two files to enable code splitting:

Before (Single File)

// src/routes/posts.tsx
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { fetchPosts } from './api'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loader: fetchPosts,
	component: Posts,
})

function Posts() {
	// ...
}

After (Split into two files)

This file would contain the critical route configuration:

// src/routes/posts.tsx

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { fetchPosts } from './api'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loader: fetchPosts,
})

With the non-critical route configuration going into the file with the .lazy.tsx suffix:

// src/routes/posts.lazy.tsx
import { createLazyFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createLazyFileRoute('/posts')({
	component: Posts,
})

function Posts() {
	// ...
}

Using Virtual Routes

You might run into a situation where you end up splitting out everything from a route file, leaving it empty! In this case, simply delete the route file entirely! A virtual route will automatically be generated for you to serve as an anchor for your code split files. This virtual route will live directly in the generated route tree file.

Before (Virtual Routes)

// src/routes/posts.tsx
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	// Hello?
})

// src/routes/posts.lazy.tsx
import { createLazyFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createLazyFileRoute('/posts')({
	component: Posts,
})

function Posts() {
	// ...
}

After (Virtual Routes)

// src/routes/posts.lazy.tsx
import { createLazyFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createLazyFileRoute('/posts')({
	component: Posts,
})

function Posts() {
	// ...
}

Tada! 🎉

Code-Based Splitting

If you are using code-based routing, you can still code-split your routes using the Route.lazy() method and the createLazyRoute function. You'll need to split your route configuration into two parts:

Create a lazy route using the createLazyRoute function.

// src/posts.lazy.tsx
export const Route = createLazyRoute('/posts')({
	component: MyComponent,
})

function MyComponent() {
	return <div>My Component</div>
}

Then, call the .lazy method on the route definition in your app.tsx to import the lazy/code-split route with the non-critical route configuration.

// src/app.tsx
const postsRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: '/posts',
}).lazy(() => import('./posts.lazy').then((d) => d.Route))

Data Loader Splitting

Be warned!!! Splitting a route loader is a dangerous game.

It can be a powerful tool to reduce bundle size, but it comes with a cost as mentioned in the How does TanStack Router split code? section.

You can code split your data loading logic using the Route's loader option. While this process makes it difficult to maintain type-safety with the parameters passed to your loader, you can always use the generic LoaderContext type to get you most of the way there:

import { lazyFn } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const route = createRoute({
	path: '/my-route',
	component: MyComponent,
	loader: lazyFn(() => import('./loader'), 'loader'),
})

// In another file...a
export const loader = async (context: LoaderContext) => {
	/// ...
}

If you are using file-based routing, you'll only be able to split your loader if you are using Automatic Code Splitting with customized bundling options.

Manually accessing Route APIs in other files with the `getRouteApi` helper

As you might have guessed, placing your component code in a separate file than your route can make it difficult to consume the route itself. To help with this, TanStack Router exports a handy getRouteApi function that you can use to access a route's type-safe APIs in a file without importing the route itself.

my-route.tsx

import { createRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { MyComponent } from './MyComponent'

const route = createRoute({
	path: '/my-route',
	loader: () => ({
		foo: 'bar',
	}),
	component: MyComponent,
})

MyComponent.tsx

import { getRouteApi } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const route = getRouteApi('/my-route')

export function MyComponent() {
	const loaderData = route.useLoaderData()
	//    ^? { foo: string }

	return <div>...</div>
}

The getRouteApi function is useful for accessing other type-safe APIs:

useLoaderData
useLoaderDeps
useMatch
useParams
useRouteContext
useSearch

Creating a Router

The `Router` Class

When you're ready to start using your router, you'll need to create a new Router instance. The router instance is the core brains of TanStack Router and is responsible for managing the route tree, matching routes, and coordinating navigations and route transitions. It also serves as a place to configure router-wide settings.

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const router = createRouter({
	// ...
})

Route Tree

You'll probably notice quickly that the Router constructor requires a routeTree option. This is the route tree that the router will use to match routes and render components.

Whether you used file-based routing or code-based routing, you'll need to pass your route tree to the createRouter function:

Filesystem Route Tree

If you used our recommended file-based routing, then it's likely your generated route tree file was created at the default src/routeTree.gen.ts location. If you used a custom location, then you'll need to import your route tree from that location.

import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen'

Code-Based Route Tree

If you used code-based routing, then you likely created your route tree manually using the root route's addChildren method:

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([
	// ...
])

Router Type Safety

[!IMPORTANT] DO NOT SKIP THIS SECTION! ⚠️

TanStack Router provides amazing support for TypeScript, even for things you wouldn't expect like bare imports straight from the library! To make this possible, you must register your router's types using TypeScripts' Declaration Merging feature. This is done by extending the Register interface on @tanstack/react-router with a router property that has the type of your router instance:

declare module '@tanstack/react-router' {
	interface Register {
		// This infers the type of our router and registers it across your entire project
		router: typeof router
	}
}

With your router registered, you'll now get type-safety across your entire project for anything related to routing.

404 Not Found Route

As promised in earlier guides, we'll now cover the notFoundRoute option. This option is used to configure a route that will render when no other suitable match is found. This is useful for rendering a 404 page or redirecting to a default route.

If you are using either file-based or code-based routing, then you'll need to add a notFoundComponent key to createRootRoute:

export const Route = createRootRoute({
  component: () => (
    // ...
  ),
  notFoundComponent: () => <div>404 Not Found</div>,
});

Other Options

There are many other options that can be passed to the Router constructor. You can find a full list of them in the API Reference.

Custom Link

While repeating yourself can be acceptable in many situations, you might find that you do it too often. At times, you may want to create cross-cutting components with additional behavior or styles. You might also consider using third-party libraries in combination with TanStack Router's type safety.

`createLink` for cross-cutting concerns

createLink creates a custom Link component with the same type parameters as Link. This means you can create your own component which provides the same type safety and typescript performance as Link.

Basic example

If you want to create a basic custom link component, you can do so with the following:

import * as React from 'react'
import { createLink, LinkComponent } from '@tanstack/react-router'

interface BasicLinkProps extends React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement> {
	// Add any additional props you want to pass to the anchor element
}

const BasicLinkComponent = React.forwardRef<HTMLAnchorElement, BasicLinkProps>(
	(props, ref) => {
		return (
			<a ref={ref} {...props} className={'block px-3 py-2 text-blue-700'} />
		)
	},
)

const CreatedLinkComponent = createLink(BasicLinkComponent)

export const CustomLink: LinkComponent<typeof BasicLinkComponent> = (props) => {
	return <CreatedLinkComponent preload={'intent'} {...props} />
}

You can then use your newly created Link component as any other Link

<CustomLink to={'/dashboard/invoices/$invoiceId'} params={{ invoiceId: 0 }} />

`createLink` with third party libraries

Here are some examples of how you can use createLink with third-party libraries.

React Aria Components example

React Aria Components v1.11.0 and later works with TanStack Router's preload (intent) prop. Use createLink to wrap each React Aria component that you use as a link.

import { createLink } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { Link as RACLink, MenuItem } from 'react-aria-components'

export const Link = createLink(RACLink)
export const MenuItemLink = createLink(MenuItem)

To use React Aria's render props, including the className, style, and children functions, create a wrapper component and pass that to createLink.

import { createLink } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { Link as RACLink, type LinkProps } from 'react-aria-components'

interface MyLinkProps extends LinkProps {
	// your props
}

function MyLink(props: MyLinkProps) {
	return (
		<RACLink
			{...props}
			style={({ isHovered }) => ({
				color: isHovered ? 'red' : 'blue',
			})}
		/>
	)
}

export const Link = createLink(MyLink)

Chakra UI example

import * as React from 'react'
import { createLink, LinkComponent } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { Link } from '@chakra-ui/react'

interface ChakraLinkProps extends Omit<
	React.ComponentPropsWithoutRef<typeof Link>,
	'href'
> {
	// Add any additional props you want to pass to the link
}

const ChakraLinkComponent = React.forwardRef<
	HTMLAnchorElement,
	ChakraLinkProps
>((props, ref) => {
	return <Link ref={ref} {...props} />
})

const CreatedLinkComponent = createLink(ChakraLinkComponent)

export const CustomLink: LinkComponent<typeof ChakraLinkComponent> = (
	props,
) => {
	return (
		<CreatedLinkComponent
			textDecoration={'underline'}
			_hover={{ textDecoration: 'none' }}
			_focus={{ textDecoration: 'none' }}
			preload={'intent'}
			{...props}
		/>
	)
}

MUI example

There is an example available which uses these patterns.

`Link`

If the MUI Link should simply behave like the router Link, it can be just wrapped with createLink:

import { createLink } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { Link } from '@mui/material'

export const CustomLink = createLink(Link)

If the Link should be customized this approach can be used:

import React from 'react'
import { createLink } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { Link } from '@mui/material'
import type { LinkProps } from '@mui/material'
import type { LinkComponent } from '@tanstack/react-router'

interface MUILinkProps extends LinkProps {
	// Add any additional props you want to pass to the Link
}

const MUILinkComponent = React.forwardRef<HTMLAnchorElement, MUILinkProps>(
	(props, ref) => <Link ref={ref} {...props} />,
)

const CreatedLinkComponent = createLink(MUILinkComponent)

export const CustomLink: LinkComponent<typeof MUILinkComponent> = (props) => {
	return <CreatedLinkComponent preload={'intent'} {...props} />
}

// Can also be styled

`Button`

If a Button should be used as a router Link, the component should be set as a:

import React from 'react'
import { createLink } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { Button } from '@mui/material'
import type { ButtonProps } from '@mui/material'
import type { LinkComponent } from '@tanstack/react-router'

interface MUIButtonLinkProps extends ButtonProps<'a'> {
	// Add any additional props you want to pass to the Button
}

const MUIButtonLinkComponent = React.forwardRef<
	HTMLAnchorElement,
	MUIButtonLinkProps
>((props, ref) => <Button ref={ref} component="a" {...props} />)

const CreatedButtonLinkComponent = createLink(MUIButtonLinkComponent)

export const CustomButtonLink: LinkComponent<typeof MUIButtonLinkComponent> = (
	props,
) => {
	return <CreatedButtonLinkComponent preload={'intent'} {...props} />
}

Usage with `styled`

Any of these MUI approaches can then be used with styled:

import { css, styled } from '@mui/material'
import { CustomLink } from './CustomLink'

const StyledCustomLink = styled(CustomLink)(
	({ theme }) => css`
		color: ${theme.palette.common.white};
	`,
)

Mantine example

import * as React from 'react'
import { createLink, LinkComponent } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { Anchor, AnchorProps } from '@mantine/core'

interface MantineAnchorProps extends Omit<AnchorProps, 'href'> {
	// Add any additional props you want to pass to the anchor
}

const MantineLinkComponent = React.forwardRef<
	HTMLAnchorElement,
	MantineAnchorProps
>((props, ref) => {
	return <Anchor ref={ref} {...props} />
})

const CreatedLinkComponent = createLink(MantineLinkComponent)

export const CustomLink: LinkComponent<typeof MantineLinkComponent> = (
	props,
) => {
	return <CreatedLinkComponent preload="intent" {...props} />
}

Custom Search Param Serialization

By default, TanStack Router parses and serializes your URL Search Params automatically using JSON.stringify and JSON.parse. This process involves escaping and unescaping the search string, which is a common practice for URL search params, in addition to the serialization and deserialization of the search object.

For instance, using the default configuration, if you have the following search object:

const search = {
	page: 1,
	sort: 'asc',
	filters: { author: 'tanner', min_words: 800 },
}

It would be serialized and escaped into the following search string:

?page=1&sort=asc&filters=%7B%22author%22%3A%22tanner%22%2C%22min_words%22%3A800%7D

We can implement the default behavior with the following code:

import {
	createRouter,
	parseSearchWith,
	stringifySearchWith,
} from '@tanstack/react-router'

const router = createRouter({
	// ...
	parseSearch: parseSearchWith(JSON.parse),
	stringifySearch: stringifySearchWith(JSON.stringify),
})

However, this default behavior may not be suitable for all use cases. For example, you may want to use a different serialization format, such as base64 encoding, or you may want to use a purpose-built serialization/deserialization library, like query-string, JSURL2, or Zipson.

This can be achieved by providing your own serialization and deserialization functions to the parseSearch and stringifySearch options in the Router configuration. When doing this, you can utilize TanStack Router's built-in helper functions, parseSearchWith and stringifySearchWith, to simplify the process.

[!TIP] An important aspect of serialization and deserialization, is that you are able to get the same object back after deserialization. This is important because if the serialization and deserialization process is not done correctly, you may lose some information. For example, if you are using a library that does not support nested objects, you may lose the nested object when deserializing the search string.

Here are some examples of how you can customize the search param serialization in TanStack Router:

Using Base64

It's common to base64 encode your search params to achieve maximum compatibility across browsers and URL unfurlers, etc. This can be done with the following code:

import {
	Router,
	parseSearchWith,
	stringifySearchWith,
} from '@tanstack/react-router'

const router = createRouter({
	parseSearch: parseSearchWith((value) => JSON.parse(decodeFromBinary(value))),
	stringifySearch: stringifySearchWith((value) =>
		encodeToBinary(JSON.stringify(value)),
	),
})

function decodeFromBinary(str: string): string {
	return decodeURIComponent(
		Array.prototype.map
			.call(atob(str), function (c) {
				return '%' + ('00' + c.charCodeAt(0).toString(16)).slice(-2)
			})
			.join(''),
	)
}

function encodeToBinary(str: string): string {
	return btoa(
		encodeURIComponent(str).replace(/%([0-9A-F]{2})/g, function (match, p1) {
			return String.fromCharCode(parseInt(p1, 16))
		}),
	)
}

⚠️ Why does this snippet not use atob/btoa?

So, if we were to turn the previous object into a search string using this configuration, it would look like this:

?page=1&sort=asc&filters=eyJhdXRob3IiOiJ0YW5uZXIiLCJtaW5fd29yZHMiOjgwMH0%3D

[!WARNING] If you are serializing user input into Base64, you run the risk of causing a collision with the URL deserialization. This can lead to unexpected behavior, such as the URL not being parsed correctly or being interpreted as a different value. To avoid this, you should encode the search params using a safe binary encoding/decoding method (see below).

Using the query-string library

The query-string library is a popular for being able to reliably parse and stringify query strings. You can use it to customize the serialization format of your search params. This can be done with the following code:

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import qs from 'query-string'

const router = createRouter({
	// ...
	stringifySearch: stringifySearchWith((value) =>
		qs.stringify(value, {
			// ...options
		}),
	),
	parseSearch: parseSearchWith((value) =>
		qs.parse(value, {
			// ...options
		}),
	),
})

So, if we were to turn the previous object into a search string using this configuration, it would look like this:

?page=1&sort=asc&filters=author%3Dtanner%26min_words%3D800

Using the JSURL2 library

JSURL2 is a non-standard library that can compress URLs while still maintaining readability. This can be done with the following code:

import {
	Router,
	parseSearchWith,
	stringifySearchWith,
} from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { parse, stringify } from 'jsurl2'

const router = createRouter({
	// ...
	parseSearch: parseSearchWith(parse),
	stringifySearch: stringifySearchWith(stringify),
})

So, if we were to turn the previous object into a search string using this configuration, it would look like this:

?page=1&sort=asc&filters=(author~tanner~min*_words~800)~

Using the Zipson library

Zipson is a very user-friendly and performant JSON compression library (both in runtime performance and the resulting compression performance). To compress your search params with it (which requires escaping/unescaping and base64 encoding/decoding them as well), you can use the following code:

import {
	Router,
	parseSearchWith,
	stringifySearchWith,
} from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { stringify, parse } from 'zipson'

const router = createRouter({
	parseSearch: parseSearchWith((value) => parse(decodeFromBinary(value))),
	stringifySearch: stringifySearchWith((value) =>
		encodeToBinary(stringify(value)),
	),
})

function decodeFromBinary(str: string): string {
	return decodeURIComponent(
		Array.prototype.map
			.call(atob(str), function (c) {
				return '%' + ('00' + c.charCodeAt(0).toString(16)).slice(-2)
			})
			.join(''),
	)
}

function encodeToBinary(str: string): string {
	return btoa(
		encodeURIComponent(str).replace(/%([0-9A-F]{2})/g, function (match, p1) {
			return String.fromCharCode(parseInt(p1, 16))
		}),
	)
}

⚠️ Why does this snippet not use atob/btoa?

So, if we were to turn the previous object into a search string using this configuration, it would look like this:

?page=1&sort=asc&filters=JTdCJUMyJUE4YXV0aG9yJUMyJUE4JUMyJUE4dGFubmVyJUMyJUE4JUMyJUE4bWluX3dvcmRzJUMyJUE4JUMyJUEyQ3UlN0Q%3D

Safe Binary Encoding/Decoding

In the browser, the atob and btoa functions are not guaranteed to work properly with non-UTF8 characters. We recommend using these encoding/decoding utilities instead:

To encode from a string to a binary string:

export function encodeToBinary(str: string): string {
	return btoa(
		encodeURIComponent(str).replace(/%([0-9A-F]{2})/g, function (match, p1) {
			return String.fromCharCode(parseInt(p1, 16))
		}),
	)
}

To decode from a binary string to a string:

export function decodeFromBinary(str: string): string {
	return decodeURIComponent(
		Array.prototype.map
			.call(atob(str), function (c) {
				return '%' + ('00' + c.charCodeAt(0).toString(16)).slice(-2)
			})
			.join(''),
	)
}

Data Loading

Data loading is a common concern for web applications and is related to routing. When loading a page for your app, it's ideal if all of the page's async requirements are fetched and fulfilled as early as possible, in parallel. The router is the best place to coordinate these async dependencies as it's usually the only place in your app that knows where users are headed before content is rendered.

You may be familiar with getServerSideProps from Next.js or loaders from Remix/React-Router. TanStack Router has similar functionality to preload/load assets on a per-route basis in parallel allowing it to render as quickly as possible as it fetches via suspense.

Beyond these normal expectations of a router, TanStack Router goes above and beyond and provides built-in SWR Caching, a long-term in-memory caching layer for route loaders. This means that you can use TanStack Router to both preload data for your routes so they load instantaneously or temporarily cache route data for previously visited routes to use again later.

The route loading lifecycle

Every time a URL/history update is detected, the router executes the following sequence:

Route Matching (Top-Down)
- route.params.parse
- route.validateSearch
Route Pre-Loading (Serial)
- route.beforeLoad
- route.onError
  - route.errorComponent / parentRoute.errorComponent / router.defaultErrorComponent
Route Loading (Parallel)
- route.component.preload?
- route.loader
  - route.pendingComponent (Optional)
  - route.component
- route.onError
  - route.errorComponent / parentRoute.errorComponent / router.defaultErrorComponent

To Router Cache or not to Router Cache?

There is a high possibility that TanStack's router cache will be a good fit for most smaller to medium size applications, but it's important to understand the tradeoffs of using it vs a more robust caching solution like TanStack Query:

TanStack Router Cache Pros:

Built-in, easy to use, no extra dependencies
Handles deduping, preloading, loading, stale-while-revalidate, background refetching on a per-route basis
Coarse invalidation (invalidate all routes and cache at once)
Automatic garbage collection
Works great for apps that share little data between routes
"Just works" for SSR

TanStack Router Cache Cons:

No persistence adapters/model
No shared caching/deduping between routes
No built-in mutation APIs (a basic useMutation hook is provided in many examples that may be sufficient for many use cases)
No built-in cache-level optimistic update APIs (you can still use ephemeral state from something like a useMutation hook to achieve this at the component level)

[!TIP] If you know right away that you'd like to or need to use something more robust like TanStack Query, skip to the External Data Loading guide.

Using the Router Cache

The router cache is built-in and is as easy as returning data from any route's loader function. Let's learn how!

Route `loader`s

Route loader functions are called when a route match is loaded. They are called with a single parameter which is an object containing many helpful properties. We'll go over those in a bit, but first, let's look at an example of a route loader function:

// routes/posts.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loader: () => fetchPosts(),
})

`loader` Parameters

The loader function receives a single object with the following properties:

abortController - The route's abortController. Its signal is cancelled when the route is unloaded or when the Route is no longer relevant and the current invocation of the loader function becomes outdated.
cause - The cause of the current route match. Can be either one of the following:
- enter - When the route is matched and loaded after not being matched in the previous location.
- preload - When the route is being preloaded.
- stay - When the route is matched and loaded after being matched in the previous location.
context - The route's context object, which is a merged union of:
- Parent route context
- This route's context as provided by the beforeLoad option
deps - The object value returned from the Route.loaderDeps function. If Route.loaderDeps is not defined, an empty object will be provided instead.
location - The current location
params - The route's path params
parentMatchPromise - Promise<RouteMatch> (undefined for the root route)
preload - Boolean which is true when the route is being preloaded instead of loaded
route - The route itself

Using these parameters, we can do a lot of cool things, but first, let's take a look at how we can control it and when the loader function is called.

Consuming data from `loader`s

To consume data from a loader, use the useLoaderData hook defined on your Route object.

const posts = Route.useLoaderData()

If you don't have ready access to your route object (i.e. you're deep in the component tree for the current route), you can use getRouteApi to access the same hook (as well as the other hooks on the Route object). This should be preferred over importing the Route object, which is likely to create circular dependencies.

import { getRouteApi } from '@tanstack/react-router'

// in your component

const routeApi = getRouteApi('/posts')
const data = routeApi.useLoaderData()

Dependency-based Stale-While-Revalidate Caching

TanStack Router provides a built-in Stale-While-Revalidate caching layer for route loaders that is keyed on the dependencies of a route:

The route's fully parsed pathname
- e.g. /posts/1 vs /posts/2
Any additional dependencies provided by the loaderDeps option
- e.g. loaderDeps: ({ search: { pageIndex, pageSize } }) => ({ pageIndex, pageSize })

Using these dependencies as keys, TanStack Router will cache the data returned from a route's loader function and use it to fulfill subsequent requests for the same route match. This means that if a route's data is already in the cache, it will be returned immediately, then potentially be refetched in the background depending on the "freshness" of the data.

Key options

To control router dependencies and "freshness", TanStack Router provides a plethora of options to control the keying and caching behavior of your route loaders. Let's take a look at them in the order that you are most likely to use them:

routeOptions.loaderDeps
- A function that supplies you the search params for a router and returns an object of dependencies for use in your loader function. When these deps changed from navigation to navigation, it will cause the route to reload regardless of staleTimes. The deps are compared using a deep equality check.
routeOptions.staleTime
routerOptions.defaultStaleTime
- The number of milliseconds that a route's data should be considered fresh when attempting to load.
routeOptions.preloadStaleTime
routerOptions.defaultPreloadStaleTime
- The number of milliseconds that a route's data should be considered fresh attempting to preload.
routeOptions.gcTime
routerOptions.defaultGcTime
- The number of milliseconds that a route's data should be kept in the cache before being garbage collected.
routeOptions.shouldReload
- A function that receives the same beforeLoad and loaderContext parameters and returns a boolean indicating if the route should reload. This offers one more level of control over when a route should reload beyond staleTime and loaderDeps and can be used to implement patterns similar to Remix's shouldLoad option.

⚠️ Some Important Defaults

By default, the staleTime is set to 0, meaning that the route's data will always be considered stale and will always be reloaded in the background when the route is rematched.
By default, a previously preloaded route is considered fresh for 30 seconds. This means if a route is preloaded, then preloaded again within 30 seconds, the second preload will be ignored. This prevents unnecessary preloads from happening too frequently. When a route is loaded normally, the standard staleTime is used.
By default, the gcTime is set to 30 minutes, meaning that any route data that has not been accessed in 30 minutes will be garbage collected and removed from the cache.
router.invalidate() will force all active routes to reload their loaders immediately and mark every cached route's data as stale.

Using `loaderDeps` to access search params

Imagine a /posts route supports some pagination via search params offset and limit. For the cache to uniquely store this data, we need to access these search params via the loaderDeps function. By explicitly identifying them, each route match for /posts with different offset and limit won't get mixed up!

Once we have these deps in place, the route will always reload when the deps change.

// /routes/posts.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loaderDeps: ({ search: { offset, limit } }) => ({ offset, limit }),
	loader: ({ deps: { offset, limit } }) =>
		fetchPosts({
			offset,
			limit,
		}),
})

Using `staleTime` to control how long data is considered fresh

By default, staleTime for navigations is set to 0ms (and 30 seconds for preloads) which means that the route's data will always be considered stale and will always be reloaded in the background when the route is matched and navigated to.

This is a good default for most use cases, but you may find that some route data is more static or potentially expensive to load. In these cases, you can use the staleTime option to control how long the route's data is considered fresh for navigations. Let's take a look at an example:

// /routes/posts.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loader: () => fetchPosts(),
	// Consider the route's data fresh for 10 seconds
	staleTime: 10_000,
})

By passing 10_000 to the staleTime option, we are telling the router to consider the route's data fresh for 10 seconds. This means that if the user navigates to /posts from /about within 10 seconds of the last loader result, the route's data will not be reloaded. If the user then navigates to /posts from /about after 10 seconds, the route's data will be reloaded in the background.

Turning off stale-while-revalidate caching

To disable stale-while-revalidate caching for a route, set the staleTime option to Infinity:

// /routes/posts.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loader: () => fetchPosts(),
	staleTime: Infinity,
})

You can even turn this off for all routes by setting the defaultStaleTime option on the router:

const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
	defaultStaleTime: Infinity,
})

Using `shouldReload` and `gcTime` to opt-out of caching

Similar to Remix's default functionality, you may want to configure a route to only load on entry or when critical loader deps change. You can do this by using the gcTime option combined with the shouldReload option, which accepts either a boolean or a function that receives the same beforeLoad and loaderContext parameters and returns a boolean indicating if the route should reload.

// /routes/posts.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loaderDeps: ({ search: { offset, limit } }) => ({ offset, limit }),
	loader: ({ deps }) => fetchPosts(deps),
	// Do not cache this route's data after it's unloaded
	gcTime: 0,
	// Only reload the route when the user navigates to it or when deps change
	shouldReload: false,
})

Opting out of caching while still preloading

Even though you may opt-out of short-term caching for your route data, you can still get the benefits of preloading! With the above configuration, preloading will still "just work" with the default preloadGcTime. This means that if a route is preloaded, then navigated to, the route's data will be considered fresh and will not be reloaded.

To opt out of preloading, don't turn it on via the routerOptions.defaultPreload or routeOptions.preload options.

Passing all loader events to an external cache

We break down this use case in the External Data Loading page, but if you'd like to use an external cache like TanStack Query, you can do so by passing all loader events to your external cache. As long as you are using the defaults, the only change you'll need to make is to set the defaultPreloadStaleTime option on the router to 0:

const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
	defaultPreloadStaleTime: 0,
})

This will ensure that every preload, load, and reload event will trigger your loader functions, which can then be handled and deduped by your external cache.

Using Router Context

The context argument passed to the loader function is an object containing a merged union of:

Parent route context
This route's context as provided by the beforeLoad option

Starting at the very top of the router, you can pass an initial context to the router via the context option. This context will be available to all routes in the router and get copied and extended by each route as they are matched. This happens by passing a context to a route via the beforeLoad option. This context will be available to all the route's child routes. The resulting context will be available to the route's loader function.

In this example, we'll create a function in our route context to fetch posts, then use it in our loader function.

🧠 Context is a powerful tool for dependency injection. You can use it to inject services, hooks, and other objects into your router and routes. You can also additively pass data down the route tree at every route using a route's beforeLoad option.

/utils/fetchPosts.tsx

export const fetchPosts = async () => {
	const res = await fetch(`/api/posts?page=${pageIndex}`)
	if (!res.ok) throw new Error('Failed to fetch posts')
	return res.json()
}

/routes/__root.tsx

import { createRootRouteWithContext } from '@tanstack/react-router'

// Create a root route using the createRootRouteWithContext<{...}>() function and pass it whatever types you would like to be available in your router context.
export const Route = createRootRouteWithContext<{
	fetchPosts: typeof fetchPosts
}>()() // NOTE: the double call is on purpose, since createRootRouteWithContext is a factory ;)

/routes/posts.tsx

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

// Notice how our postsRoute references context to get our fetchPosts function
// This can be a powerful tool for dependency injection across your router
// and routes.
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loader: ({ context: { fetchPosts } }) => fetchPosts(),
})

/router.tsx

import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen'

// Use your routerContext to create a new router
// This will require that you fullfil the type requirements of the routerContext
const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
	context: {
		// Supply the fetchPosts function to the router context
		fetchPosts,
	},
})

Using Path Params

To use path params in your loader function, access them via the params property on the function's parameters. Here's an example:

// routes/posts.$postId.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	loader: ({ params: { postId } }) => fetchPostById(postId),
})

Using Route Context

Passing down global context to your router is great, but what if you want to provide context that is specific to a route? This is where the beforeLoad option comes in. The beforeLoad option is a function that runs right before attempting to load a route and receives the same parameters as loader. Beyond its ability to redirect potential matches, block loader requests, etc, it can also return an object that will be merged into the route's context. Let's take a look at an example where we inject some data into our route context via the beforeLoad option:

// /routes/posts.tsx
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	// Pass the fetchPosts function to the route context
	beforeLoad: () => ({
		fetchPosts: () => console.info('foo'),
	}),
	loader: ({ context: { fetchPosts } }) => {
		console.info(fetchPosts()) // 'foo'

		// ...
	},
})

Using Search Params in Loaders

❓ But wait Tanner... where the heck are my search params?!

You might be here wondering why search isn't directly available in the loader function's parameters. We've purposefully designed it this way to help you succeed. Let's take a look at why:

Search Parameters being used in a loader function are a very good indicator that those search params should also be used to uniquely identify the data being loaded. For example, you may have a route that uses a search param like pageIndex that uniquely identifies the data held inside of the route match. Or, imagine a /users/user route that uses the search param userId to identify a specific user in your application, you might model your url like this: /users/user?userId=123. This means that your user route would need some extra help to identify a specific user.
Directly accessing search params in a loader function can lead to bugs in caching and preloading where the data being loaded is not unique to the current URL pathname and search params. For example, you might ask your /posts route to preload page 2's results, but without the distinction of pages in your route configuration, you will end up fetching, storing and displaying page 2's data on your /posts or ?page=1 screen instead of it preloading in the background!
Placing a threshold between search parameters and the loader function allows the router to understand your dependencies and reactivity.

// /routes/users.user.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/users/user')({
	validateSearch: (search) =>
		search as {
			userId: string
		},
	loaderDeps: ({ search: { userId } }) => ({
		userId,
	}),
	loader: async ({ deps: { userId } }) => getUser(userId),
})

Accessing Search Params via `routeOptions.loaderDeps`

// /routes/posts.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	// Use zod to validate and parse the search params
	validateSearch: z.object({
		offset: z.number().int().nonnegative().catch(0),
	}),
	// Pass the offset to your loader deps via the loaderDeps function
	loaderDeps: ({ search: { offset } }) => ({ offset }),
	// Use the offset from context in the loader function
	loader: async ({ deps: { offset } }) =>
		fetchPosts({
			offset,
		}),
})

Using the Abort Signal

The abortController property of the loader function is an AbortController. Its signal is cancelled when the route is unloaded or when the loader call becomes outdated. This is useful for cancelling network requests when the route is unloaded or when the route's params change. Here is an example using it with a fetch call:

// routes/posts.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loader: ({ abortController }) =>
		fetchPosts({
			// Pass this to an underlying fetch call or anything that supports signals
			signal: abortController.signal,
		}),
})

Using the `preload` flag

The preload property of the loader function is a boolean which is true when the route is being preloaded instead of loaded. Some data loading libraries may handle preloading differently than a standard fetch, so you may want to pass preload to your data loading library, or use it to execute the appropriate data loading logic:

// routes/posts.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loader: async ({ preload }) =>
		fetchPosts({
			maxAge: preload ? 10_000 : 0, // Preloads should hang around a bit longer
		}),
})

Handling Slow Loaders

Ideally most route loaders can resolve their data within a short moment, removing the need to render a placeholder spinner and simply rely on suspense to render the next route when it's completely ready. When critical data that is required to render a route's component is slow though, you have 2 options:

Split up your fast and slow data into separate promises and defer the slow data until after the fast data is loaded (see the Deferred Data Loading guide).
Show a pending component after an optimistic suspense threshold until all of the data is ready (See below).

Showing a pending component

By default, TanStack Router will show a pending component for loaders that take longer than 1 second to resolve. This is an optimistic threshold that can be configured via:

routeOptions.pendingMs or
routerOptions.defaultPendingMs

When the pending time threshold is exceeded, the router will render the pendingComponent option of the route, if configured.

Avoiding Pending Component Flash

If you're using a pending component, the last thing you want is for your pending time threshold to be met, then have your data resolve immediately after, resulting in a jarring flash of your pending component. To avoid this, TanStack Router by default will show your pending component for at least 500ms. This is an optimistic threshold that can be configured via:

routeOptions.pendingMinMs or
routerOptions.defaultPendingMinMs

Handling Errors

TanStack Router provides a few ways to handle errors that occur during the route loading lifecycle. Let's take a look at them.

Handling Errors with `routeOptions.onError`

The routeOptions.onError option is a function that is called when an error occurs during the route loading.

// routes/posts.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loader: () => fetchPosts(),
	onError: ({ error }) => {
		// Log the error
		console.error(error)
	},
})

Handling Errors with `routeOptions.onCatch`

The routeOptions.onCatch option is a function that is called whenever an error was caught by the router's CatchBoundary.

// routes/posts.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	onCatch: ({ error, errorInfo }) => {
		// Log the error
		console.error(error)
	},
})

Handling Errors with `routeOptions.errorComponent`

The routeOptions.errorComponent option is a component that is rendered when an error occurs during the route loading or rendering lifecycle. It is rendered with the following props:

error - The error that occurred
reset - A function to reset the internal CatchBoundary

// routes/posts.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loader: () => fetchPosts(),
	errorComponent: ({ error }) => {
		// Render an error message
		return <div>{error.message}</div>
	},
})

The reset function can be used to allow the user to retry rendering the error boundaries normal children:

// routes/posts.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loader: () => fetchPosts(),
	errorComponent: ({ error, reset }) => {
		return (
			<div>
				{error.message}
				<button
					onClick={() => {
						// Reset the router error boundary
						reset()
					}}
				>
					retry
				</button>
			</div>
		)
	},
})

If the error was the result of a route load, you should instead call router.invalidate(), which will coordinate both a router reload and an error boundary reset:

// routes/posts.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loader: () => fetchPosts(),
	errorComponent: ({ error, reset }) => {
		const router = useRouter()

		return (
			<div>
				{error.message}
				<button
					onClick={() => {
						// Invalidate the route to reload the loader, which will also reset the error boundary
						router.invalidate()
					}}
				>
					retry
				</button>
			</div>
		)
	},
})

Using the default `ErrorComponent`

TanStack Router provides a default ErrorComponent that is rendered when an error occurs during the route loading or rendering lifecycle. If you choose to override your routes' error components, it's still wise to always fall back to rendering any uncaught errors with the default ErrorComponent:

// routes/posts.tsx
import { createFileRoute, ErrorComponent } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loader: () => fetchPosts(),
	errorComponent: ({ error }) => {
		if (error instanceof MyCustomError) {
			// Render a custom error message
			return <div>{error.message}</div>
		}

		// Fallback to the default ErrorComponent
		return <ErrorComponent error={error} />
	},
})

Data Mutations

Since TanStack router does not store or cache data, it's role in data mutation is slim to none outside of reacting to potential URL side-effects from external mutation events. That said, we've compiled a list of mutation-related features you might find useful and libraries that implement them.

Look for and use mutation utilities that support:

Handling and caching submission state
Providing both local and global optimistic UI support
Built-in hooks to wire up invalidation (or automatically support it)
Handling multiple in-flight mutations at once
Organizing mutation state as a globally accessible resource
Submission state history and garbage collection

Some suggested libraries:

Or, even...

Similar to data fetching, mutation state isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, so you'll need to pick a solution that fits your needs and your team's needs. We recommend trying out a few different solutions and seeing what works best for you.

⚠️ Still here? Submission state is an interesting topic when it comes to persistence. Do you keep every mutation around forever? How do you know when to get rid of it? What if the user navigates away from the screen and then back? Let's dig in!

Invalidating TanStack Router after a mutation

TanStack Router comes with short-term caching built-in. So even though we're not storing any data after a route match is unmounted, there is a high probability that if any mutations are made related to the data stored in the Router, the current route matches' data could become stale.

When mutations related to loader data are made, we can use router.invalidate to force the router to reload all of the current route matches:

const router = useRouter()

const addTodo = async (todo: Todo) => {
	try {
		await api.addTodo()
		router.invalidate()
	} catch {
		//
	}
}

Invalidating all of the current route matches happens in the background, so existing data will continue to be served until the new data is ready, just as if you were navigating to a new route.

If you want to await the invalidation until all loaders have finished, pass {sync: true} into router.invalidate:

const router = useRouter()

const addTodo = async (todo: Todo) => {
	try {
		await api.addTodo()
		await router.invalidate({ sync: true })
	} catch {
		//
	}
}

Long-term mutation State

Regardless of the mutation library used, mutations often create state related to their submission. While most mutations are set-and-forget, some mutation states are more long-lived, either to support optimistic UI or to provide feedback to the user about the status of their submissions. Most state managers will correctly keep this submission state around and expose it to make it possible to show UI elements like loading spinners, success messages, error messages, etc.

Let's consider the following interactions:

User navigates to the /posts/123/edit screen to edit a post
User edits the 123 post and upon success, sees a success message below the editor that the post was updated
User navigates to the /posts screen
User navigates back to the /posts/123/edit screen again

Without notifying your mutation management library about the route change, it's possible that your submission state could still be around and your user would still see the "Post updated successfully" message when they return to the previous screen. This is not ideal. Obviously, our intent wasn't to keep this mutation state around forever, right?!

Using mutation keys

Hopefully and hypothetically, the easiest way is for your mutation library to support a keying mechanism that will allow your mutations's state to be reset when the key changes:

const routeApi = getRouteApi('/room/$roomId/chat')

function ChatRoom() {
	const { roomId } = routeApi.useParams()

	const sendMessageMutation = useCoolMutation({
		fn: sendMessage,
		// Clear the mutation state when the roomId changes
		// including any submission state
		key: ['sendMessage', roomId],
	})

	// Fire off a bunch of messages
	const test = () => {
		sendMessageMutation.mutate({ roomId, message: 'Hello!' })
		sendMessageMutation.mutate({ roomId, message: 'How are you?' })
		sendMessageMutation.mutate({ roomId, message: 'Goodbye!' })
	}

	return (
		<>
			{sendMessageMutation.submissions.map((submission) => {
				return (
					<div>
						<div>{submission.status}</div>
						<div>{submission.message}</div>
					</div>
				)
			})}
		</>
	)
}

Using the `router.subscribe` method

For libraries that don't have a keying mechanism, we'll likely need to manually reset the mutation state when the user navigates away from the screen. To solve this, we can use TanStack Router's invalidate and subscribe method to clear mutation states when the user is no longer in need of them.

The router.subscribe method is a function that subscribes a callback to various router events. The event in particular that we'll use here is the onResolved event. It's important to understand that this event is fired when the location path is changed (not just reloaded) and has finally resolved.

This is a great place to reset your old mutation states. Here's an example:

const router = createRouter()
const coolMutationCache = createCoolMutationCache()

const unsubscribeFn = router.subscribe('onResolved', () => {
	// Reset mutation states when the route changes
	coolMutationCache.clear()
})

Deferred Data Loading

TanStack Router is designed to run loaders in parallel and wait for all of them to resolve before rendering the next route. This is great most of the time, but occasionally, you may want to show the user something sooner while the rest of the data loads in the background.

Deferred data loading is a pattern that allows the router to render the next location's critical data/markup while slower, non-critical route data is resolved in the background. This process works on both the client and server (via streaming) and is a great way to improve the perceived performance of your application.

If you are using a library like TanStack Query or any other data fetching library, then deferred data loading works a bit differently. Skip ahead to the Deferred Data Loading with External Libraries section for more information.

Deferred Data Loading with `Await`

To defer slow or non-critical data, return an unawaited/unresolved promise anywhere in your loader response:

// src/routes/posts.$postId.tsx
import { createFileRoute, defer } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	loader: async () => {
		// Fetch some slower data, but do not await it
		const slowDataPromise = fetchSlowData()

		// Fetch and await some data that resolves quickly
		const fastData = await fetchFastData()

		return {
			fastData,
			deferredSlowData: slowDataPromise,
		}
	},
})

As soon as any awaited promises are resolved, the next route will begin rendering while the deferred promises continue to resolve.

In the component, deferred promises can be resolved and utilized using the Await component:

// src/routes/posts.$postId.tsx
import { createFileRoute, Await } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	// ...
	component: PostIdComponent,
})

function PostIdComponent() {
	const { deferredSlowData, fastData } = Route.useLoaderData()

	// do something with fastData

	return (
		<Await promise={deferredSlowData} fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
			{(data) => {
				return <div>{data}</div>
			}}
		</Await>
	)
}

[!TIP] If your component is code-split, you can use the getRouteApi function to avoid having to import the Route configuration to get access to the typed useLoaderData() hook.

The Await component resolves the promise by triggering the nearest suspense boundary until it is resolved, after which it renders the component's children as a function with the resolved data.

If the promise is rejected, the Await component will throw the serialized error, which can be caught by the nearest error boundary.

[!TIP] In React 19, you can use the use() hook instead of Await

Deferred Data Loading with External libraries

When your strategy for fetching information for the route relies on External Data Loading with an external library like TanStack Query, deferred data loading works a bit differently, as the library handles the data fetching and caching for you outside of TanStack Router.

So, instead of using defer and Await, you'll instead want to use the Route's loader to kick off the data fetching and then use the library's hooks to access the data in your components.

// src/routes/posts.$postId.tsx
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { slowDataOptions, fastDataOptions } from '~/api/query-options'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	loader: async ({ context: { queryClient } }) => {
		// Kick off the fetching of some slower data, but do not await it
		queryClient.prefetchQuery(slowDataOptions())

		// Fetch and await some data that resolves quickly
		await queryClient.ensureQueryData(fastDataOptions())
	},
})

Then in your component, you can use the library's hooks to access the data:

// src/routes/posts.$postId.tsx
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { useSuspenseQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query'
import { slowDataOptions, fastDataOptions } from '~/api/query-options'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	// ...
	component: PostIdComponent,
})

function PostIdComponent() {
	const fastData = useSuspenseQuery(fastDataOptions())

	// do something with fastData

	return (
		<Suspense fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
			<SlowDataComponent />
		</Suspense>
	)
}

function SlowDataComponent() {
	const data = useSuspenseQuery(slowDataOptions())

	return <div>{data}</div>
}

Caching and Invalidation

Streamed promises follow the same lifecycle as the loader data they are associated with. They can even be preloaded!

SSR & Streaming Deferred Data

Streaming requires a server that supports it and for TanStack Router to be configured to use it properly.

Please read the entire Streaming SSR Guide for step by step instructions on how to set up your server for streaming.

SSR Streaming Lifecycle

The following is a high-level overview of how deferred data streaming works with TanStack Router:

Server
- Promises are marked and tracked as they are returned from route loaders
- All loaders resolve and any deferred promises are serialized and embedded into the html
- The route begins to render
- Deferred promises rendered with the <Await> component trigger suspense boundaries, allowing the server to stream html up to that point
Client
- The client receives the initial html from the server
- <Await> components suspend with placeholder promises while they wait for their data to resolve on the server
Server
- As deferred promises resolve, their results (or errors) are serialized and streamed to the client via an inline script tag
- The resolved <Await> components and their suspense boundaries are resolved and their resulting HTML is streamed to the client along with their dehydrated data
Client
- The suspended placeholder promises within <Await> are resolved with the streamed data/error responses and either render the result or throw the error to the nearest error boundary

Document Head Management

Document head management is the process of managing the head, title, meta, link, and script tags of a document and TanStack Router provides a robust way to manage the document head for full-stack applications that use Start and for single-page applications that use @tanstack/react-router. It provides:

Automatic deduping of title and meta tags
Automatic loading/unloading of tags based on route visibility
A composable way to merge title and meta tags from nested routes

For full-stack applications that use Start, and even for single-page applications that use @tanstack/react-router, managing the document head is a crucial part of any application for the following reasons:

SEO
Social media sharing
Analytics
CSS and JS loading/unloading

To manage the document head, it's required that you render both the <HeadContent /> and <Scripts /> components and use the routeOptions.head property to manage the head of a route, which returns an object with title, meta, links, styles, and scripts properties.

Managing the Document Head

export const Route = createRootRoute({
	head: () => ({
		meta: [
			{
				name: 'description',
				content: 'My App is a web application',
			},
			{
				title: 'My App',
			},
		],
		links: [
			{
				rel: 'icon',
				href: '/favicon.ico',
			},
		],
		styles: [
			{
				media: 'all and (max-width: 500px)',
				children: `p {
                  color: blue;
                  background-color: yellow;
                }`,
			},
		],
		scripts: [
			{
				src: 'https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js',
			},
		],
	}),
})

Deduping

Out of the box, TanStack Router will dedupe title and meta tags, preferring the last occurrence of each tag found in nested routes.

title tags defined in nested routes will override a title tag defined in a parent route (but you can compose them together, which is covered in a future section of this guide)
meta tags with the same name or property will be overridden by the last occurrence of that tag found in nested routes

`<HeadContent />`

The <HeadContent /> component is required to render the head, title, meta, link, and head-related script tags of a document.

It should be rendered either in the <head> tag of your root layout or as high up in the component tree as possible if your application doesn't or can't manage the <head> tag.

Start/Full-Stack Applications

import { HeadContent } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createRootRoute({
	component: () => (
		<html>
			<head>
				<HeadContent />
			</head>
			<body>
				<Outlet />
			</body>
		</html>
	),
})

Single-Page Applications

First, remove the <title> tag from the the index.html if you have set any.

import { HeadContent } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const rootRoute = createRootRoute({
	component: () => (
		<>
			<HeadContent />
			<Outlet />
		</>
	),
})

Managing Body Scripts

In addition to scripts that can be rendered in the <head> tag, you can also render scripts in the <body> tag using the routeOptions.scripts property. This is useful for loading scripts (even inline scripts) that require the DOM to be loaded, but before the main entry point of your application (which includes hydration if you're using Start or a full-stack implementation of TanStack Router).

To do this, you must:

Use the scripts property of the routeOptions object
Render the <Scripts /> component

export const Route = createRootRoute({
	scripts: () => [
		{
			children: 'console.log("Hello, world!")',
		},
	],
})

`<Scripts />`

The <Scripts /> component is required to render the body scripts of a document. It should be rendered either in the <body> tag of your root layout or as high up in the component tree as possible if your application doesn't or can't manage the <body> tag.

Example

import { createFileRoute, Scripts } from '@tanstack/react-router'
export const Router = createFileRoute('/')({
	component: () => (
		<html>
			<head />
			<body>
				<Outlet />
				<Scripts />
			</body>
		</html>
	),
})

import { Scripts, createRootRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createRootRoute({
	component: () => (
		<>
			<Outlet />
			<Scripts />
		</>
	),
})

External Data Loading

[!IMPORTANT] This guide is geared towards external state management libraries and their integration with TanStack Router for data fetching, ssr, hydration/dehydration and streaming. If you haven't read the standard Data Loading guide, please do so first.

To Store or to Coordinate?

While Router is very capable of storing and managing most data needs out of the box, sometimes you just might want something more robust!

Router is designed to be a perfect coordinator for external data fetching and caching libraries. This means that you can use any data fetching/caching library you want, and the router will coordinate the loading of your data in a way that aligns with your users' navigation and expectations of freshness.

What data fetching libraries are supported?

Any data fetching library that supports asynchronous promises can be used with TanStack Router. This includes:

Or, even...

Literally any library that can return a promise and read/write data can be integrated.

Using Loaders to ensure data is loaded

The easiest way to integrate external caching/data library into Router is to use route.loaders to ensure that the data required inside of a route has been loaded and is ready to be displayed.

⚠️ BUT WHY? It's very important to preload your critical render data in the loader for a few reasons:

No "flash of loading" states

No waterfall data fetching, caused by component based fetching

Better for SEO. If your data is available at render time, it will be indexed by search engines.

Here is a naive illustration (don't do this) of using a Route's loader option to seed the cache for some data:

// src/routes/posts.tsx
let postsCache = []

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loader: async () => {
		postsCache = await fetchPosts()
	},
	component: () => {
		return (
			<div>
				{postsCache.map((post) => (
					<Post key={post.id} post={post} />
				))}
			</div>
		)
	},
})

This example is obviously flawed, but illustrates the point that you can use a route's loader option to seed your cache with data. Let's take a look at a more realistic example using TanStack Query.

Replace fetchPosts with your preferred data fetching library's prefetching API
Replace postsCache with your preferred data fetching library's read-or-fetch API or hook

A more realistic example using TanStack Query

Let's take a look at a more realistic example using TanStack Query.

// src/routes/posts.tsx
const postsQueryOptions = queryOptions({
	queryKey: ['posts'],
	queryFn: () => fetchPosts(),
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	// Use the `loader` option to ensure that the data is loaded
	loader: () => queryClient.ensureQueryData(postsQueryOptions),
	component: () => {
		// Read the data from the cache and subscribe to updates
		const {
			data: { posts },
		} = useSuspenseQuery(postsQueryOptions)

		return (
			<div>
				{posts.map((post) => (
					<Post key={post.id} post={post} />
				))}
			</div>
		)
	},
})

Error handling with TanStack Query

When an error occurs while using suspense with TanStack Query, you need to let queries know that you want to try again when re-rendering. This can be done by using the reset function provided by the useQueryErrorResetBoundary hook. You can invoke this function in an effect as soon as the error component mounts. This will make sure that the query is reset and will try to fetch data again when the route component is rendered again. This will also cover cases where users navigate away from the route instead of clicking the retry button.

export const Route = createFileRoute('/')({
	loader: () => queryClient.ensureQueryData(postsQueryOptions),
	errorComponent: ({ error, reset }) => {
		const router = useRouter()
		const queryErrorResetBoundary = useQueryErrorResetBoundary()

		useEffect(() => {
			// Reset the query error boundary
			queryErrorResetBoundary.reset()
		}, [queryErrorResetBoundary])

		return (
			<div>
				{error.message}
				<button
					onClick={() => {
						// Invalidate the route to reload the loader, and reset any router error boundaries
						router.invalidate()
					}}
				>
					retry
				</button>
			</div>
		)
	},
})

SSR Dehydration/Hydration

Tools that are able can integrate with TanStack Router's convenient Dehydration/Hydration APIs to shuttle dehydrated data between the server and client and rehydrate it where needed. Let's go over how to do this with both 3rd party critical data and 3rd party deferred data.

Critical Dehydration/Hydration

For critical data needed for the first render/paint, TanStack Router supports dehydrate and hydrate options when configuring the Router. These callbacks are functions that are automatically called on the server and client when the router dehydrates and hydrates normally and allow you to augment the dehydrated data with your own data.

The dehydrate function can return any serializable JSON data which will get merged and injected into the dehydrated payload that is sent to the client.

For example, let's dehydrate and hydrate a TanStack Query QueryClient so that our data we fetched on the server will be available for hydration on the client.

// src/router.tsx

export function createRouter() {
	// Make sure you create your loader client or similar data
	// stores inside of your `createRouter` function. This ensures
	// that your data stores are unique to each request and
	// always present on both server and client.
	const queryClient = new QueryClient()

	return createRouter({
		routeTree,
		// Optionally provide your loaderClient to the router context for
		// convenience (you can provide anything you want to the router
		// context!)
		context: {
			queryClient,
		},
		// On the server, dehydrate the loader client so the router
		// can serialize it and send it to the client for us
		dehydrate: () => {
			return {
				queryClientState: dehydrate(queryClient),
			}
		},
		// On the client, hydrate the loader client with the data
		// we dehydrated on the server
		hydrate: (dehydrated) => {
			hydrate(queryClient, dehydrated.queryClientState)
		},
		// Optionally, we can use `Wrap` to wrap our router in the loader client provider
		Wrap: ({ children }) => {
			return (
				<QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>
					{children}
				</QueryClientProvider>
			)
		},
	})
}

History Types

While it's not required to know the @tanstack/history API itself to use TanStack Router, it's a good idea to understand how it works. Under the hood, TanStack Router requires and uses a history abstraction to manage the routing history.

If you don't create a history instance, a browser-oriented instance of this API is created for you when the router is initialized. If you need a special history API type, You can use the @tanstack/history package to create your own:

createBrowserHistory: The default history type.
createHashHistory: A history type that uses a hash to track history.
createMemoryHistory: A history type that keeps the history in memory.

Once you have a history instance, you can pass it to the Router constructor:

import { createMemoryHistory, createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const memoryHistory = createMemoryHistory({
	initialEntries: ['/'], // Pass your initial url
})

const router = createRouter({ routeTree, history: memoryHistory })

Browser Routing

The createBrowserHistory is the default history type. It uses the browser's history API to manage the browser history.

Hash Routing

Hash routing can be helpful if your server doesn't support rewrites to index.html for HTTP requests (among other environments that don't have a server).

import { createHashHistory, createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const hashHistory = createHashHistory()

const router = createRouter({ routeTree, history: hashHistory })

Memory Routing

Memory routing is useful in environments that are not a browser or when you do not want components to interact with the URL.

import { createMemoryHistory, createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const memoryHistory = createMemoryHistory({
	initialEntries: ['/'], // Pass your initial url
})

const router = createRouter({ routeTree, history: memoryHistory })

Refer to the SSR Guide for usage on the server for server-side rendering.

Link Options

You may want to reuse options that are intended to be passed to Link, redirect or navigate. In which case you may decide an object literal is a good way to represent options passed to Link.

const dashboardLinkOptions = {
	to: '/dashboard',
	search: { search: '' },
}

function DashboardComponent() {
	return <Link {...dashboardLinkOptions} />
}

There are a few problems here. dashboardLinkOptions.to is inferred as string which by default will resolve to every route when passed to Link, navigate or redirect (this particular issue could be fixed by as const). The other issue here is we do not know dashboardLinkOptions even passes the type checker until it is spread into Link. We could very easily create incorrect navigation options and only when the options are spread into Link do we know there is a type error.

Using `linkOptions` function to create re-usable options

linkOptions is a function which type checks an object literal and returns the inferred input as is. This provides type safety on options exactly like Link before it is used allowing for easier maintenance and re-usability. Our above example using linkOptions looks like this:

const dashboardLinkOptions = linkOptions({
	to: '/dashboard',
	search: { search: '' },
})

function DashboardComponent() {
	return <Link {...dashboardLinkOptions} />
}

This allows eager type checking of dashboardLinkOptions which can then be re-used anywhere

const dashboardLinkOptions = linkOptions({
	to: '/dashboard',
	search: { search: '' },
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/dashboard')({
	component: DashboardComponent,
	validateSearch: (input) => ({ search: input.search }),
	beforeLoad: () => {
		// can used in redirect
		throw redirect(dashboardLinkOptions)
	},
})

function DashboardComponent() {
	const navigate = useNavigate()

	return (
		<div>
			{/** Can be used in navigate */}
			<button onClick={() => navigate(dashboardLinkOptions)} />

			{/** Can be used in Link */}
			<Link {...dashboardLinkOptions} />
		</div>
	)
}

An array of `linkOptions`

When creating navigation you might loop over an array to construct a navigation bar. In which case linkOptions can be used to type check an array of object literals which are intended for Link props

const options = linkOptions([
	{
		to: '/dashboard',
		label: 'Summary',
		activeOptions: { exact: true },
	},
	{
		to: '/dashboard/invoices',
		label: 'Invoices',
	},
	{
		to: '/dashboard/users',
		label: 'Users',
	},
])

function DashboardComponent() {
	return (
		<>
			<div className="flex items-center border-b">
				<h2 className="p-2 text-xl">Dashboard</h2>
			</div>

			<div className="flex flex-wrap divide-x">
				{options.map((option) => {
					return (
						<Link
							{...option}
							key={option.to}
							activeProps={{ className: `font-bold` }}
							className="p-2"
						>
							{option.label}
						</Link>
					)
				})}
			</div>
			<hr />

			<Outlet />
		</>
	)
}

The input of linkOptions is inferred and returned, as shown with the use of label as this does not exist on Link props

Navigation Blocking

Navigation blocking is a way to prevent navigation from happening. This is typical if a user attempts to navigate while they:

Have unsaved changes
Are in the middle of a form
Are in the middle of a payment

In these situations, a prompt or custom UI should be shown to the user to confirm they want to navigate away.

If the user confirms, navigation will continue as normal
If the user cancels, all pending navigations will be blocked

Navigation blocking adds one or more layers of "blockers" to the entire underlying history API. If any blockers are present, navigation will be paused via one of the following ways:

Custom UI
- If the navigation is triggered by something we control at the router level, we can allow you to perform any task or show any UI you'd like to the user to confirm the action. Each blocker's blocker function will be asynchronously and sequentially executed. If any blocker function resolves or returns true, the navigation will be allowed and all other blockers will continue to do the same until all blockers have been allowed to proceed. If any single blocker resolves or returns false, the navigation will be canceled and the rest of the blocker functions will be ignored.
The onbeforeunload event
- For page events that we cannot control directly, we rely on the browser's onbeforeunload event. If the user attempts to close the tab or window, refresh, or "unload" the page assets in any way, the browser's generic "Are you sure you want to leave?" dialog will be shown. If the user confirms, all blockers will be bypassed and the page will unload. If the user cancels, the unload will be cancelled, and the page will remain as is.

There are 2 ways to use navigation blocking:

Hook/logical-based blocking
Component-based blocking

Hook/logical-based blocking

Let's imagine we want to prevent navigation if a form is dirty. We can do this by using the useBlocker hook:

import { useBlocker } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function MyComponent() {
	const [formIsDirty, setFormIsDirty] = useState(false)

	useBlocker({
		shouldBlockFn: () => {
			if (!formIsDirty) return false

			const shouldLeave = confirm('Are you sure you want to leave?')
			return !shouldLeave
		},
	})

	// ...
}

shouldBlockFn gives you type safe access to the current and next location:

import { useBlocker } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function MyComponent() {
	// always block going from /foo to /bar/123?hello=world
	const { proceed, reset, status } = useBlocker({
		shouldBlockFn: ({ current, next }) => {
			return (
				current.routeId === '/foo' &&
				next.fullPath === '/bar/$id' &&
				next.params.id === 123 &&
				next.search.hello === 'world'
			)
		},
		withResolver: true,
	})

	// ...
}

Note that even if shouldBlockFn returns false, the browser's beforeunload event may still be triggered on page reloads or tab closing. To gain control over this, you can use the enableBeforeUnload option to conditionally register the beforeunload handler:

import { useBlocker } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function MyComponent() {
  const [formIsDirty, setFormIsDirty] = useState(false)

  useBlocker({
    {/* ... */}
    enableBeforeUnload: formIsDirty, // or () => formIsDirty
  })

  // ...
}

You can find more information about the useBlocker hook in the API reference.

Component-based blocking

In addition to logical/hook based blocking, you can use the Block component to achieve similar results:

import { Block } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function MyComponent() {
	const [formIsDirty, setFormIsDirty] = useState(false)

	return (
		<Block
			shouldBlockFn={() => {
				if (!formIsDirty) return false

				const shouldLeave = confirm('Are you sure you want to leave?')
				return !shouldLeave
			}}
			enableBeforeUnload={formIsDirty}
		/>
	)

	// OR

	return (
		<Block
			shouldBlockFn={() => formIsDirty}
			enableBeforeUnload={formIsDirty}
			withResolver
		>
			{({ status, proceed, reset }) => <>{/* ... */}</>}
		</Block>
	)
}

How can I show a custom UI?

In most cases, using window.confirm in the shouldBlockFn function with withResolver: false in the hook is enough since it will clearly show the user that the navigation is being blocked and resolve the blocking based on their response.

However, in some situations, you might want to show a custom UI that is intentionally less disruptive and more integrated with your app's design.

Note: The return value of shouldBlockFn does not resolve the blocking if withResolver is true.

Hook/logical-based custom UI with resolver

import { useBlocker } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function MyComponent() {
  const [formIsDirty, setFormIsDirty] = useState(false)

  const { proceed, reset, status } = useBlocker({
    shouldBlockFn: () => formIsDirty,
    withResolver: true,
  })

  // ...

  return (
    <>
      {/* ... */}
      {status === 'blocked' && (
        <div>
          <p>Are you sure you want to leave?</p>
          <button onClick={proceed}>Yes</button>
          <button onClick={reset}>No</button>
        </div>
      )}
    </>
}

Hook/logical-based custom UI without resolver

import { useBlocker } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function MyComponent() {
	const [formIsDirty, setFormIsDirty] = useState(false)

	useBlocker({
		shouldBlockFn: () => {
			if (!formIsDirty) {
				return false
			}

			const shouldBlock = new Promise<boolean>((resolve) => {
				// Using a modal manager of your choice
				modals.open({
					title: 'Are you sure you want to leave?',
					children: (
						<SaveBlocker
							confirm={() => {
								modals.closeAll()
								resolve(false)
							}}
							reject={() => {
								modals.closeAll()
								resolve(true)
							}}
						/>
					),
					onClose: () => resolve(true),
				})
			})
			return shouldBlock
		},
	})

	// ...
}

Component-based custom UI

Similarly to the hook, the Block component returns the same state and functions as render props:

import { Block } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function MyComponent() {
	const [formIsDirty, setFormIsDirty] = useState(false)

	return (
		<Block shouldBlockFn={() => formIsDirty} withResolver>
			{({ status, proceed, reset }) => (
				<>
					{/* ... */}
					{status === 'blocked' && (
						<div>
							<p>Are you sure you want to leave?</p>
							<button onClick={proceed}>Yes</button>
							<button onClick={reset}>No</button>
						</div>
					)}
				</>
			)}
		</Block>
	)
}

Navigation

Everything is Relative

Believe it or not, every navigation within an app is relative, even if you aren't using explicit relative path syntax (../../somewhere). Any time a link is clicked or an imperative navigation call is made, you will always have an origin path and a destination path which means you are navigating from one route to another route.

TanStack Router keeps this constant concept of relative navigation in mind for every navigation, so you'll constantly see two properties in the API:

from - The origin route path
to - The destination route path

⚠️ If a from route path isn't provided the router will assume you are navigating from the root / route and only auto-complete absolute paths. After all, you need to know where you are from in order to know where you're going 😉.

Every navigation and route matching API in TanStack Router uses the same core interface with minor differences depending on the API. This means that you can learn navigation and route matching once and use the same syntax and concepts across the library.

`ToOptions` Interface

This is the core ToOptions interface that is used in every navigation and route matching API:

type ToOptions<
	TRouteTree extends AnyRoute = AnyRoute,
	TFrom extends RoutePaths<TRouteTree> | string = string,
	TTo extends string = '',
> = {
	// `from` is an optional route ID or path. If it is not supplied, only absolute paths will be auto-completed and type-safe. It's common to supply the route.fullPath of the origin route you are rendering from for convenience. If you don't know the origin route, leave this empty and work with absolute paths or unsafe relative paths.
	from?: string
	// `to` can be an absolute route path or a relative path from the `from` option to a valid route path. ⚠️ Do not interpolate path params, hash or search params into the `to` options. Use the `params`, `search`, and `hash` options instead.
	to: string
	// `params` is either an object of path params to interpolate into the `to` option or a function that supplies the previous params and allows you to return new ones. This is the only way to interpolate dynamic parameters into the final URL. Depending on the `from` and `to` route, you may need to supply none, some or all of the path params. TypeScript will notify you of the required params if there are any.
	params:
		| Record<string, unknown>
		| ((prevParams: Record<string, unknown>) => Record<string, unknown>)
	// `search` is either an object of query params or a function that supplies the previous search and allows you to return new ones. Depending on the `from` and `to` route, you may need to supply none, some or all of the query params. TypeScript will notify you of the required search params if there are any.
	search:
		| Record<string, unknown>
		| ((prevSearch: Record<string, unknown>) => Record<string, unknown>)
	// `hash` is either a string or a function that supplies the previous hash and allows you to return a new one.
	hash?: string | ((prevHash: string) => string)
	// `state` is either an object of state or a function that supplies the previous state and allows you to return a new one. State is stored in the history API and can be useful for passing data between routes that you do not want to permanently store in URL search params.
	state?:
		| Record<string, any>
		| ((prevState: Record<string, unknown>) => Record<string, unknown>)
}

🧠 Every route object has a to property, which can be used as the to for any navigation or route matching API. Where possible, this will allow you to avoid plain strings and use type-safe route references instead:

import { Route as aboutRoute } from './routes/about.tsx'

function Comp() {
	return <Link to={aboutRoute.to}>About</Link>
}

`NavigateOptions` Interface

This is the core NavigateOptions interface that extends ToOptions. Any API that is actually performing a navigation will use this interface:

export type NavigateOptions<
	TRouteTree extends AnyRoute = AnyRoute,
	TFrom extends RoutePaths<TRouteTree> | string = string,
	TTo extends string = '',
> = ToOptions<TRouteTree, TFrom, TTo> & {
	// `replace` is a boolean that determines whether the navigation should replace the current history entry or push a new one.
	replace?: boolean
	// `resetScroll` is a boolean that determines whether scroll position will be reset to 0,0 after the location is committed to browser history.
	resetScroll?: boolean
	// `hashScrollIntoView` is a boolean or object that determines whether an id matching the hash will be scrolled into view after the location is committed to history.
	hashScrollIntoView?: boolean | ScrollIntoViewOptions
	// `viewTransition` is either a boolean or function that determines if and how the browser will call document.startViewTransition() when navigating.
	viewTransition?: boolean | ViewTransitionOptions
	// `ignoreBlocker` is a boolean that determines if navigation should ignore any blockers that might prevent it.
	ignoreBlocker?: boolean
	// `reloadDocument` is a boolean that determines if navigation to a route inside of router will trigger a full page load instead of the traditional SPA navigation.
	reloadDocument?: boolean
	// `href` is a string that can be used in place of `to` to navigate to a full built href, e.g. pointing to an external target.
	href?: string
}

`LinkOptions` Interface

Anywhere an actual <a> tag the LinkOptions interface which extends NavigateOptions will be available:

export type LinkOptions<
	TRouteTree extends AnyRoute = AnyRoute,
	TFrom extends RoutePaths<TRouteTree> | string = string,
	TTo extends string = '',
> = NavigateOptions<TRouteTree, TFrom, TTo> & {
	// The standard anchor tag target attribute
	target?: HTMLAnchorElement['target']
	// Defaults to `{ exact: false, includeHash: false }`
	activeOptions?: {
		exact?: boolean
		includeHash?: boolean
		includeSearch?: boolean
		explicitUndefined?: boolean
	}
	// If set, will preload the linked route on hover and cache it for this many milliseconds in hopes that the user will eventually navigate there.
	preload?: false | 'intent'
	// Delay intent preloading by this many milliseconds. If the intent exits before this delay, the preload will be cancelled.
	preloadDelay?: number
	// If true, will render the link without the href attribute
	disabled?: boolean
}

With relative navigation and all of the interfaces in mind now, let's talk about the different flavors of navigation API at your disposal:

The <Link> component
- Generates an actual <a> tag with a valid href which can be click or even cmd/ctrl + clicked to open in a new tab
The useNavigate() hook
- When possible, Link component should be used for navigation, but sometimes you need to navigate imperatively as a result of a side-effect. useNavigate returns a function that can be called to perform an immediate client-side navigation.
The <Navigate> component
- Renders nothing and performs an immediate client-side navigation.
The Router.navigate() method
- This is the most powerful navigation API in TanStack Router. Similar to useNavigate, it imperatively navigates, but is available everywhere you have access to your router.

⚠️ None of these APIs are a replacement for server-side redirects. If you need to redirect a user immediately from one route to another before mounting your application, use a server-side redirect instead of a client-side navigation.

`<Link>` Component

The Link component is the most common way to navigate within an app. It renders an actual <a> tag with a valid href attribute which can be clicked or even cmd/ctrl + clicked to open in a new tab. It also supports any normal <a> attributes including target to open links in new windows, etc.

In addition to the LinkOptions interface, the Link component also supports the following props:

export type LinkProps<
	TFrom extends RoutePaths<RegisteredRouter['routeTree']> | string = string,
	TTo extends string = '',
> = LinkOptions<RegisteredRouter['routeTree'], TFrom, TTo> & {
	// A function that returns additional props for the `active` state of this link. These props override other props passed to the link (`style`'s are merged, `className`'s are concatenated)
	activeProps?:
		| FrameworkHTMLAnchorTagAttributes
		| (() => FrameworkHTMLAnchorAttributes)
	// A function that returns additional props for the `inactive` state of this link. These props override other props passed to the link (`style`'s are merged, `className`'s are concatenated)
	inactiveProps?:
		| FrameworkHTMLAnchorAttributes
		| (() => FrameworkHTMLAnchorAttributes)
}

Absolute Links

Let's make a simple static link!

import { Link } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const link = <Link to="/about">About</Link>

Dynamic Links

Dynamic links are links that have dynamic segments in them. For example, a link to a blog post might look like this:

const link = (
	<Link
		to="/blog/post/$postId"
		params={{
			postId: 'my-first-blog-post',
		}}
	>
		Blog Post
	</Link>
)

Keep in mind that normally dynamic segment params are string values, but they can also be any other type that you parse them to in your route options. Either way, the type will be checked at compile time to ensure that you are passing the correct type.

Relative Links

By default, all links are absolute unless a from route path is provided. This means that the above link will always navigate to the /about route regardless of what route you are currently on.

Relative links can be combined with a from route path. If a from route path isn't provided, relative paths default to the current active location.

[!NOTE] Keep in mind that when calling useNavigate as a method on the route, for example Route.useNavigate, then the from location is predefined to be the route it's called on.

Another common pitfall is when using this in a pathless layout route, since the pathless layout route does not have an actual path, the from location is regarded as the parent of the pathless layout route. Hence relative routing will be resolved from this parent.

const postIdRoute = createRoute({
	path: '/blog/post/$postId',
})

const link = (
	<Link from={postIdRoute.fullPath} to="../categories">
		Categories
	</Link>
)

As seen above, it's common to provide the route.fullPath as the from route path. This is because the route.fullPath is a reference that will update if you refactor your application. However, sometimes it's not possible to import the route directly, in which case it's fine to provide the route path directly as a string. It will still get type-checked as per usual!

Special relative paths: `"."` and `".."`

Quite often you might want to reload the current location or another from path, for example, to rerun the loaders on the current and/or parent routes, or maybe navigate back to a parent route. This can be achieved by specifying a to route path of "." which will reload the current location or provided from path.

Another common need is to navigate one route back relative to the current location or another path. By specifying a to route path of ".." navigation will be resolved to the first parent route preceding the current location.

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	component: PostComponent,
})

function PostComponent() {
	return (
		<div>
			<Link to=".">Reload the current route of /posts/$postId</Link>
			<Link to="..">Navigate back to /posts</Link>
			// the below are all equivalent
			<Link to="/posts">Navigate back to /posts</Link>
			<Link from="/posts" to=".">
				Navigate back to /posts
			</Link>
			// the below are all equivalent
			<Link to="/">Navigate to root</Link>
			<Link from="/posts" to="..">
				Navigate to root
			</Link>
		</div>
	)
}

Search Param Links

Search params are a great way to provide additional context to a route. For example, you might want to provide a search query to a search page:

const link = (
	<Link
		to="/search"
		search={{
			query: 'tanstack',
		}}
	>
		Search
	</Link>
)

It's also common to want to update a single search param without supplying any other information about the existing route. For example, you might want to update the page number of a search result:

const link = (
	<Link
		to="."
		search={(prev) => ({
			...prev,
			page: prev.page + 1,
		})}
	>
		Next Page
	</Link>
)

Search Param Type Safety

Search params are a highly dynamic state management mechanism, so it's important to ensure that you are passing the correct types to your search params. We'll see in a later section in detail how to validate and ensure search params typesafety, among other great features!

Hash Links

Hash links are a great way to link to a specific section of a page. For example, you might want to link to a specific section of a blog post:

const link = (
	<Link
		to="/blog/post/$postId"
		params={{
			postId: 'my-first-blog-post',
		}}
		hash="section-1"
	>
		Section 1
	</Link>
)

Navigating with Optional Parameters

Optional path parameters provide flexible navigation patterns where you can include or omit parameters as needed. Optional parameters use the {-$paramName} syntax and offer fine-grained control over URL structure.

Parameter Inheritance vs Removal

When navigating with optional parameters, you have two main strategies:

Inheriting Current Parameters Use params: {} to inherit all current route parameters:

// Inherits current route parameters
<Link to="/posts/{-$category}" params={{}}>
	All Posts
</Link>

Removing Parameters
Set parameters to undefined to explicitly remove them:

// Removes the category parameter
<Link to="/posts/{-$category}" params={{ category: undefined }}>
	All Posts
</Link>

Basic Optional Parameter Navigation

// Navigate with optional parameter
<Link
  to="/posts/{-$category}"
  params={{ category: 'tech' }}
>
  Tech Posts
</Link>

// Navigate without optional parameter
<Link
  to="/posts/{-$category}"
  params={{ category: undefined }}
>
  All Posts
</Link>

// Navigate using parameter inheritance
<Link
  to="/posts/{-$category}"
  params={{}}
>
  Current Category
</Link>

Function-Style Parameter Updates

Function-style parameter updates are particularly useful with optional parameters:

// Remove a parameter using function syntax
<Link
  to="/posts/{-$category}"
  params={(prev) => ({ ...prev, category: undefined })}
>
  Clear Category
</Link>

// Update a parameter while keeping others
<Link
  to="/articles/{-$category}/{-$slug}"
  params={(prev) => ({ ...prev, category: 'news' })}
>
  News Articles
</Link>

// Conditionally set parameters
<Link
  to="/posts/{-$category}"
  params={(prev) => ({
    ...prev,
    category: someCondition ? 'tech' : undefined
  })}
>
  Conditional Category
</Link>

Multiple Optional Parameters

When working with multiple optional parameters, you can mix and match which ones to include:

// Navigate with some optional parameters
<Link
  to="/posts/{-$category}/{-$slug}"
  params={{ category: 'tech', slug: undefined }}
>
  Tech Posts
</Link>

// Remove all optional parameters
<Link
  to="/posts/{-$category}/{-$slug}"
  params={{ category: undefined, slug: undefined }}
>
  All Posts
</Link>

// Set multiple parameters
<Link
  to="/posts/{-$category}/{-$slug}"
  params={{ category: 'tech', slug: 'react-tips' }}
>
  Specific Post
</Link>

Mixed Required and Optional Parameters

Optional parameters work seamlessly with required parameters:

// Required 'id', optional 'tab'
<Link
  to="/users/$id/{-$tab}"
  params={{ id: '123', tab: 'settings' }}
>
  User Settings
</Link>

// Remove optional parameter while keeping required
<Link
  to="/users/$id/{-$tab}"
  params={{ id: '123', tab: undefined }}
>
  User Profile
</Link>

// Use function style with mixed parameters
<Link
  to="/users/$id/{-$tab}"
  params={(prev) => ({ ...prev, tab: 'notifications' })}
>
  User Notifications
</Link>

Advanced Optional Parameter Patterns

Prefix and Suffix Parameters Optional parameters with prefix/suffix work with navigation:

// Navigate to file with optional name
<Link
  to="/files/prefix{-$name}.txt"
  params={{ name: 'document' }}
>
  Document File
</Link>

// Navigate to file without optional name
<Link
  to="/files/prefix{-$name}.txt"
  params={{ name: undefined }}
>
  Default File
</Link>

All Optional Parameters Routes where all parameters are optional:

// Navigate to specific date
<Link
  to="/{-$year}/{-$month}/{-$day}"
  params={{ year: '2023', month: '12', day: '25' }}
>
  Christmas 2023
</Link>

// Navigate to partial date
<Link
  to="/{-$year}/{-$month}/{-$day}"
  params={{ year: '2023', month: '12', day: undefined }}
>
  December 2023
</Link>

// Navigate to root with all parameters removed
<Link
  to="/{-$year}/{-$month}/{-$day}"
  params={{ year: undefined, month: undefined, day: undefined }}
>
  Home
</Link>

Navigation with Search Params and Optional Parameters

Optional parameters work great in combination with search params:

// Combine optional path params with search params
<Link
  to="/posts/{-$category}"
  params={{ category: 'tech' }}
  search={{ page: 1, sort: 'newest' }}
>
  Tech Posts - Page 1
</Link>

// Remove path param but keep search params
<Link
  to="/posts/{-$category}"
  params={{ category: undefined }}
  search={(prev) => prev}
>
  All Posts - Same Filters
</Link>

Imperative Navigation with Optional Parameters

All the same patterns work with imperative navigation:

function Component() {
	const navigate = useNavigate()

	const clearFilters = () => {
		navigate({
			to: '/posts/{-$category}/{-$tag}',
			params: { category: undefined, tag: undefined },
		})
	}

	const setCategory = (category: string) => {
		navigate({
			to: '/posts/{-$category}/{-$tag}',
			params: (prev) => ({ ...prev, category }),
		})
	}

	const applyFilters = (category?: string, tag?: string) => {
		navigate({
			to: '/posts/{-$category}/{-$tag}',
			params: { category, tag },
		})
	}
}

Active & Inactive Props

The Link component supports two additional props: activeProps and inactiveProps. These props are functions that return additional props for the active and inactive states of the link. All props other than styles and classes passed here will override the original props passed to Link. Any styles or classes passed are merged together.

Here's an example:

const link = (
	<Link
		to="/blog/post/$postId"
		params={{
			postId: 'my-first-blog-post',
		}}
		activeProps={{
			style: {
				fontWeight: 'bold',
			},
		}}
	>
		Section 1
	</Link>
)

The `data-status` attribute

In addition to the activeProps and inactiveProps props, the Link component also adds a data-status attribute to the rendered element when it is in an active state. This attribute will be active or undefined depending on the current state of the link. This can come in handy if you prefer to use data-attributes to style your links instead of props.

Active Options

The Link component comes with an activeOptions property that offers a few options of determining if a link is active or not. The following interface describes those options:

export interface ActiveOptions {
	// If true, the link will be active if the current route matches the `to` route path exactly (no children routes)
	// Defaults to `false`
	exact?: boolean
	// If true, the link will only be active if the current URL hash matches the `hash` prop
	// Defaults to `false`
	includeHash?: boolean // Defaults to false
	// If true, the link will only be active if the current URL search params inclusively match the `search` prop
	// Defaults to `true`
	includeSearch?: boolean
	// This modifies the `includeSearch` behavior.
	// If true,  properties in `search` that are explicitly `undefined` must NOT be present in the current URL search params for the link to be active.
	// defaults to `false`
	explicitUndefined?: boolean
}

By default, it will check if the resulting pathname is a prefix of the current route. If any search params are provided, it will check that they inclusively match those in the current location. Hashes are not checked by default.

For example, if you are on the /blog/post/my-first-blog-post route, the following links will be active:

const link1 = (
	<Link to="/blog/post/$postId" params={{ postId: 'my-first-blog-post' }}>
		Blog Post
	</Link>
)
const link2 = <Link to="/blog/post">Blog Post</Link>
const link3 = <Link to="/blog">Blog Post</Link>

However, the following links will not be active:

const link4 = (
	<Link to="/blog/post/$postId" params={{ postId: 'my-second-blog-post' }}>
		Blog Post
	</Link>
)

It's common for some links to only be active if they are an exact match. A good example of this would be a link to the home page. In scenarios like these, you can pass the exact: true option:

const link = (
	<Link to="/" activeOptions={{ exact: true }}>
		Home
	</Link>
)

This will ensure that the link is not active when you are a child route.

A few more options to be aware of:

If you want to include the hash in your matching, you can pass the includeHash: true option
If you do not want to include the search params in your matching, you can pass the includeSearch: false option

Passing `isActive` to children

The Link component accepts a function for its children, allowing you to propagate its isActive property to children. For example, you could style a child component based on whether the parent link is active:

const link = (
	<Link to="/blog/post">
		{({ isActive }) => {
			return (
				<>
					<span>My Blog Post</span>
					<icon className={isActive ? 'active' : 'inactive'} />
				</>
			)
		}}
	</Link>
)

Link Preloading

The Link component supports automatically preloading routes on intent (hovering or touchstart for now). This can be configured as a default in the router options (which we'll talk more about soon) or by passing a preload='intent' prop to the Link component. Here's an example:

const link = (
	<Link to="/blog/post/$postId" preload="intent">
		Blog Post
	</Link>
)

With preloading enabled and relatively quick asynchronous route dependencies (if any), this simple trick can increase the perceived performance of your application with very little effort.

What's even better is that by using a cache-first library like @tanstack/query, preloaded routes will stick around and be ready for a stale-while-revalidate experience if the user decides to navigate to the route later on.

Link Preloading Delay

Along with preloading is a configurable delay which determines how long a user must hover over a link to trigger the intent-based preloading. The default delay is 50 milliseconds, but you can change this by passing a preloadDelay prop to the Link component with the number of milliseconds you'd like to wait:

const link = (
	<Link to="/blog/post/$postId" preload="intent" preloadDelay={100}>
		Blog Post
	</Link>
)

`useNavigate`

⚠️ Because of the Link component's built-in affordances around href, cmd/ctrl + click-ability, and active/inactive capabilities, it's recommended to use the Link component instead of useNavigate for anything the user can interact with (e.g. links, buttons). However, there are some cases where useNavigate is necessary to handle side-effect navigations (e.g. a successful async action that results in a navigation).

The useNavigate hook returns a navigate function that can be called to imperatively navigate. It's a great way to navigate to a route from a side-effect (e.g. a successful async action). Here's an example:

function Component() {
	const navigate = useNavigate({ from: '/posts/$postId' })

	const handleSubmit = async (e: FrameworkFormEvent) => {
		e.preventDefault()

		const response = await fetch('/posts', {
			method: 'POST',
			body: JSON.stringify({ title: 'My First Post' }),
		})

		const { id: postId } = await response.json()

		if (response.ok) {
			navigate({ to: '/posts/$postId', params: { postId } })
		}
	}
}

🧠 As shown above, you can pass the from option to specify the route to navigate from in the hook call. While this is also possible to pass in the resulting navigate function each time you call it, it's recommended to pass it here to reduce on potential error and also not type as much!

`navigate` Options

The navigate function returned by useNavigate accepts the NavigateOptions interface

`Navigate` Component

Occasionally, you may find yourself needing to navigate immediately when a component mounts. Your first instinct might be to reach for useNavigate and an immediate side-effect (e.g. useEffect), but this is unnecessary. Instead, you can render the Navigate component to achieve the same result:

function Component() {
	return <Navigate to="/posts/$postId" params={{ postId: 'my-first-post' }} />
}

Think of the Navigate component as a way to navigate to a route immediately when a component mounts. It's a great way to handle client-only redirects. It is definitely not a substitute for handling server-aware redirects responsibly on the server.

`router.navigate`

The router.navigate method is the same as the navigate function returned by useNavigate and accepts the same NavigateOptions interface. Unlike the useNavigate hook, it is available anywhere your router instance is available and is thus a great way to navigate imperatively from anywhere in your application, including outside of your framework.

`useMatchRoute` and `<MatchRoute>`

The useMatchRoute hook and <MatchRoute> component are the same thing, but the hook is a bit more flexible. They both accept the standard navigation ToOptions interface either as options or props and return true/false if that route is currently matched. It also has a handy pending option that will return true if the route is currently pending (e.g. a route is currently transitioning to that route). This can be extremely useful for showing optimistic UI around where a user is navigating:

function Component() {
	return (
		<div>
			<Link to="/users">
				Users
				<MatchRoute to="/users" pending>
					<Spinner />
				</MatchRoute>
			</Link>
		</div>
	)
}

The component version <MatchRoute> can also be used with a function as children to render something when the route is matched:

function Component() {
	return (
		<div>
			<Link to="/users">
				Users
				<MatchRoute to="/users" pending>
					{(match) => {
						return <Spinner show={match} />
					}}
				</MatchRoute>
			</Link>
		</div>
	)
}

The hook version useMatchRoute returns a function that can be called programmatically to check if a route is matched:

function Component() {
	const matchRoute = useMatchRoute()

	useEffect(() => {
		if (matchRoute({ to: '/users', pending: true })) {
			console.info('The /users route is matched and pending')
		}
	})

	return (
		<div>
			<Link to="/users">Users</Link>
		</div>
	)
}

Phew! That's a lot of navigating! That said, hopefully you're feeling pretty good about getting around your application now. Let's move on!

Not Found Errors

⚠️ This page covers the newer notFound function and notFoundComponent API for handling not found errors. The NotFoundRoute route is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. See Migrating from NotFoundRoute for more information.

Overview

There are 2 uses for not-found errors in TanStack Router:

Non-matching route paths: When a path does not match any known route matching pattern OR when it partially matches a route, but with extra path segments
- The router will automatically throw a not-found error when a path does not match any known route matching pattern
- If the router's notFoundMode is set to fuzzy, the nearest parent route with a notFoundComponent will handle the error. If the router's notFoundMode is set to root, the root route will handle the error.
- Examples:
  - Attempting to access /users when there is no /users route
  - Attempting to access /posts/1/edit when the route tree only handles /posts/$postId
Missing resources: When a resource cannot be found, such as a post with a given ID or any asynchronous data that is not available or does not exist
- You, the developer must throw a not-found error when a resource cannot be found. This can be done in the beforeLoad or loader functions using the notFound utility.
- Will be handled by the nearest parent route with a notFoundComponent (when notFound is called within loader) or the root route.
- Examples:
  - Attempting to access /posts/1 when the post with ID 1 does not exist
  - Attempting to access /docs/path/to/document when the document does not exist

Under the hood, both of these cases are implemented using the same notFound function and notFoundComponent API.

The `notFoundMode` option

When TanStack Router encounters a pathname that doesn't match any known route pattern OR partially matches a route pattern but with extra trailing pathname segments, it will automatically throw a not-found error.

Depending on the notFoundMode option, the router will handle these automatic errors differently::

"fuzzy" mode (default): The router will intelligently find the closest matching suitable route and display the notFoundComponent.
"root" mode: All not-found errors will be handled by the root route's notFoundComponent, regardless of the nearest matching route.

`notFoundMode: 'fuzzy'`

By default, the router's notFoundMode is set to fuzzy, which indicates that if a pathname doesn't match any known route, the router will attempt to use the closest matching route with children/(an outlet) and a configured not found component.

❓ Why is this the default? Fuzzy matching to preserve as much parent layout as possible for the user gives them more context to navigate to a useful location based on where they thought they would arrive.

The nearest suitable route is found using the following criteria:

The route must have children and therefore an Outlet to render the notFoundComponent
The route must have a notFoundComponent configured or the router must have a defaultNotFoundComponent configured

For example, consider the following route tree:

__root__ (has a notFoundComponent configured)
- posts (has a notFoundComponent configured)
  - $postId (has a notFoundComponent configured)

If provided the path of /posts/1/edit, the following component structure will be rendered:

<Root>
- <Posts>
  - <Posts.notFoundComponent>

The notFoundComponent of the posts route will be rendered because it is the nearest suitable parent route with children (and therefore an outlet) and a notFoundComponent configured.

`notFoundMode: 'root'`

When notFoundMode is set to root, all not-found errors will be handled by the root route's notFoundComponent instead of bubbling up from the nearest fuzzy-matched route.

For example, consider the following route tree:

__root__ (has a notFoundComponent configured)
- posts (has a notFoundComponent configured)
  - $postId (has a notFoundComponent configured)

If provided the path of /posts/1/edit, the following component structure will be rendered:

<Root>
- <Root.notFoundComponent>

The notFoundComponent of the __root__ route will be rendered because the notFoundMode is set to root.

Configuring a route's `notFoundComponent`

To handle both types of not-found errors, you can attach a notFoundComponent to a route. This component will be rendered when a not-found error is thrown.

For example, configuring a notFoundComponent for a /settings route to handle non-existing settings pages:

export const Route = createFileRoute('/settings')({
	component: () => {
		return (
			<div>
				<p>Settings page</p>
				<Outlet />
			</div>
		)
	},
	notFoundComponent: () => {
		return <p>This setting page doesn't exist!</p>
	},
})

Or configuring a notFoundComponent for a /posts/$postId route to handle posts that don't exist:

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	loader: async ({ params: { postId } }) => {
		const post = await getPost(postId)
		if (!post) throw notFound()
		return { post }
	},
	component: ({ post }) => {
		return (
			<div>
				<h1>{post.title}</h1>
				<p>{post.body}</p>
			</div>
		)
	},
	notFoundComponent: () => {
		return <p>Post not found!</p>
	},
})

Default Router-Wide Not Found Handling

You may want to provide a default not-found component for every route in your app with child routes.

Why only routes with children? Leaf-node routes (routes without children) will never render an Outlet and therefore are not able to handle not-found errors.

To do this, pass a defaultNotFoundComponent to the createRouter function:

const router = createRouter({
	defaultNotFoundComponent: () => {
		return (
			<div>
				<p>Not found!</p>
				<Link to="/">Go home</Link>
			</div>
		)
	},
})

Throwing your own `notFound` errors

You can manually throw not-found errors in loader methods and components using the notFound function. This is useful when you need to signal that a resource cannot be found.

The notFound function works in a similar fashion to the redirect function. To cause a not-found error, you can throw a notFound().

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	loader: async ({ params: { postId } }) => {
		// Returns `null` if the post doesn't exist
		const post = await getPost(postId)
		if (!post) {
			throw notFound()
			// Alternatively, you can make the notFound function throw:
			// notFound({ throw: true })
		}
		// Post is guaranteed to be defined here because we threw an error
		return { post }
	},
})

The not-found error above will be handled by the same route or nearest parent route that has either a notFoundComponent route option or the defaultNotFoundComponent router option configured.

If neither the route nor any suitable parent route is found to handle the error, the root route will handle it using TanStack Router's extremely basic (and purposefully undesirable) default not-found component that simply renders <p>Not Found</p>. It's highly recommended to either attach at least one notFoundComponent to the root route or configure a router-wide defaultNotFoundComponent to handle not-found errors.

⚠️ Throwing a notFound error in a beforeLoad method will always trigger the __root notFoundComponent. Since beforeLoad methods are run prior to the route loader methods, there is no guarantee that any required data for layouts have successfully loaded before the error is thrown.

Specifying Which Routes Handle Not Found Errors

Sometimes you may want to trigger a not-found on a specific parent route and bypass the normal not-found component propagation. To do this, pass in a route id to the route option in the notFound function.

// _pathlessLayout.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/_pathlessLayout')({
	// This will render
	notFoundComponent: () => {
		return <p>Not found (in _pathlessLayout)</p>
	},
	component: () => {
		return (
			<div>
				<p>This is a pathless layout route!</p>
				<Outlet />
			</div>
		)
	},
})

// _pathlessLayout/route-a.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/_pathless/route-a')({
	loader: async () => {
		// This will make LayoutRoute handle the not-found error
		throw notFound({ routeId: '/_pathlessLayout' })
		//                      ^^^^^^^^^ This will autocomplete from the registered router
	},
	// This WILL NOT render
	notFoundComponent: () => {
		return <p>Not found (in _pathlessLayout/route-a)</p>
	},
})

Manually targeting the root route

You can also target the root route by passing the exported rootRouteId variable to the notFound function's route property:

import { rootRouteId } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	loader: async ({ params: { postId } }) => {
		const post = await getPost(postId)
		if (!post) throw notFound({ routeId: rootRouteId })
		return { post }
	},
})

Throwing Not Found Errors in Components

You can also throw not-found errors in components. However, it is recommended to throw not-found errors in loader methods instead of components in order to correctly type loader data and prevent flickering.

TanStack Router exposes a CatchNotFound component similar to CatchBoundary that can be used to catch not-found errors in components and display UI accordingly.

Data Loading Inside `notFoundComponent`

notFoundComponent is a special case when it comes to data loading. SomeRoute.useLoaderData may not be defined depending on which route you are trying to access and where the not-found error gets thrown. However, Route.useParams, Route.useSearch, Route.useRouteContext, etc. will return a defined value.

If you need to pass incomplete loader data to notFoundComponent, pass the data via the data option in the notFound function and validate it in notFoundComponent.

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	loader: async ({ params: { postId } }) => {
		const post = await getPost(postId)
		if (!post)
			throw notFound({
				// Forward some data to the notFoundComponent
				// data: someIncompleteLoaderData
			})
		return { post }
	},
	// `data: unknown` is passed to the component via the `data` option when calling `notFound`
	notFoundComponent: ({ data }) => {
		// ❌ useLoaderData is not valid here: const { post } = Route.useLoaderData()

		// ✅:
		const { postId } = Route.useParams()
		const search = Route.useSearch()
		const context = Route.useRouteContext()

		return <p>Post with id {postId} not found!</p>
	},
})

Usage With SSR

See SSR guide for more information.

Migrating from `NotFoundRoute`

The NotFoundRoute API is deprecated in favor of notFoundComponent. The NotFoundRoute API will be removed in a future release.

The notFound function and notFoundComponent will not work when using NotFoundRoute.

The main differences are:

NotFoundRoute is a route that requires an <Outlet> on its parent route to render. notFoundComponent is a component that can be attached to any route.
When using NotFoundRoute, you can't use layouts. notFoundComponent can be used with layouts.
When using notFoundComponent, path matching is strict. This means that if you have a route at /post/$postId, a not-found error will be thrown if you try to access /post/1/2/3. With NotFoundRoute, /post/1/2/3 would match the NotFoundRoute and only render it if there is an <Outlet>.

To migrate from NotFoundRoute to notFoundComponent, you'll just need to make a few changes:

// router.tsx
import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen.'
- import { notFoundRoute } from './notFoundRoute'  // [!code --]

export const router = createRouter({
  routeTree,
- notFoundRoute // [!code --]
})

// routes/__root.tsx
import { createRootRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createRootRoute({
  // ...
+ notFoundComponent: () => {  // [!code ++]
+   return <p>Not found!</p>  // [!code ++]
+ } // [!code ++]
})

Important changes:

A notFoundComponent is added to the root route for global not-found handling.
- You can also add a notFoundComponent to any other route in your route tree to handle not-found errors for that specific route.
The notFoundComponent does not support rendering an <Outlet>.

Outlets

Nested routing means that routes can be nested within other routes, including the way they render. So how do we tell our routes where to render this nested content?

The `Outlet` Component

The Outlet component is used to render the next potentially matching child route. <Outlet /> doesn't take any props and can be rendered anywhere within a route's component tree. If there is no matching child route, <Outlet /> will render null.

[!TIP] If a route's component is left undefined, it will render an <Outlet /> automatically.

A great example is configuring the root route of your application. Let's give our root route a component that renders a title, then an <Outlet /> for our top-level routes to render.

import { createRootRoute, Outlet } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createRootRoute({
	component: RootComponent,
})

function RootComponent() {
	return (
		<div>
			<h1>My App</h1>
			<Outlet /> {/* This is where child routes will render */}
		</div>
	)
}

Parallel Routes

We haven't covered this yet. Stay tuned!

Path Params

Path params are used to match a single segment (the text until the next /) and provide its value back to you as a named variable. They are defined by using the $ character prefix in the path, followed by the key variable to assign it to. The following are valid path param paths:

$postId
$name
$teamId
about/$name
team/$teamId
blog/$postId

Because path param routes only match to the next /, child routes can be created to continue expressing hierarchy:

Let's create a post route file that uses a path param to match the post ID:

posts.$postId.tsx

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	loader: async ({ params }) => {
		return fetchPost(params.postId)
	},
})

Path Params can be used by child routes

Once a path param has been parsed, it is available to all child routes. This means that if we define a child route to our postRoute, we can use the postId variable from the URL in the child route's path!

Path Params in Loaders

Path params are passed to the loader as a params object. The keys of this object are the names of the path params, and the values are the values that were parsed out of the actual URL path. For example, if we were to visit the /blog/123 URL, the params object would be { postId: '123' }:

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	loader: async ({ params }) => {
		return fetchPost(params.postId)
	},
})

The params object is also passed to the beforeLoad option:

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	beforeLoad: async ({ params }) => {
		// do something with params.postId
	},
})

Path Params in Components

If we add a component to our postRoute, we can access the postId variable from the URL by using the route's useParams hook:

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	component: PostComponent,
})

function PostComponent() {
	const { postId } = Route.useParams()
	return <div>Post {postId}</div>
}

🧠 Quick tip: If your component is code-split, you can use the getRouteApi function to avoid having to import the Route configuration to get access to the typed useParams() hook.

Path Params outside of Routes

You can also use the globally exported useParams hook to access any parsed path params from any component in your app. You'll need to pass the strict: false option to useParams, denoting that you want to access the params from an ambiguous location:

function PostComponent() {
	const { postId } = useParams({ strict: false })
	return <div>Post {postId}</div>
}

Navigating with Path Params

When navigating to a route with path params, TypeScript will require you to pass the params either as an object or as a function that returns an object of params.

Let's see what an object style looks like:

function Component() {
	return (
		<Link to="/blog/$postId" params={{ postId: '123' }}>
			Post 123
		</Link>
	)
}

And here's what a function style looks like:

function Component() {
	return (
		<Link to="/blog/$postId" params={(prev) => ({ ...prev, postId: '123' })}>
			Post 123
		</Link>
	)
}

Notice that the function style is useful when you need to persist params that are already in the URL for other routes. This is because the function style will receive the current params as an argument, allowing you to modify them as needed and return the final params object.

Prefixes and Suffixes for Path Params

You can also use prefixes and suffixes with path params to create more complex routing patterns. This allows you to match specific URL structures while still capturing the dynamic segments.

When using either prefixes or suffixes, you can define them by wrapping the path param in curly braces {} and placing the prefix or suffix before or after the variable name.

Defining Prefixes

Prefixes are defined by placing the prefix text outside the curly braces before the variable name. For example, if you want to match a URL that starts with post- followed by a post ID, you can define it like this:

// src/routes/posts/post-{$postId}.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/post-{$postId}')({
	component: PostComponent,
})

function PostComponent() {
	const { postId } = Route.useParams()
	// postId will be the value after 'post-'
	return <div>Post ID: {postId}</div>
}

You can even combines prefixes with wildcard routes to create more complex patterns:

// src/routes/on-disk/storage-{$}
export const Route = createFileRoute('/on-disk/storage-{$postId}/$')({
	component: StorageComponent,
})

function StorageComponent() {
	const { _splat } = Route.useParams()
	// _splat, will be value after 'storage-'
	// i.e. my-drive/documents/foo.txt
	return <div>Storage Location: /{_splat}</div>
}

Defining Suffixes

Suffixes are defined by placing the suffix text outside the curly braces after the variable name. For example, if you want to match a URL a filename that ends with txt, you can define it like this:

// src/routes/files/{$fileName}txt
export const Route = createFileRoute('/files/{$fileName}.txt')({
	component: FileComponent,
})

function FileComponent() {
	const { fileName } = Route.useParams()
	// fileName will be the value before 'txt'
	return <div>File Name: {fileName}</div>
}

You can also combine suffixes with wildcards for more complex routing patterns:

// src/routes/files/{$}[.]txt
export const Route = createFileRoute('/files/{$fileName}[.]txt')({
	component: FileComponent,
})

function FileComponent() {
	const { _splat } = Route.useParams()
	// _splat will be the value before '.txt'
	return <div>File Splat: {_splat}</div>
}

Combining Prefixes and Suffixes

You can combine both prefixes and suffixes to create very specific routing patterns. For example, if you want to match a URL that starts with user- and ends with .json, you can define it like this:

// src/routes/users/user-{$userId}.json
export const Route = createFileRoute('/users/user-{$userId}.json')({
	component: UserComponent,
})

function UserComponent() {
	const { userId } = Route.useParams()
	// userId will be the value between 'user-' and '.json'
	return <div>User ID: {userId}</div>
}

Similar to the previous examples, you can also use wildcards with prefixes and suffixes. Go wild!

Optional Path Parameters

Optional path parameters allow you to define route segments that may or may not be present in the URL. They use the {-$paramName} syntax and provide flexible routing patterns where certain parameters are optional.

Defining Optional Parameters

Optional path parameters are defined using curly braces with a dash prefix: {-$paramName}

// Single optional parameter
// src/routes/posts/{-$category}.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/{-$category}')({
	component: PostsComponent,
})

// Multiple optional parameters
// src/routes/posts/{-$category}/{-$slug}.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/{-$category}/{-$slug}')({
	component: PostComponent,
})

// Mixed required and optional parameters
// src/routes/users/$id/{-$tab}.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/users/$id/{-$tab}')({
	component: UserComponent,
})

How Optional Parameters Work

Optional parameters create flexible URL patterns:

/posts/{-$category} matches both /posts and /posts/tech
/posts/{-$category}/{-$slug} matches /posts, /posts/tech, and /posts/tech/hello-world
/users/$id/{-$tab} matches /users/123 and /users/123/settings

When an optional parameter is not present in the URL, its value will be undefined in your route handlers and components.

Accessing Optional Parameters

Optional parameters work exactly like regular parameters in your components, but their values may be undefined:

function PostsComponent() {
	const { category } = Route.useParams()

	return <div>{category ? `Posts in ${category}` : 'All Posts'}</div>
}

Optional Parameters in Loaders

Optional parameters are available in loaders and may be undefined:

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/{-$category}')({
	loader: async ({ params }) => {
		// params.category might be undefined
		return fetchPosts({ category: params.category })
	},
})

Optional Parameters in beforeLoad

Optional parameters work in beforeLoad handlers as well:

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/{-$category}')({
	beforeLoad: async ({ params }) => {
		if (params.category) {
			// Validate category exists
			await validateCategory(params.category)
		}
	},
})

Advanced Optional Parameter Patterns

With Prefix and Suffix

Optional parameters support prefix and suffix patterns:

// File route: /files/prefix{-$name}.txt
// Matches: /files/prefix.txt and /files/prefixdocument.txt
export const Route = createFileRoute('/files/prefix{-$name}.txt')({
	component: FileComponent,
})

function FileComponent() {
	const { name } = Route.useParams()
	return <div>File: {name || 'default'}</div>
}

All Optional Parameters

You can create routes where all parameters are optional:

// Route: /{-$year}/{-$month}/{-$day}
// Matches: /, /2023, /2023/12, /2023/12/25
export const Route = createFileRoute('/{-$year}/{-$month}/{-$day}')({
	component: DateComponent,
})

function DateComponent() {
	const { year, month, day } = Route.useParams()

	if (!year) return <div>Select a year</div>
	if (!month) return <div>Year: {year}</div>
	if (!day)
		return (
			<div>
				Month: {year}/{month}
			</div>
		)

	return (
		<div>
			Date: {year}/{month}/{day}
		</div>
	)
}

Optional Parameters with Wildcards

Optional parameters can be combined with wildcards for complex routing patterns:

// Route: /docs/{-$version}/$
// Matches: /docs/extra/path, /docs/v2/extra/path
export const Route = createFileRoute('/docs/{-$version}/$')({
	component: DocsComponent,
})

function DocsComponent() {
	const { version } = Route.useParams()
	const { _splat } = Route.useParams()

	return (
		<div>
			Version: {version || 'latest'}
			Path: {_splat}
		</div>
	)
}

Navigating with Optional Parameters

When navigating to routes with optional parameters, you have fine-grained control over which parameters to include:

function Navigation() {
	return (
		<div>
			{/* Navigate with optional parameter */}
			<Link to="/posts/{-$category}" params={{ category: 'tech' }}>
				Tech Posts
			</Link>

			{/* Navigate without optional parameter */}
			<Link to="/posts/{-$category}" params={{ category: undefined }}>
				All Posts
			</Link>

			{/* Navigate with multiple optional parameters */}
			<Link
				to="/posts/{-$category}/{-$slug}"
				params={{ category: 'tech', slug: 'react-tips' }}
			>
				Specific Post
			</Link>
		</div>
	)
}

Type Safety with Optional Parameters

TypeScript provides full type safety for optional parameters:

function PostsComponent() {
  // TypeScript knows category might be undefined
  const { category } = Route.useParams() // category: string | undefined

  // Safe navigation
  const categoryUpper = category?.toUpperCase()

  return <div>{categoryUpper || 'All Categories'}</div>
}

// Navigation is type-safe and flexible
<Link
  to="/posts/{-$category}"
  params={{ category: 'tech' }} // ✅ Valid - string
>
  Tech Posts
</Link>

<Link
  to="/posts/{-$category}"
  params={{ category: 123 }} // ✅ Valid - number (auto-stringified)
>
  Category 123
</Link>

Internationalization (i18n) with Optional Path Parameters

Optional path parameters are excellent for implementing internationalization (i18n) routing patterns. You can use prefix patterns to handle multiple languages while maintaining clean, SEO-friendly URLs.

Prefix-based i18n

Use optional language prefixes to support URLs like /en/about, /fr/about, or just /about (default language):

// Route: /{-$locale}/about
export const Route = createFileRoute('/{-$locale}/about')({
	component: AboutComponent,
})

function AboutComponent() {
	const { locale } = Route.useParams()
	const currentLocale = locale || 'en' // Default to English

	const content = {
		en: { title: 'About Us', description: 'Learn more about our company.' },
		fr: {
			title: 'À Propos',
			description: 'En savoir plus sur notre entreprise.',
		},
		es: {
			title: 'Acerca de',
			description: 'Conoce más sobre nuestra empresa.',
		},
	}

	return (
		<div>
			<h1>{content[currentLocale]?.title}</h1>
			<p>{content[currentLocale]?.description}</p>
		</div>
	)
}

This pattern matches:

/about (default locale)
/en/about (explicit English)
/fr/about (French)
/es/about (Spanish)

Complex i18n Patterns

Combine optional parameters for more sophisticated i18n routing:

// Route: /{-$locale}/blog/{-$category}/$slug
export const Route = createFileRoute('/{-$locale}/blog/{-$category}/$slug')({
	beforeLoad: async ({ params }) => {
		const locale = params.locale || 'en'
		const category = params.category

		// Validate locale and category
		const validLocales = ['en', 'fr', 'es', 'de']
		if (locale && !validLocales.includes(locale)) {
			throw new Error('Invalid locale')
		}

		return { locale, category }
	},
	loader: async ({ params, context }) => {
		const { locale } = context
		const { slug, category } = params

		return fetchBlogPost({ slug, category, locale })
	},
	component: BlogPostComponent,
})

function BlogPostComponent() {
	const { locale, category, slug } = Route.useParams()
	const data = Route.useLoaderData()

	return (
		<article>
			<h1>{data.title}</h1>
			<p>
				Category: {category || 'All'} | Language: {locale || 'en'}
			</p>
			<div>{data.content}</div>
		</article>
	)
}

This supports URLs like:

/blog/tech/my-post (default locale, tech category)
/fr/blog/my-post (French, no category)
/en/blog/tech/my-post (explicit English, tech category)
/es/blog/tecnologia/mi-post (Spanish, Spanish category)

Create language switchers using optional i18n parameters with function-style params:

function LanguageSwitcher() {
	const currentParams = useParams({ strict: false })

	const languages = [
		{ code: 'en', name: 'English' },
		{ code: 'fr', name: 'Français' },
		{ code: 'es', name: 'Español' },
	]

	return (
		<div className="language-switcher">
			{languages.map(({ code, name }) => (
				<Link
					key={code}
					to="/{-$locale}/blog/{-$category}/$slug"
					params={(prev) => ({
						...prev,
						locale: code === 'en' ? undefined : code, // Remove 'en' for clean URLs
					})}
					className={currentParams.locale === code ? 'active' : ''}
				>
					{name}
				</Link>
			))}
		</div>
	)
}

You can also create more sophisticated language switching logic:

function AdvancedLanguageSwitcher() {
	const currentParams = useParams({ strict: false })

	const handleLanguageChange = (newLocale: string) => {
		return (prev: any) => {
			// Preserve all existing params but update locale
			const updatedParams = { ...prev }

			if (newLocale === 'en') {
				// Remove locale for clean English URLs
				delete updatedParams.locale
			} else {
				updatedParams.locale = newLocale
			}

			return updatedParams
		}
	}

	return (
		<div className="language-switcher">
			<Link
				to="/{-$locale}/blog/{-$category}/$slug"
				params={handleLanguageChange('fr')}
			>
				Français
			</Link>

			<Link
				to="/{-$locale}/blog/{-$category}/$slug"
				params={handleLanguageChange('es')}
			>
				Español
			</Link>

			<Link
				to="/{-$locale}/blog/{-$category}/$slug"
				params={handleLanguageChange('en')}
			>
				English
			</Link>
		</div>
	)
}

Advanced i18n with Optional Parameters

Organize i18n routes using optional parameters for flexible locale handling:

// Route structure:
// routes/
//   {-$locale}/
//     index.tsx        // /, /en, /fr
//     about.tsx        // /about, /en/about, /fr/about
//     blog/
//       index.tsx      // /blog, /en/blog, /fr/blog
//       $slug.tsx      // /blog/post, /en/blog/post, /fr/blog/post

// routes/{-$locale}/index.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/{-$locale}/')({
	component: HomeComponent,
})

function HomeComponent() {
	const { locale } = Route.useParams()
	const isRTL = ['ar', 'he', 'fa'].includes(locale || '')

	return (
		<div dir={isRTL ? 'rtl' : 'ltr'}>
			<h1>Welcome ({locale || 'en'})</h1>
			{/* Localized content */}
		</div>
	)
}

// routes/{-$locale}/about.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/{-$locale}/about')({
	component: AboutComponent,
})

SEO and Canonical URLs

Handle SEO for i18n routes properly:

export const Route = createFileRoute('/{-$locale}/products/$id')({
	component: ProductComponent,
	head: ({ params, loaderData }) => {
		const locale = params.locale || 'en'
		const product = loaderData

		return {
			title: product.title[locale] || product.title.en,
			meta: [
				{
					name: 'description',
					content: product.description[locale] || product.description.en,
				},
				{
					property: 'og:locale',
					content: locale,
				},
			],
			links: [
				// Canonical URL (always use default locale format)
				{
					rel: 'canonical',
					href: `https://example.com/products/${params.id}`,
				},
				// Alternate language versions
				{
					rel: 'alternate',
					hreflang: 'en',
					href: `https://example.com/products/${params.id}`,
				},
				{
					rel: 'alternate',
					hreflang: 'fr',
					href: `https://example.com/fr/products/${params.id}`,
				},
				{
					rel: 'alternate',
					hreflang: 'es',
					href: `https://example.com/es/products/${params.id}`,
				},
			],
		}
	},
})

Type Safety for i18n

Ensure type safety for your i18n implementations:

// Define supported locales
type Locale = 'en' | 'fr' | 'es' | 'de'

// Type-safe locale validation
function validateLocale(locale: string | undefined): locale is Locale {
	return ['en', 'fr', 'es', 'de'].includes(locale as Locale)
}

export const Route = createFileRoute('/{-$locale}/shop/{-$category}')({
	beforeLoad: async ({ params }) => {
		const { locale } = params

		// Type-safe locale validation
		if (locale && !validateLocale(locale)) {
			throw redirect({
				to: '/shop/{-$category}',
				params: { category: params.category },
			})
		}

		return {
			locale: (locale as Locale) || 'en',
			isDefaultLocale: !locale || locale === 'en',
		}
	},
	component: ShopComponent,
})

function ShopComponent() {
	const { locale, category } = Route.useParams()
	const { isDefaultLocale } = Route.useRouteContext()

	// TypeScript knows locale is Locale | undefined
	// and we have validated it in beforeLoad

	return (
		<div>
			<h1>Shop {category ? `- ${category}` : ''}</h1>
			<p>Language: {locale || 'en'}</p>
			{!isDefaultLocale && (
				<Link to="/shop/{-$category}" params={{ category }}>
					View in English
				</Link>
			)}
		</div>
	)
}

Optional path parameters provide a powerful and flexible foundation for implementing internationalization in your TanStack Router applications. Whether you prefer prefix-based or combined approaches, you can create clean, SEO-friendly URLs while maintaining excellent developer experience and type safety.

Allowed Characters

By default, path params are escaped with encodeURIComponent. If you want to allow other valid URI characters (e.g. @ or +), you can specify that in your RouterOptions.

Example usage:

const router = createRouter({
	// ...
	pathParamsAllowedCharacters: ['@'],
})

The following is the list of accepted allowed characters:

Preloading

Preloading in TanStack Router is a way to load a route before the user actually navigates to it. This is useful for routes that are likely to be visited by the user next. For example, if you have a list of posts and the user is likely to click on one of them, you can preload the post route so that it's ready to go when the user clicks on it.

Supported Preloading Strategies

Intent
- Preloading by "intent" works by using hover and touch start events on <Link> components to preload the dependencies for the destination route.
- This strategy is useful for preloading routes that the user is likely to visit next.
Viewport Visibility
- Preloading by "viewport" works by using the Intersection Observer API to preload the dependencies for the destination route when the <Link> component is in the viewport.
- This strategy is useful for preloading routes that are below the fold or off-screen.
Render
- Preloading by "render" works by preloading the dependencies for the destination route as soon as the <Link> component is rendered in the DOM.
- This strategy is useful for preloading routes that are always needed.

How long does preloaded data stay in memory?

Preloaded route matches are temporarily cached in memory with a few important caveats:

Unused preloaded data is removed after 30 seconds by default. This can be configured by setting the defaultPreloadMaxAge option on your router.
Obviously, when a route is loaded, its preloaded version is promoted to the router's normal pending matches state.

If you need more control over preloading, caching and/or garbage collection of preloaded data, you should use an external caching library like TanStack Query.

The simplest way to preload routes for your application is to set the defaultPreload option to intent for your entire router:

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const router = createRouter({
	// ...
	defaultPreload: 'intent',
})

This will turn on intent preloading by default for all <Link> components in your application. You can also set the preload prop on individual <Link> components to override the default behavior.

Preload Delay

By default, preloading will start after 50ms of the user hovering or touching a <Link> component. You can change this delay by setting the defaultPreloadDelay option on your router:

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const router = createRouter({
	// ...
	defaultPreloadDelay: 100,
})

You can also set the preloadDelay prop on individual <Link> components to override the default behavior on a per-link basis.

Built-in Preloading & `preloadStaleTime`

If you're using the built-in loaders, you can control how long preloaded data is considered fresh until another preload is triggered by setting either routerOptions.defaultPreloadStaleTime or routeOptions.preloadStaleTime to a number of milliseconds. By default, preloaded data is considered fresh for 30 seconds..

To change this, you can set the defaultPreloadStaleTime option on your router:

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const router = createRouter({
	// ...
	defaultPreloadStaleTime: 10_000,
})

Or, you can use the routeOptions.preloadStaleTime option on individual routes:

// src/routes/posts.$postId.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	loader: async ({ params }) => fetchPost(params.postId),
	// Preload the route again if the preload cache is older than 10 seconds
	preloadStaleTime: 10_000,
})

Preloading with External Libraries

When integrating external caching libraries like React Query, which have their own mechanisms for determining stale data, you may want to override the default preloading and stale-while-revalidate logic of TanStack Router. These libraries often use options like staleTime to control the freshness of data.

To customize the preloading behavior in TanStack Router and fully leverage your external library's caching strategy, you can bypass the built-in caching by setting routerOptions.defaultPreloadStaleTime or routeOptions.preloadStaleTime to 0. This ensures that all preloads are marked as stale internally, and loaders are always invoked, allowing your external library, such as React Query, to manage data loading and caching.

For example:

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const router = createRouter({
	// ...
	defaultPreloadStaleTime: 0,
})

This would then allow you, for instance, to use an option like React Query's staleTime to control the freshness of your preloads.

Preloading Manually

If you need to manually preload a route, you can use the router's preloadRoute method. It accepts a standard TanStack NavigateOptions object and returns a promise that resolves when the route is preloaded.

function Component() {
	const router = useRouter()

	useEffect(() => {
		async function preload() {
			try {
				const matches = await router.preloadRoute({
					to: postRoute,
					params: { id: 1 },
				})
			} catch (err) {
				// Failed to preload route
			}
		}

		preload()
	}, [router])

	return <div />
}

If you need to preload only the JS chunk of a route, you can use the router's loadRouteChunk method. It accepts a route object and returns a promise that resolves when the route chunk is loaded.

function Component() {
	const router = useRouter()

	useEffect(() => {
		async function preloadRouteChunks() {
			try {
				const postsRoute = router.routesByPath['/posts']
				await Promise.all([
					router.loadRouteChunk(router.routesByPath['/']),
					router.loadRouteChunk(postsRoute),
					router.loadRouteChunk(postsRoute.parentRoute),
				])
			} catch (err) {
				// Failed to preload route chunk
			}
		}

		preloadRouteChunks()
	}, [router])

	return <div />
}

Render Optimizations

TanStack Router includes several optimizations to ensure your components only re-render when necessary. These optimizations include:

TanStack Router uses a technique called "structural sharing" to preserve as many references as possible between re-renders, which is particularly useful for state stored in the URL, such as search parameters.

For example, consider a details route with two search parameters, foo and bar, accessed like this:

const search = Route.useSearch()

When only bar is changed by navigating from /details?foo=f1&bar=b1 to /details?foo=f1&bar=b2, search.foo will be referentially stable and only search.bar will be replaced.

fine-grained selectors

You can access and subscribe to the router state using various hooks like useRouterState, useSearch, and others. If you only want a specific component to re-render when a particular subset of the router state such as a subset of the search parameters changes, you can use partial subscriptions with the select property.

// component won't re-render when `bar` changes
const foo = Route.useSearch({ select: ({ foo }) => foo })

The select function can perform various calculations on the router state, allowing you to return different types of values, such as objects. For example:

const result = Route.useSearch({
	select: (search) => {
		return {
			foo: search.foo,
			hello: `hello ${search.foo}`,
		}
	},
})

Although this works, it will cause your component to re-render each time, since select is now returning a new object each time it’s called.

You can avoid this re-rendering issue by using "structural sharing" as described above. By default, structural sharing is turned off to maintain backward compatibility, but this may change in v2.

To enable structural sharing for fine grained selectors, you have two options:

Enable it by default in the router options:

const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
	defaultStructuralSharing: true,
})

Enable it per hook usage as shown here:

const result = Route.useSearch({
	select: (search) => {
		return {
			foo: search.foo,
			hello: `hello ${search.foo}`,
		}
	},
	structuralSharing: true,
})

[!IMPORTANT] Structural sharing only works with JSON-compatible data. This means you cannot use select to return items like class instances if structural sharing is enabled.

In line with TanStack Router's type-safe design, TypeScript will raise an error if you attempt the following:

const result = Route.useSearch({
	select: (search) => {
		return {
			date: new Date(),
		}
	},
	structuralSharing: true,
})

If structural sharing is enabled by default in the router options, you can prevent this error by setting structuralSharing: false.

Route Masking

Route masking is a way to mask the actual URL of a route that gets persisted to the browser's history and URL bar. This is useful for scenarios where you want to show a different URL than the one that is actually being navigated to and then falling back to the displayed URL when it is shared and (optionally) when the page is reloaded. Here's a few examples:

Navigating to a modal route like /photo/5/modal, but masking the actual URL as /photos/5
Navigating to a modal route like /post/5/comments, but masking the actual URL as /posts/5
Navigating to a route with the search param ?showLogin=true, but masking the URL to not contain the search param
Navigating to a route with the search param ?modal=settings, but masking the URL as `/settings'

Each of these scenarios can be achieved with route masking and even extended to support more advanced patterns like parallel routes.

How does route masking work?

[!IMPORTANT] You do not need to understand how route masking works in order to use it. This section is for those who are curious about how it works under the hood. Skip to How do I use route masking? to learn how to use it!.

Route masking utilizes the location.state API to store the desired runtime location inside of the location that will get written to the URL. It stores this runtime location under the __tempLocation state property:

const location = {
	pathname: '/photos/5',
	search: '',
	hash: '',
	state: {
		key: 'wesdfs',
		__tempKey: 'sadfasd',
		__tempLocation: {
			pathname: '/photo/5/modal',
			search: '',
			hash: '',
			state: {},
		},
	},
}

When the router parses a location from history with the location.state.__tempLocation property, it will use that location instead of the one that was parsed from the URL. This allows you to navigate to a route like /photos/5 and have the router actually navigate to /photo/5/modal instead. When this happens, the history location is saved back into the location.maskedLocation property, just in case we need to know what the actual URL is. One example of where this is used is in the Devtools where we detect if a route is masked and show the actual URL instead of the masked one!

Remember, you don't need to worry about any of this. It's all handled for you automatically under the hood!

How do I use route masking?

Route masking is a simple API that can be used in 2 ways:

Imperatively via the mask option available on the <Link> and navigate() APIs
Declaratively via the Router's routeMasks option

When using either route masking APIs, the mask option accepts the same navigation object that the <Link> and navigate() APIs accept. This means you can use the same to, replace, state, and search options that you're already familiar with. The only difference is that the mask option will be used to mask the URL of the route being navigated to.

🧠 The mask option is also type-safe! This means that if you're using TypeScript, you'll get type errors if you try to pass an invalid navigation object to the mask option. Booyah!

Imperative route masking

The <Link> and navigate() APIs both accept a mask option that can be used to mask the URL of the route being navigated to. Here's an example of using it with the <Link> component:

<Link
	to="/photos/$photoId/modal"
	params={{ photoId: 5 }}
	mask={{
		to: '/photos/$photoId',
		params: {
			photoId: 5,
		},
	}}
>
	Open Photo
</Link>

And here's an example of using it with the navigate() API:

const navigate = useNavigate()

function onOpenPhoto() {
	navigate({
		to: '/photos/$photoId/modal',
		params: { photoId: 5 },
		mask: {
			to: '/photos/$photoId',
			params: {
				photoId: 5,
			},
		},
	})
}

Declarative route masking

In addition to the imperative API, you can also use the Router's routeMasks option to declaratively mask routes. Instead of needing to pass the mask option to every <Link> or navigate() call, you can instead create a route mask on the Router to mask routes that match a certain pattern. Here's an example of the same route mask from above, but using the routeMasks option instead:

// Use the following for the example below

import { createRouteMask } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const photoModalToPhotoMask = createRouteMask({
	routeTree,
	from: '/photos/$photoId/modal',
	to: '/photos/$photoId',
	params: (prev) => ({
		photoId: prev.photoId,
	}),
})

const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
	routeMasks: [photoModalToPhotoMask],
})

When creating a route mask, you'll need to pass 1 argument with at least:

routeTree - The route tree that the route mask will be applied to
from - The route ID that the route mask will be applied to
...navigateOptions - The standard to, search, params, replace, etc options that the <Link> and navigate() APIs accept

🧠 The createRouteMask option is also type-safe! This means that if you're using TypeScript, you'll get type errors if you try to pass an invalid route mask to the routeMasks option.

URLs are automatically unmasked when they are shared since as soon as a URL is detached from your browsers local history stack, the URL masking data is no longer available. Essentially, as soon as you copy and paste a URL out of your history, its masking data is lost... after all, that's the point of masking a URL!

Local Unmasking Defaults

By default, URLs are not unmasked when the page is reloaded locally. Masking data is stored in the location.state property of the history location, so as long as the history location is still in memory in your history stack, the masking data will be available and the URL will continue to be masked.

Unmasking on page reload

As stated above, URLs are not unmasked when the page is reloaded by default.

If you want to unmask a URL locally when the page is reloaded, you have 3 options, each overriding the previous one in priority if passed:

Set the Router's default unmaskOnReload option to true
Return the unmaskOnReload: true option from the masking function when creating a route mask with createRouteMask()
Pass the unmaskOnReload: true option to the <Link> component or navigate() API

Router Context

TanStack Router's router context is a very powerful tool that can be used for dependency injection among many other things. Aptly named, the router context is passed through the router and down through each matching route. At each route in the hierarchy, the context can be modified or added to. Here's a few ways you might use the router context practically:

Dependency Injection
- You can supply dependencies (e.g. a loader function, a data fetching client, a mutation service) which the route and all child routes can access and use without importing or creating directly.
Breadcrumbs
- While the main context object for each route is merged as it descends, each route's unique context is also stored making it possible to attach breadcrumbs or methods to each route's context.
Dynamic meta tag management
- You can attach meta tags to each route's context and then use a meta tag manager to dynamically update the meta tags on the page as the user navigates the site.

These are just suggested uses of the router context. You can use it for whatever you want!

Typed Router Context

Like everything else, the root router context is strictly typed. This type can be augmented via any route's beforeLoad option as it is merged down the route match tree. To constrain the type of the root router context, you must use the createRootRouteWithContext<YourContextTypeHere>()(routeOptions) function to create a new router context instead of the createRootRoute() function to create your root route. Here's an example:

import {
	createRootRouteWithContext,
	createRouter,
} from '@tanstack/react-router'

interface MyRouterContext {
	user: User
}

// Use the routerContext to create your root route
const rootRoute = createRootRouteWithContext<MyRouterContext>()({
	component: App,
})

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([
	// ...
])

// Use the routerContext to create your router
const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
})

[!TIP] MyRouterContext only needs to contain content that will be passed directly to createRouter below. All other context added in beforeLoad will be inferred.

Passing the initial Router Context

The router context is passed to the router at instantiation time. You can pass the initial router context to the router via the context option:

[!TIP] If your context has any required properties, you will see a TypeScript error if you don't pass them in the initial router context. If all of your context properties are optional, you will not see a TypeScript error and passing the context will be optional. If you don't pass a router context, it defaults to {}.

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

// Use the routerContext you created to create your router
const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
	context: {
		user: {
			id: '123',
			name: 'John Doe',
		},
	},
})

Invalidating the Router Context

If you need to invalidate the context state you are passing into the router, you can call the invalidate method to tell the router to recompute the context. This is useful when you need to update the context state and have the router recompute the context for all routes.

function useAuth() {
	const router = useRouter()
	const [user, setUser] = useState<User | null>(null)

	useEffect(() => {
		const unsubscribe = auth.onAuthStateChanged((user) => {
			setUser(user)
			router.invalidate()
		})

		return unsubscribe
	}, [])

	return user
}

Using the Router Context

Once you have defined the router context type, you can use it in your route definitions:

// src/routes/todos.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/todos')({
	component: Todos,
	loader: ({ context }) => fetchTodosByUserId(context.user.id),
})

You can even inject data fetching and mutation implementations themselves! In fact, this is highly recommended 😜

Let's try this with a simple function to fetch some todos:

const fetchTodosByUserId = async ({ userId }) => {
	const response = await fetch(`/api/todos?userId=${userId}`)
	const data = await response.json()
	return data
}

const router = createRouter({
	routeTree: rootRoute,
	context: {
		userId: '123',
		fetchTodosByUserId,
	},
})

Then, in your route:

// src/routes/todos.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/todos')({
	component: Todos,
	loader: ({ context }) => context.fetchTodosByUserId(context.userId),
})

How about an external data fetching library?

import {
	createRootRouteWithContext,
	createRouter,
} from '@tanstack/react-router'

interface MyRouterContext {
	queryClient: QueryClient
}

const rootRoute = createRootRouteWithContext<MyRouterContext>()({
	component: App,
})

const queryClient = new QueryClient()

const router = createRouter({
	routeTree: rootRoute,
	context: {
		queryClient,
	},
})

Then, in your route:

// src/routes/todos.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/todos')({
	component: Todos,
	loader: async ({ context }) => {
		await context.queryClient.ensureQueryData({
			queryKey: ['todos', { userId: user.id }],
			queryFn: fetchTodos,
		})
	},
})

How about using React Context/Hooks?

When trying to use React Context or Hooks in your route's beforeLoad or loader functions, it's important to remember React's Rules of Hooks. You can't use hooks in a non-React function, so you can't use hooks in your beforeLoad or loader functions.

So, how do we use React Context or Hooks in our route's beforeLoad or loader functions? We can use the router context to pass down the React Context or Hooks to our route's beforeLoad or loader functions.

Let's look at the setup for an example, where we pass down a useNetworkStrength hook to our route's loader function:

src/routes/__root.tsx

// First, make sure the context for the root route is typed
import { createRootRouteWithContext } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { useNetworkStrength } from '@/hooks/useNetworkStrength'

interface MyRouterContext {
	networkStrength: ReturnType<typeof useNetworkStrength>
}

export const Route = createRootRouteWithContext<MyRouterContext>()({
	component: App,
})

In this example, we'd instantiate the hook before rendering the router using the <RouterProvider />. This way, the hook would be called in React-land, therefore adhering to the Rules of Hooks.

src/router.tsx

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen'

export const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
	context: {
		networkStrength: undefined!, // We'll set this in React-land
	},
})

src/main.tsx

import { RouterProvider } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { router } from './router'

import { useNetworkStrength } from '@/hooks/useNetworkStrength'

function App() {
	const networkStrength = useNetworkStrength()
	// Inject the returned value from the hook into the router context
	return <RouterProvider router={router} context={{ networkStrength }} />
}

// ...

So, now in our route's loader function, we can access the networkStrength hook from the router context:

src/routes/posts.tsx

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	component: Posts,
	loader: ({ context }) => {
		if (context.networkStrength === 'STRONG') {
			// Do something
		}
	},
})

Modifying the Router Context

The router context is passed down the route tree and is merged at each route. This means that you can modify the context at each route and the modifications will be available to all child routes. Here's an example:

src/routes/__root.tsx

import { createRootRouteWithContext } from '@tanstack/react-router'

interface MyRouterContext {
	foo: boolean
}

export const Route = createRootRouteWithContext<MyRouterContext>()({
	component: App,
})

src/router.tsx

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen'

const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
	context: {
		foo: true,
	},
})

src/routes/todos.tsx

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/todos')({
	component: Todos,
	beforeLoad: () => {
		return {
			bar: true,
		}
	},
	loader: ({ context }) => {
		context.foo // true
		context.bar // true
	},
})

Processing Accumulated Route Context

Context, especially the isolated route context objects, make it trivial to accumulate and process the route context objects for all matched routes. Here's an example where we use all of the matched route contexts to generate a breadcrumb trail:

// src/routes/__root.tsx
export const Route = createRootRoute({
	component: () => {
		const matches = useRouterState({ select: (s) => s.matches })

		const breadcrumbs = matches
			.filter((match) => match.context.getTitle)
			.map(({ pathname, context }) => {
				return {
					title: context.getTitle(),
					path: pathname,
				}
			})

		// ...
	},
})

Using that same route context, we could also generate a title tag for our page's <head>:

// src/routes/__root.tsx
export const Route = createRootRoute({
	component: () => {
		const matches = useRouterState({ select: (s) => s.matches })

		const matchWithTitle = [...matches]
			.reverse()
			.find((d) => d.context.getTitle)

		const title = matchWithTitle?.context.getTitle() || 'My App'

		return (
			<html>
				<head>
					<title>{title}</title>
				</head>
				<body>{/* ... */}</body>
			</html>
		)
	},
})

Scroll Restoration

Hash/Top-of-Page Scrolling

Out of the box, TanStack Router supports both hash scrolling and top-of-page scrolling without any additional configuration.

Scroll-to-top & Nested Scrollable Areas

By default, scroll-to-top mimics the behavior of the browser, which means only the window itself is scrolled to the top after successful navigation. For many apps however, it's common for the main scrollable area to be a nested div or similar because of advanced layouts. If you would like TanStack Router to also scroll these main scrollable areas for you, you can add selectors to target them using the routerOptions.scrollToTopSelectors:

const router = createRouter({
	scrollToTopSelectors: ['#main-scrollable-area'],
})

For complex selectors that cannot be simply resolved using document.querySelector(selector), you can pass functions that return HTML elements to routerOptions.scrollToTopSelectors:

const selector = () =>
	document
		.querySelector('#shadowRootParent')
		?.shadowRoot?.querySelector('#main-scrollable-area')

const router = createRouter({
	scrollToTopSelectors: [selector],
})

These selectors are handled in addition to window which cannot be disabled currently.

Scroll Restoration

Scroll restoration is the process of restoring the scroll position of a page when the user navigates back to it. This is normally a built-in feature for standard HTML based websites, but can be difficult to replicate for SPA applications because:

SPAs typically use the history.pushState API for navigation, so the browser doesn't know to restore the scroll position natively
SPAs sometimes render content asynchronously, so the browser doesn't know the height of the page until after it's rendered
SPAs can sometimes use nested scrollable containers to force specific layouts and features.

Not only that, but it's very common for applications to have multiple scrollable areas within an app, not just the body. For example, a chat application might have a scrollable sidebar and a scrollable chat area. In this case, you would want to restore the scroll position of both areas independently.

To alleviate this problem, TanStack Router provides a scroll restoration component and hook that handle the process of monitoring, caching and restoring scroll positions for you.

It does this by:

Monitoring the DOM for scroll events
Registering scrollable areas with the scroll restoration cache
Listening to the proper router events to know when to cache and restore scroll positions
Storing scroll positions for each scrollable area in the cache (including window and body)
Restoring scroll positions after successful navigations before DOM paint

That may sound like a lot, but for you, it's as simple as this:

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const router = createRouter({
	scrollRestoration: true,
})

[!NOTE] The <ScrollRestoration /> component still works, but has been deprecated.

Custom Cache Keys

Falling in behind Remix's own Scroll Restoration APIs, you can also customize the key used to cache scroll positions for a given scrollable area using the getKey option. This could be used, for example, to force the same scroll position to be used regardless of the users browser history.

The getKey option receives the relevant Location state from TanStack Router and expects you to return a string to uniquely identify the scrollable measurements for that state.

The default getKey is (location) => location.state.__TSR_key!, where __TSR_key is the unique key generated for each entry in the history.

Older versions, prior to v1.121.34, used state.key as the default key, but this has been deprecated in favor of state.__TSR_key. For now, location.state.key will still be available for compatibility, but it will be removed in the next major version.

Examples

You could sync scrolling to the pathname:

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const router = createRouter({
	getScrollRestorationKey: (location) => location.pathname,
})

You can conditionally sync only some paths, then use the key for the rest:

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const router = createRouter({
	getScrollRestorationKey: (location) => {
		const paths = ['/', '/chat']
		return paths.includes(location.pathname)
			? location.pathname
			: location.state.__TSR_key!
	},
})

Preventing Scroll Restoration

Sometimes you may want to prevent scroll restoration from happening. To do this you can utilize the resetScroll option available on the following APIs:

<Link resetScroll={false}>
navigate({ resetScroll: false })
redirect({ resetScroll: false })

When resetScroll is set to false, the scroll position for the next navigation will not be restored (if navigating to an existing history event in the stack) or reset to the top (if it's a new history event in the stack).

Manual Scroll Restoration

Most of the time, you won't need to do anything special to get scroll restoration to work. However, there are some cases where you may need to manually control scroll restoration. The most common example is virtualized lists.

To manually control scroll restoration for virtualized lists within the whole browser window:

function Component() {
  const scrollEntry = useElementScrollRestoration({
    getElement: () => window,
  })

  // Let's use TanStack Virtual to virtualize some content!
  const virtualizer = useWindowVirtualizer({
    count: 10000,
    estimateSize: () => 100,
    // We pass the scrollY from the scroll restoration entry to the virtualizer
    // as the initial offset
    initialOffset: scrollEntry?.scrollY,
  })

  return (
    <div>
      {virtualizer.getVirtualItems().map(item => (
        ...
      ))}
    </div>
  )
}

To manually control scroll restoration for a specific element, you can use the useElementScrollRestoration hook and the data-scroll-restoration-id DOM attribute:

function Component() {
	// We need a unique ID for manual scroll restoration on a specific element
	// It should be as unique as possible for this element across your app
	const scrollRestorationId = 'myVirtualizedContent'

	// We use that ID to get the scroll entry for this element
	const scrollEntry = useElementScrollRestoration({
		id: scrollRestorationId,
	})

	// Let's use TanStack Virtual to virtualize some content!
	const virtualizerParentRef = React.useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
	const virtualizer = useVirtualizer({
		count: 10000,
		getScrollElement: () => virtualizerParentRef.current,
		estimateSize: () => 100,
		// We pass the scrollY from the scroll restoration entry to the virtualizer
		// as the initial offset
		initialOffset: scrollEntry?.scrollY,
	})

	return (
		<div
			ref={virtualizerParentRef}
			// We pass the scroll restoration ID to the element
			// as a custom attribute that will get picked up by the
			// scroll restoration watcher
			data-scroll-restoration-id={scrollRestorationId}
			className="relative flex-1 overflow-auto rounded-lg border"
		>
			...
		</div>
	)
}

Scroll Behavior

To control the scroll behavior when navigating between pages, you can use the scrollRestorationBehavior option. This allows you to make the transition between pages instant instead of a smooth scroll. The global configuration of scroll restoration behavior has the same options as those supported by the browser, which are smooth, instant, and auto (see MDN for more information).

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const router = createRouter({
	scrollRestorationBehavior: 'instant',
})

Search Params

Similar to how TanStack Query made handling server-state in your React and Solid applications a breeze, TanStack Router aims to unlock the power of URL search params in your applications.

🧠 If you are on a really old browser, like IE11, you may need to use a polyfill for URLSearchParams.

Why not just use `URLSearchParams`?

We get it, you've been hearing a lot of "use the platform" lately and for the most part, we agree. However, we also believe it's important to recognize where the platform falls short for more advanced use-cases and we believe URLSearchParams is one of these circumstances.

Traditional Search Param APIs usually assume a few things:

Search params are always strings
They are mostly flat
Serializing and deserializing using URLSearchParams is good enough (Spoiler alert: it's not.)
Search params modifications are tightly coupled with the URL's pathname and must be updated together, even if the pathname is not changing.

Reality is very different from these assumptions though.

Search params represent application state, so inevitably, we will expect them to have the same DX associated with other state managers. This means having the capability of distinguishing between primitive value types and efficiently storing and manipulating complex data structures like nested arrays and objects.
There are many ways to serialize and deserialize state with different tradeoffs. You should be able to choose the best one for your application or at the very least get a better default than URLSearchParams.
Immutability & Structural Sharing. Every time you stringify and parse url search params, referential integrity and object identity is lost because each new parse creates a brand new data structure with a unique memory reference. If not properly managed over its lifetime, this constant serialization and parsing can result in unexpected and undesirable performance issues, especially in frameworks like React that choose to track reactivity via immutability or in Solid that normally relies on reconciliation to detect changes from deserialized data sources.
Search params, while an important part of the URL, do frequently change independently of the URL's pathname. For example, a user may want to change the page number of a paginated list without touching the URL's pathname.

Search Params, the "OG" State Manager

You've probably seen search params like ?page=3 or ?filter-name=tanner in the URL. There is no question that this is truly a form of global state living inside of the URL. It's valuable to store specific pieces of state in the URL because:

Users should be able to:
- Cmd/Ctrl + Click to open a link in a new tab and reliably see the state they expected
- Bookmark and share links from your application with others with assurances that they will see exactly the state as when the link was copied.
- Refresh your app or navigate back and forth between pages without losing their state
Developers should be able to easily:
- Add, remove or modify state in the URL with the same great DX as other state managers
- Easily validate search params coming from the URL in a format and type that is safe for their application to consume
- Read and write to search params without having to worry about the underlying serialization format

JSON-first Search Params

To achieve the above, the first step built in to TanStack Router is a powerful search param parser that automatically converts the search string of your URL to structured JSON. This means that you can store any JSON-serializable data structure in your search params and it will be parsed and serialized as JSON. This is a huge improvement over URLSearchParams which has limited support for array-like structures and nested data.

For example, navigating to the following route:

const link = (
	<Link
		to="/shop"
		search={{
			pageIndex: 3,
			includeCategories: ['electronics', 'gifts'],
			sortBy: 'price',
			desc: true,
		}}
	/>
)

Will result in the following URL:

/shop?pageIndex=3&includeCategories=%5B%22electronics%22%2C%22gifts%22%5D&sortBy=price&desc=true

When this URL is parsed, the search params will be accurately converted back to the following JSON:

{
	"pageIndex": 3,
	"includeCategories": ["electronics", "gifts"],
	"sortBy": "price",
	"desc": true
}

If you noticed, there are a few things going on here:

The first level of the search params is flat and string based, just like URLSearchParams.
First level values that are not strings are accurately preserved as actual numbers and booleans.
Nested data structures are automatically converted to URL-safe JSON strings

🧠 It's common for other tools to assume that search params are always flat and string-based which is why we've chosen to keep things URLSearchParam compliant at the first level. This ultimately means that even though TanStack Router is managing your nested search params as JSON, other tools will still be able to write to the URL and read first-level params normally.

Validating and Typing Search Params

Despite TanStack Router being able to parse search params into reliable JSON, they ultimately still came from a user-facing raw-text input. Similar to other serialization boundaries, this means that before you consume search params, they should be validated into a format that your application can trust and rely on.

Enter Validation + TypeScript!

TanStack Router provides convenient APIs for validating and typing search params. This all starts with the Route's validateSearch option:

// /routes/shop.products.tsx

type ProductSearchSortOptions = 'newest' | 'oldest' | 'price'

type ProductSearch = {
	page: number
	filter: string
	sort: ProductSearchSortOptions
}

export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products')({
	validateSearch: (search: Record<string, unknown>): ProductSearch => {
		// validate and parse the search params into a typed state
		return {
			page: Number(search?.page ?? 1),
			filter: (search.filter as string) || '',
			sort: (search.sort as ProductSearchSortOptions) || 'newest',
		}
	},
})

In the above example, we're validating the search params of the Route and returning a typed ProductSearch object. This typed object is then made available to this route's other options and any child routes, too!

Validating Search Params

The validateSearch option is a function that is provided the JSON parsed (but non-validated) search params as a Record<string, unknown> and returns a typed object of your choice. It's usually best to provide sensible fallbacks for malformed or unexpected search params so your users' experience stays non-interrupted.

Here's an example:

// /routes/shop.products.tsx

type ProductSearchSortOptions = 'newest' | 'oldest' | 'price'

type ProductSearch = {
	page: number
	filter: string
	sort: ProductSearchSortOptions
}

export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products')({
	validateSearch: (search: Record<string, unknown>): ProductSearch => {
		// validate and parse the search params into a typed state
		return {
			page: Number(search?.page ?? 1),
			filter: (search.filter as string) || '',
			sort: (search.sort as ProductSearchSortOptions) || 'newest',
		}
	},
})

Here's an example using the Zod library (but feel free to use any validation library you want) to both validate and type the search params in a single step:

// /routes/shop.products.tsx

import { z } from 'zod'

const productSearchSchema = z.object({
	page: z.number().catch(1),
	filter: z.string().catch(''),
	sort: z.enum(['newest', 'oldest', 'price']).catch('newest'),
})

type ProductSearch = z.infer<typeof productSearchSchema>

export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products')({
	validateSearch: (search) => productSearchSchema.parse(search),
})

Because validateSearch also accepts an object with the parse property, this can be shortened to:

validateSearch: productSearchSchema

In the above example, we used Zod's .catch() modifier instead of .default() to avoid showing an error to the user because we firmly believe that if a search parameter is malformed, you probably don't want to halt the user's experience through the app to show a big fat error message. That said, there may be times that you do want to show an error message. In that case, you can use .default() instead of .catch().

The underlying mechanics why this works relies on the validateSearch function throwing an error. If an error is thrown, the route's onError option will be triggered (and error.routerCode will be set to VALIDATE_SEARCH and the errorComponent will be rendered instead of the route's component where you can handle the search param error however you'd like.

Adapters

When using a library like Zod to validate search params you might want to transform search params before committing the search params to the URL. A common zod transform is default for example.

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { z } from 'zod'

const productSearchSchema = z.object({
	page: z.number().default(1),
	filter: z.string().default(''),
	sort: z.enum(['newest', 'oldest', 'price']).default('newest'),
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products/')({
	validateSearch: productSearchSchema,
})

It might be surprising that when you try to navigate to this route, search is required. The following Link will type error as search is missing.

<Link to="/shop/products" />

For validation libraries we recommend using adapters which infer the correct input and output types.

Zod

An adapter is provided for Zod which will pipe through the correct input type and output type

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { zodValidator } from '@tanstack/zod-adapter'
import { z } from 'zod'

const productSearchSchema = z.object({
	page: z.number().default(1),
	filter: z.string().default(''),
	sort: z.enum(['newest', 'oldest', 'price']).default('newest'),
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products/')({
	validateSearch: zodValidator(productSearchSchema),
})

The important part here is the following use of Link no longer requires search params

<Link to="/shop/products" />

However the use of catch here overrides the types and makes page, filter and sort unknown causing type loss. We have handled this case by providing a fallback generic function which retains the types but provides a fallback value when validation fails

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { fallback, zodValidator } from '@tanstack/zod-adapter'
import { z } from 'zod'

const productSearchSchema = z.object({
	page: fallback(z.number(), 1).default(1),
	filter: fallback(z.string(), '').default(''),
	sort: fallback(z.enum(['newest', 'oldest', 'price']), 'newest').default(
		'newest',
	),
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products/')({
	validateSearch: zodValidator(productSearchSchema),
})

Therefore when navigating to this route, search is optional and retains the correct types.

While not recommended, it is also possible to configure input and output type in case the output type is more accurate than the input type

const productSearchSchema = z.object({
	page: fallback(z.number(), 1).default(1),
	filter: fallback(z.string(), '').default(''),
	sort: fallback(z.enum(['newest', 'oldest', 'price']), 'newest').default(
		'newest',
	),
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products/')({
	validateSearch: zodValidator({
		schema: productSearchSchema,
		input: 'output',
		output: 'input',
	}),
})

This provides flexibility in which type you want to infer for navigation and which types you want to infer for reading search params.

Valibot

[!WARNING] Router expects the valibot 1.0 package to be installed.

When using Valibot an adapter is not needed to ensure the correct input and output types are used for navigation and reading search params. This is because valibot implements Standard Schema

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import * as v from 'valibot'

const productSearchSchema = v.object({
	page: v.optional(v.fallback(v.number(), 1), 1),
	filter: v.optional(v.fallback(v.string(), ''), ''),
	sort: v.optional(
		v.fallback(v.picklist(['newest', 'oldest', 'price']), 'newest'),
		'newest',
	),
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products/')({
	validateSearch: productSearchSchema,
})

Arktype

[!WARNING] Router expects the arktype 2.0-rc package to be installed.

When using ArkType an adapter is not needed to ensure the correct input and output types are used for navigation and reading search params. This is because ArkType implements Standard Schema

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { type } from 'arktype'

const productSearchSchema = type({
	page: 'number = 1',
	filter: 'string = ""',
	sort: '"newest" | "oldest" | "price" = "newest"',
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products/')({
	validateSearch: productSearchSchema,
})

Effect/Schema

When using Effect/Schema an adapter is not needed to ensure the correct input and output types are used for navigation and reading search params. This is because Effect/Schema implements Standard Schema

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { Schema as S } from 'effect'

const productSearchSchema = S.standardSchemaV1(
	S.Struct({
		page: S.NumberFromString.pipe(
			S.optional,
			S.withDefaults({
				constructor: () => 1,
				decoding: () => 1,
			}),
		),
		filter: S.String.pipe(
			S.optional,
			S.withDefaults({
				constructor: () => '',
				decoding: () => '',
			}),
		),
		sort: S.Literal('newest', 'oldest', 'price').pipe(
			S.optional,
			S.withDefaults({
				constructor: () => 'newest' as const,
				decoding: () => 'newest' as const,
			}),
		),
	}),
)

export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products/')({
	validateSearch: productSearchSchema,
})

Reading Search Params

Once your search params have been validated and typed, you're finally ready to start reading and writing to them. There are a few ways to do this in TanStack Router, so let's check them out.

Using Search Params in Loaders

Please read the Search Params in Loaders section for more information about how to read search params in loaders with the loaderDeps option.

Search Params are inherited from Parent Routes

The search parameters and types of parents are merged as you go down the route tree, so child routes also have access to their parent's search params:

shop.products.tsx

const productSearchSchema = z.object({
	page: z.number().catch(1),
	filter: z.string().catch(''),
	sort: z.enum(['newest', 'oldest', 'price']).catch('newest'),
})

type ProductSearch = z.infer<typeof productSearchSchema>

export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products')({
	validateSearch: productSearchSchema,
})

shop.products.$productId.tsx

export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products/$productId')({
	beforeLoad: ({ search }) => {
		search
		// ^? ProductSearch ✅
	},
})

Search Params in Components

You can access your route's validated search params in your route's component via the useSearch hook.

// /routes/shop.products.tsx

export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products')({
	validateSearch: productSearchSchema,
})

const ProductList = () => {
	const { page, filter, sort } = Route.useSearch()

	return <div>...</div>
}

[!TIP] If your component is code-split, you can use the getRouteApi function to avoid having to import the Route configuration to get access to the typed useSearch() hook.

Search Params outside of Route Components

You can access your route's validated search params anywhere in your app using the useSearch hook. By passing the from id/path of your origin route, you'll get even better type safety:

// /routes/shop.products.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products')({
	validateSearch: productSearchSchema,
	// ...
})

// Somewhere else...

// /components/product-list-sidebar.tsx
const routeApi = getRouteApi('/shop/products')

const ProductList = () => {
	const routeSearch = routeApi.useSearch()

	// OR

	const { page, filter, sort } = useSearch({
		from: Route.fullPath,
	})

	return <div>...</div>
}

Or, you can loosen up the type-safety and get an optional search object by passing strict: false:

function ProductList() {
	const search = useSearch({
		strict: false,
	})
	// {
	//   page: number | undefined
	//   filter: string | undefined
	//   sort: 'newest' | 'oldest' | 'price' | undefined
	// }

	return <div>...</div>
}

Writing Search Params

Now that you've learned how to read your route's search params, you'll be happy to know that you've already seen the primary APIs to modify and update them. Let's remind ourselves a bit

`<Link search />`

The best way to update search params is to use the search prop on the <Link /> component.

If the search for the current page shall be updated and the from prop is specified, the to prop can be omitted.
Here's an example:

// /routes/shop.products.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products')({
	validateSearch: productSearchSchema,
})

const ProductList = () => {
	return (
		<div>
			<Link from={Route.fullPath} search={(prev) => ({ page: prev.page + 1 })}>
				Next Page
			</Link>
		</div>
	)
}

If you want to update the search params in a generic component that is rendered on multiple routes, specifying from can be challenging.

In this scenario you can set to="." which will give you access to loosely typed search params.
Here is an example that illustrates this:

// `page` is a search param that is defined in the __root route and hence available on all routes.
const PageSelector = () => {
	return (
		<div>
			<Link to="." search={(prev) => ({ ...prev, page: prev.page + 1 })}>
				Next Page
			</Link>
		</div>
	)
}

If the generic component is only rendered in a specific subtree of the route tree, you can specify that subtree using from. Here you can omit to='.' if you want.

// `page` is a search param that is defined in the /posts route and hence available on all of its child routes.
const PageSelector = () => {
  return (
    <div>
      <Link
        from="/posts"
        to="."
        search={(prev) => ({ ...prev, page: prev.page + 1 })}
      >
        Next Page
      </Link>
    </div>
  )

`useNavigate(), navigate({ search })`

The navigate function also accepts a search option that works the same way as the search prop on <Link />:

// /routes/shop.products.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/shop/products/$productId')({
	validateSearch: productSearchSchema,
})

const ProductList = () => {
	const navigate = useNavigate({ from: Route.fullPath })

	return (
		<div>
			<button
				onClick={() => {
					navigate({
						search: (prev) => ({ page: prev.page + 1 }),
					})
				}}
			>
				Next Page
			</button>
		</div>
	)
}

`router.navigate({ search })`

The router.navigate function works exactly the same way as the useNavigate/navigate hook/function above.

`<Navigate search />`

The <Navigate search /> component works exactly the same way as the useNavigate/navigate hook/function above, but accepts its options as props instead of a function argument.

Transforming search with search middlewares

When link hrefs are built, by default the only thing that matters for the query string part is the search property of a <Link>.

TanStack Router provides a way to manipulate search params before the href is generated via search middlewares. Search middlewares are functions that transform the search parameters when generating new links for a route or its descendants. They are also executed upon navigation after search validation to allow manipulation of the query string.

The following example shows how to make sure that for every link that is being built, the rootValue search param is added if it is part of the current search params. If a link specifies rootValue inside search, then that value is used for building the link.

import { z } from 'zod'
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { zodValidator } from '@tanstack/zod-adapter'

const searchSchema = z.object({
	rootValue: z.string().optional(),
})

export const Route = createRootRoute({
	validateSearch: zodValidator(searchSchema),
	search: {
		middlewares: [
			({ search, next }) => {
				const result = next(search)
				return {
					rootValue: search.rootValue,
					...result,
				}
			},
		],
	},
})

Since this specific use case is quite common, TanStack Router provides a generic implementation to retain search params via retainSearchParams:

import { z } from 'zod'
import { createFileRoute, retainSearchParams } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { zodValidator } from '@tanstack/zod-adapter'

const searchSchema = z.object({
	rootValue: z.string().optional(),
})

export const Route = createRootRoute({
	validateSearch: zodValidator(searchSchema),
	search: {
		middlewares: [retainSearchParams(['rootValue'])],
	},
})

Another common use case is to strip out search params from links if their default value is set. TanStack Router provides a generic implementation for this use case via stripSearchParams:

import { z } from 'zod'
import { createFileRoute, stripSearchParams } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { zodValidator } from '@tanstack/zod-adapter'

const defaultValues = {
	one: 'abc',
	two: 'xyz',
}

const searchSchema = z.object({
	one: z.string().default(defaultValues.one),
	two: z.string().default(defaultValues.two),
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/hello')({
	validateSearch: zodValidator(searchSchema),
	search: {
		// strip default values
		middlewares: [stripSearchParams(defaultValues)],
	},
})

Multiple middlewares can be chained. The following example shows how to combine both retainSearchParams and stripSearchParams.

import {
	Link,
	createFileRoute,
	retainSearchParams,
	stripSearchParams,
} from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { z } from 'zod'
import { zodValidator } from '@tanstack/zod-adapter'

const defaultValues = ['foo', 'bar']

export const Route = createFileRoute('/search')({
	validateSearch: zodValidator(
		z.object({
			retainMe: z.string().optional(),
			arrayWithDefaults: z.string().array().default(defaultValues),
			required: z.string(),
		}),
	),
	search: {
		middlewares: [
			retainSearchParams(['retainMe']),
			stripSearchParams({ arrayWithDefaults: defaultValues }),
		],
	},
})

SSR

[!WARNING] While every effort has been made to separate these APIs from changes to Tanstack Start, there are underlying shared implementations internally. Therefore these can be subject to change and should be regarded as experimental until Start reaches stable status.

Server Side Rendering (SSR) is the process of rendering a component on the server and sending the HTML markup to the client. The client then hydrates the markup into a fully interactive component.

There are usually two different flavors of SSR to be considered:

Non-streaming SSR
- The entire page is rendered on the server and sent to the client in one single HTML request, including the serialized data the application needs to hydrate on the client.
Streaming SSR
- The critical first paint of the page is rendered on the server and sent to the client in one single HTML request, including the serialized data the application needs to hydrate on the client
- The rest of the page is then streamed to the client as it is rendered on the server.

This guide will explain how to implement both flavors of SSR with TanStack Router!

Non-Streaming SSR

Non-Streaming server-side rendering is the classic process of rendering the markup for your entire application page on the server and sending the completed HTML markup (and data) to the client. The client then hydrates the markup into a fully interactive application again.

To implement non-streaming SSR with TanStack Router, you will need the following utilities:

RouterClient from @tanstack/react-router
- e.g. <RouterClient router={router} />
- Rendering this component in your client entry will render your application and also automatically implement the Wrap component option on Router
And, either:
- defaultRenderHandler from @tanstack/react-router
  - This will render your application in your server entry and also automatically handle application-level hydration/dehydration and also automatically implement the RouterServer component. or:
- renderRouterToString from @tanstack/react-router
  - This differs from defaultRenderHandler in that it allows you to manually specify the Wrap component option on Router together with any other providers you may need to wrap it with.
- RouterServer from @tanstack/react-router
  - This implements the Wrap component option on Router

Automatic Server History

On the client, Router defaults to using an instance of createBrowserHistory, which is the preferred type of history to use on the client. On the server, however, you will want to use an instance of createMemoryHistory instead. This is because createBrowserHistory uses the window object, which does not exist on the server. This is handled automatically for you in the RouterServer component.

Automatic Loader Dehydration/Hydration

Resolved loader data fetched by routes is automatically dehydrated and rehydrated by TanStack Router so long as you complete the standard SSR steps outlined in this guide.

⚠️ If you are using deferred data streaming, you will also need to ensure that you have implemented the SSR Streaming & Stream Transform pattern near the end of this guide.

For more information on how to utilize data loading, see the Data Loading guide.

Router Creation

Since your router will exist both on the server and the client, it's important that you create your router in a way that is consistent between both of these environments. The easiest way to do this is to expose a createRouter function in a shared file that can be imported and called by both your server and client entry files.

// src/router.tsx
import { createRouter as createTanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen'

export function createRouter() {
	return createTanstackRouter({ routeTree })
}

declare module '@tanstack/react-router' {
	interface Register {
		router: ReturnType<typeof createRouter>
	}
}

Rendering the Application on the Server

Now that you have a router instance that has loaded all the critical data for the current URL, you can render your application on the server:

using defaultRenderHandler

// src/entry-server.tsx
import {
	createRequestHandler,
	defaultRenderToString,
} from '@tanstack/react-router/ssr/server'
import { createRouter } from './router'

export async function render({ request }: { request: Request }) {
	const handler = createRequestHandler({ request, createRouter })

	return await handler(defaultRenderHandler)
}

using renderRouterToString

// src/entry-server.tsx
import {
	createRequestHandler,
	renderRouterToString,
	RouterServer,
} from '@tanstack/react-router/ssr/server'
import { createRouter } from './router'

export function render({ request }: { request: Request }) {
	const handler = createRequestHandler({ request, createRouter })

	return handler(({ request, responseHeaders, router }) =>
		renderRouterToString({
			request,
			responseHeaders,
			router,
			children: <RouterServer router={router} />,
		}),
	)
}

NOTE: The createRequestHandler method requires a web api standard Request object, while the handler method will return a web api standard Response promise.

Should you be using a server framework like Express that uses its own Request and Response objects you would need to convert from the one to the other. Please have a look at the examples for how such an implementation might look like.

Rendering the Application on the Client

On the client, things are much simpler.

Create your router instance
Render your application using the <RouterClient /> component

// src/entry-client.tsx
import { hydrateRoot } from 'react-dom/client'
import { RouterClient } from '@tanstack/react-router/ssr/client'
import { createRouter } from './router'

const router = createRouter()

hydrateRoot(document, <RouterClient router={router} />)

With this setup, your application will be rendered on the server and then hydrated on the client!

Streaming SSR

Streaming SSR is the most modern flavor of SSR and is the process of continuously and incrementally sending HTML markup to the client as it is rendered on the server. This is slightly different from traditional SSR in concept because beyond being able to dehydrate and rehydrate a critical first paint, markup and data with lower priority or slower response times can be streamed to the client after the initial render, but in the same request.

This pattern can be useful for pages that have slow or high-latency data fetching requirements. For example, if you have a page that needs to fetch data from a third-party API, you can stream the critical initial markup and data to the client and then stream the less-critical third-party data to the client as it is resolved.

[!NOTE] This streaming pattern is all automatic as long as you are using either defaultStreamHandler or renderRouterToStream.

using defaultStreamHandler

// src/entry-server.tsx
import {
	createRequestHandler,
	defaultStreamHandler,
} from '@tanstack/react-router/ssr/server'
import { createRouter } from './router'

export async function render({ request }: { request: Request }) {
	const handler = createRequestHandler({ request, createRouter })

	return await handler(defaultStreamHandler)
}

using renderRouterToStream

// src/entry-server.tsx
import {
	createRequestHandler,
	renderRouterToStream,
	RouterServer,
} from '@tanstack/react-router/ssr/server'
import { createRouter } from './router'

export function render({ request }: { request: Request }) {
	const handler = createRequestHandler({ request, createRouter })

	return handler(({ request, responseHeaders, router }) =>
		renderRouterToStream({
			request,
			responseHeaders,
			router,
			children: <RouterServer router={router} />,
		}),
	)
}

Streaming Dehydration/Hydration

Streaming dehydration/hydration is an advanced pattern that goes beyond markup and allows you to dehydrate and stream any supporting data from the server to the client and rehydrate it on arrival. This is useful for applications that may need to further use/manage the underlying data that was used to render the initial markup on the server.

Data Serialization

When using SSR, data passed between the server and the client must be serialized before it is sent across network-boundaries. TanStack Router handles this serialization using a very lightweight serializer that supports common data types beyond JSON.stringify/JSON.parse.

Out of the box, the following types are supported:

undefined
Date
Error
FormData

If you feel that there are other types that should be supported by default, please open an issue on the TanStack Router repository.

If you are using more complex data types like Map, Set, BigInt, etc, you may need to use a custom serializer to ensure that your type-definitions are accurate and your data is correctly serialized and deserialized. We are currently working on both a more robust serializer and a way to customize the serializer for your application. Open an issue if you are interested in helping out!

Static Route Data

When creating routes, you can optionally specify a staticData property in the route's options. This object can literally contain anything you want as long as it's synchronously available when you create your route.

In addition to being able to access this data from the route itself, you can also access it from any match under the match.staticData property.

Example

posts.tsx

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	staticData: {
		customData: 'Hello!',
	},
})

You can then access this data anywhere you have access to your routes, including matches that can be mapped back to their routes.

__root.tsx

import { createRootRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createRootRoute({
	component: () => {
		const matches = useMatches()

		return (
			<div>
				{matches.map((match) => {
					return <div key={match.id}>{match.staticData.customData}</div>
				})}
			</div>
		)
	},
})

Enforcing Static Data

If you want to enforce that a route has static data, you can use declaration merging to add a type to the route's static option:

declare module '@tanstack/react-router' {
	interface StaticDataRouteOption {
		customData: string
	}
}

Now, if you try to create a route without the customData property, you'll get a type error:

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	staticData: {
		// Property 'customData' is missing in type '{ customData: number; }' but required in type 'StaticDataRouteOption'.ts(2741)
	},
})

Optional Static Data

If you want to make static data optional, simply add a ? to the property:

declare module '@tanstack/react-router' {
	interface StaticDataRouteOption {
		customData?: string
	}
}

As long as there are any required properties on the StaticDataRouteOption, you'll be required to pass in an object.

Type Safety

TanStack Router is built to be as type-safe as possible within the limits of the TypeScript compiler and runtime. This means that it's not only written in TypeScript, but that it also fully infers the types it's provided and tenaciously pipes them through the entire routing experience.

Ultimately, this means that you write less types as a developer and have more confidence in your code as it evolves.

Route Definitions

File-based Routing

Routes are hierarchical, and so are their definitions. If you're using file-based routing, much of the type-safety is already taken care of for you.

Code-based Routing

If you're using the Route class directly, you'll need to be aware of how to ensure your routes are typed properly using the Route's getParentRoute option. This is because child routes need to be aware of all of their parent routes types. Without this, those precious search params you parsed out of your layout and pathless layout routes, 3 levels up, would be lost to the JS void.

So, don't forget to pass the parent route to your child routes!

const parentRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => parentRoute,
})

Exported Hooks, Components, and Utilities

For the types of your router to work with top-level exports like Link, useNavigate, useParams, etc. they must permeate the TypeScript module boundary and be registered right into the library. To do this, we use declaration merging on the exported Register interface.

const router = createRouter({
	// ...
})

declare module '@tanstack/react-router' {
	interface Register {
		router: typeof router
	}
}

By registering your router with the module, you can now use the exported hooks, components, and utilities with your router's exact types.

Fixing the Component Context Problem

Component context is a wonderful tool in React and other frameworks for providing dependencies to components. However, if that context is changing types as it moves throughout your component hierarchy, it becomes impossible for TypeScript to know how to infer those changes. To get around this, context-based hooks and components require that you give them a hint on how and where they are being used.

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	component: PostsComponent,
})

function PostsComponent() {
	// Each route has type-safe versions of most of the built-in hooks from TanStack Router
	const params = Route.useParams()
	const search = Route.useSearch()

	// Some hooks require context from the *entire* router, not just the current route. To achieve type-safety here,
	// we must pass the `from` param to tell the hook our relative position in the route hierarchy.
	const navigate = useNavigate({ from: Route.fullPath })
	// ... etc
}

Every hook and component that requires a context hint will have a from param where you can pass the ID or path of the route you are rendering within.

🧠 Quick tip: If your component is code-split, you can use the getRouteApi function to avoid having to pass in the Route.fullPath to get access to the typed useParams() and useSearch() hooks.

What if I don't know the route? What if it's a shared component?

The from property is optional, which means if you don't pass it, you'll get the router's best guess on what types will be available. Usually, that means you'll get a union of all of the types of all of the routes in the router.

What if I pass the wrong `from` path?

It's technically possible to pass a from that satisfies TypeScript, but may not match the actual route you are rendering within at runtime. In this case, each hook and component that supports from will detect if your expectations don't match the actual route you are rendering within, and will throw a runtime error.

What if I don't know the route, or it's a shared component, and I can't pass `from`?

If you are rendering a component that is shared across multiple routes, or you are rendering a component that is not within a route, you can pass strict: false instead of a from option. This will not only silence the runtime error, but will also give you relaxed, but accurate types for the potential hook you are calling. A good example of this is calling useSearch from a shared component:

function MyComponent() {
	const search = useSearch({ strict: false })
}

In this case, the search variable will be typed as a union of all possible search params from all routes in the router.

Router Context

Router context is so extremely useful as it's the ultimate hierarchical dependency injection. You can supply context to the router and to each and every route it renders. As you build up this context, TanStack Router will merge it down with the hierarchy of routes, so that each route has access to the context of all of its parents.

The createRootRouteWithContext factory creates a new router with the instantiated type, which then creates a requirement for you to fulfill the same type contract to your router, and will also ensure that your context is properly typed throughout the entire route tree.

const rootRoute = createRootRouteWithContext<{ whateverYouWant: true }>()({
	component: App,
})

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([
	// ... all child routes will have access to `whateverYouWant` in their context
])

const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
	context: {
		// This will be required to be passed now
		whateverYouWant: true,
	},
})

Performance Recommendations

As your application scales, TypeScript check times will naturally increase. There are a few things to keep in mind when your application scales to keep your TS check times down.

Only infer types you need

A great pattern with client side data caches (TanStack Query, etc.) is to prefetch data. For example with TanStack Query you might have a route which calls queryClient.ensureQueryData in a loader.

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId/deep')({
	loader: ({ context: { queryClient }, params: { postId } }) =>
		queryClient.ensureQueryData(postQueryOptions(postId)),
	component: PostDeepComponent,
})

function PostDeepComponent() {
	const params = Route.useParams()
	const data = useSuspenseQuery(postQueryOptions(params.postId))

	return <></>
}

This may look fine and for small route trees and you may not notice any TS performance issues. However in this case TS has to infer the loader's return type, despite it never being used in your route. If the loader data is a complex type with many routes that prefetch in this manner, it can slow down editor performance. In this case, the change is quite simple and let typescript infer Promise.

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId/deep')({
	loader: async ({ context: { queryClient }, params: { postId } }) => {
		await queryClient.ensureQueryData(postQueryOptions(postId))
	},
	component: PostDeepComponent,
})

function PostDeepComponent() {
	const params = Route.useParams()
	const data = useSuspenseQuery(postQueryOptions(params.postId))

	return <></>
}

This way the loader data is never inferred and it moves the inference out of the route tree to the first time you use useSuspenseQuery.

Narrow to relevant routes as much as you possibly can

Consider the following usage of Link

<Link to=".." search={{ page: 0 }} />
<Link to="." search={{ page: 0 }} />

These examples are bad for TS performance. That's because search resolves to a union of all search params for all routes and TS has to check whatever you pass to the search prop against this potentially big union. As your application grows, this check time will increase linearly to number of routes and search params. We have done our best to optimize for this case (TypeScript will typically do this work once and cache it) but the initial check against this large union is expensive. This also applies to params and other API's such as useSearch, useParams, useNavigate etc.

Instead you should try to narrow to relevant routes with from or to.

<Link from={Route.fullPath} to=".." search={{page: 0}} />
<Link from="/posts" to=".." search={{page: 0}} />

Remember you can always pass a union to to or from to narrow the routes you're interested in.

const from: '/posts/$postId/deep' | '/posts/' = '/posts/'
<Link from={from} to='..' />

You can also pass branches to from to only resolve search or params to be from any descendants of that branch:

const from = '/posts'
<Link from={from} to='..' />

/posts could be a branch with many descendants which share the same search or params

Consider using the object syntax of `addChildren`

It's typical of routes to have params search, loaders or context that can even reference external dependencies which are also heavy on TS inference. For such applications, using objects for creating the route tree can be more performant than tuples.

createChildren also can accept an object. For large route trees with complex routes and external libraries, objects can be much faster for TS to type check as opposed to large tuples. The performance gains depend on your project, what external dependencies you have and how the types for those libraries are written

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren({
	postsRoute: postsRoute.addChildren({ postRoute, postsIndexRoute }),
	indexRoute,
})

Note this syntax is more verbose but has better TS performance. With file based routing, the route tree is generated for you so a verbose route tree is not a concern

Avoid internal types without narrowing

It's common you might want to re-use types exposed. For example you might be tempted to use LinkProps like so

const props: LinkProps = {
  to: '/posts/',
}

return (
  <Link {...props}>
)

This is VERY bad for TS Performance. The problem here is LinkProps has no type arguments and is therefore an extremely large type. It includes search which is a union of all search params, it contains params which is a union of all params. When merging this object with Link it will do a structural comparison of this huge type.

Instead you can use as const satisfies to infer a precise type and not LinkProps directly to avoid the huge check

const props = {
  to: '/posts/',
} as const satisfies LinkProps

return (
  <Link {...props}>
)

As props is not of type LinkProps and therefore this check is cheaper because the type is much more precise. You can also improve type checking further by narrowing LinkProps

const props = {
  to: '/posts/',
} as const satisfies LinkProps<RegisteredRouter, string '/posts/'>

return (
  <Link {...props}>
)

This is even faster as we're checking against the narrowed LinkProps type.

You can also use this to narrow the type of LinkProps to a specific type to be used as a prop or parameter to a function

export const myLinkProps = [
	{
		to: '/posts',
	},
	{
		to: '/posts/$postId',
		params: { postId: 'postId' },
	},
] as const satisfies ReadonlyArray<LinkProps>

export type MyLinkProps = (typeof myLinkProps)[number]

const MyComponent = (props: { linkProps: MyLinkProps }) => {
	return <Link {...props.linkProps} />
}

This is faster than using LinkProps directly in a component because MyLinkProps is a much more precise type

Another solution is not to use LinkProps and to provide inversion of control to render a Link component narrowed to a specific route. Render props are a good method of inverting control to the user of a component

export interface MyComponentProps {
	readonly renderLink: () => React.ReactNode
}

const MyComponent = (props: MyComponentProps) => {
	return <div>{props.renderLink()}</div>
}

const Page = () => {
	return <MyComponent renderLink={() => <Link to="/absolute" />} />
}

This particular example is very fast as we've inverted control of where we're navigating to the user of the component. The Link is narrowed to the exact route we want to navigate to

Type Utilities

Most types exposed by TanStack Router are internal, subject to breaking changes and not always easy to use. That is why TanStack Router has a subset of exposed types focused on ease of use with the intension to be used externally. These types provide the same type safe experience from TanStack Router's runtime concepts on the type level, with flexibility of where to provide type checking

Type checking Link options with `ValidateLinkOptions`

ValidateLinkOptions type checks object literal types to ensure they conform to Link options at inference sites. For example, you may have a generic HeadingLink component which accepts a title prop along with linkOptions, the idea being this component can be re-used for any navigation.

export interface HeaderLinkProps<
	TRouter extends RegisteredRouter = RegisteredRouter,
	TOptions = unknown,
> {
	title: string
	linkOptions: ValidateLinkOptions<TRouter, TOptions>
}

export function HeadingLink<TRouter extends RegisteredRouter, TOptions>(
	props: HeaderLinkProps<TRouter, TOptions>,
): React.ReactNode
export function HeadingLink(props: HeaderLinkProps): React.ReactNode {
	return (
		<>
			<h1>{props.title}</h1>
			<Link {...props.linkOptions} />
		</>
	)
}

A more permissive overload of HeadingLink is used to avoid type assertions you would otherwise have to do with the generic signature. Using a looser signature without type parameters is an easy way to avoid type assertions in the implementation of HeadingLink

All type parameters for utilities are optional but for the best TypeScript performance TRouter should always be specified for the public facing signature. And TOptions should always be used at inference sites like HeadingLink to infer the linkOptions to correctly narrow params and search

The result of this is that linkOptions in the following is completely type-safe

<HeadingLink title="Posts" linkOptions={{ to: '/posts' }} />
<HeadingLink title="Post" linkOptions={{ to: '/posts/$postId', params: {postId: 'postId'} }} />

Type checking an array of Link options with `ValidateLinkOptionsArray`

All navigation type utilities have an array variant. ValidateLinkOptionsArray enables type checking of an array of Link options. For example, you might have a generic Menu component where each item is a Link.

export interface MenuProps<
	TRouter extends RegisteredRouter = RegisteredRouter,
	TItems extends ReadonlyArray<unknown> = ReadonlyArray<unknown>,
> {
	items: ValidateLinkOptionsArray<TRouter, TItems>
}

export function Menu<
	TRouter extends RegisteredRouter = RegisteredRouter,
	TItems extends ReadonlyArray<unknown>,
>(props: MenuProps<TRouter, TItems>): React.ReactNode
export function Menu(props: MenuProps): React.ReactNode {
	return (
		<ul>
			{props.items.map((item) => (
				<li>
					<Link {...item} />
				</li>
			))}
		</ul>
	)
}

This of course allows the following items prop to be completely type-safe

<Menu
	items={[
		{ to: '/posts' },
		{ to: '/posts/$postId', params: { postId: 'postId' } },
	]}
/>

It is also possible to fix from for each Link options in the array. This would allow all Menu items to navigate relative to from. Additional type checking of from can be provided by the ValidateFromPath utility

export interface MenuProps<
	TRouter extends RegisteredRouter = RegisteredRouter,
	TItems extends ReadonlyArray<unknown> = ReadonlyArray<unknown>,
	TFrom extends string = string,
> {
	from: ValidateFromPath<TRouter, TFrom>
	items: ValidateLinkOptionsArray<TRouter, TItems, TFrom>
}

export function Menu<
	TRouter extends RegisteredRouter = RegisteredRouter,
	TItems extends ReadonlyArray<unknown>,
	TFrom extends string = string,
>(props: MenuProps<TRouter, TItems, TFrom>): React.ReactNode
export function Menu(props: MenuProps): React.ReactNode {
	return (
		<ul>
			{props.items.map((item) => (
				<li>
					<Link {...item} from={props.from} />
				</li>
			))}
		</ul>
	)
}

ValidateLinkOptionsArray allows you to fix from by providing an extra type parameter. The result is a type safe array of Link options providing navigation relative to from

<Menu
	from="/posts"
	items={[{ to: '.' }, { to: './$postId', params: { postId: 'postId' } }]}
/>

Type checking redirect options with `ValidateRedirectOptions`

ValidateRedirectOptions type checks object literal types to ensure they conform to redirect options at inference sites. For example, you may need a generic fetchOrRedirect function which accepts a url along with redirectOptions, the idea being this function will redirect when the fetch fails.

export async function fetchOrRedirect<
	TRouter extends RegisteredRouter = RegisteredRouter,
	TOptions,
>(
	url: string,
	redirectOptions: ValidateRedirectOptions<TRouter, TOptions>,
): Promise<unknown>
export async function fetchOrRedirect(
	url: string,
	redirectOptions: ValidateRedirectOptions,
): Promise<unknown> {
	const response = await fetch(url)

	if (!response.ok && response.status === 401) {
		throw redirect(redirectOptions)
	}

	return await response.json()
}

The result is that redirectOptions passed to fetchOrRedirect is completely type-safe

fetchOrRedirect('http://example.com/', { to: '/login' })

Type checking navigate options with `ValidateNavigateOptions`

ValidateNavigateOptions type checks object literal types to ensure they conform to navigate options at inference sites. For example, you may want to write a custom hook to enable/disable navigation.

export interface UseConditionalNavigateResult {
	enable: () => void
	disable: () => void
	navigate: () => void
}

export function useConditionalNavigate<
	TRouter extends RegisteredRouter = RegisteredRouter,
	TOptions,
>(
	navigateOptions: ValidateNavigateOptions<TRouter, TOptions>,
): UseConditionalNavigateResult
export function useConditionalNavigate(
	navigateOptions: ValidateNavigateOptions,
): UseConditionalNavigateResult {
	const [enabled, setEnabled] = useState(false)
	const navigate = useNavigate()
	return {
		enable: () => setEnabled(true),
		disable: () => setEnabled(false),
		navigate: () => {
			if (enabled) {
				navigate(navigateOptions)
			}
		},
	}
}

The result of this is that navigateOptions passed to useConditionalNavigate is completely type-safe and we can enable/disable navigation based on react state

const { enable, disable, navigate } = useConditionalNavigate({
	to: '/posts/$postId',
	params: { postId: 'postId' },
})

</@tanstack/react-router_guide>

<@tanstack/react-router_routing> Always Apply: false - This rule should only be applied when relevant files are open Always apply this rule in these files: src//*.ts, src//*.tsx

Code-Based Routing

[!TIP] Code-based routing is not recommended for most applications. It is recommended to use File-Based Routing instead.

⚠️ Before You Start

If you're using File-Based Routing, skip this guide.
If you still insist on using code-based routing, you must read the Routing Concepts guide first, as it also covers core concepts of the router.

Route Trees

Code-based routing is no different from file-based routing in that it uses the same route tree concept to organize, match and compose matching routes into a component tree. The only difference is that instead of using the filesystem to organize your routes, you use code.

Let's consider the same route tree from the Route Trees & Nesting guide, and convert it to code-based routing:

Here is the file-based version:

routes/
├── __root.tsx
├── index.tsx
├── about.tsx
├── posts/
│   ├── index.tsx
│   ├── $postId.tsx
├── posts.$postId.edit.tsx
├── settings/
│   ├── profile.tsx
│   ├── notifications.tsx
├── _pathlessLayout.tsx
├── _pathlessLayout/
│   ├── route-a.tsx
├── ├── route-b.tsx
├── files/
│   ├── $.tsx

And here is a summarized code-based version:

import { createRootRoute, createRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const rootRoute = createRootRoute()

const indexRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: '/',
})

const aboutRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: 'about',
})

const postsRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: 'posts',
})

const postsIndexRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => postsRoute,
	path: '/',
})

const postRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => postsRoute,
	path: '$postId',
})

const postEditorRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: 'posts/$postId/edit',
})

const settingsRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: 'settings',
})

const profileRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => settingsRoute,
	path: 'profile',
})

const notificationsRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => settingsRoute,
	path: 'notifications',
})

const pathlessLayoutRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	id: 'pathlessLayout',
})

const pathlessLayoutARoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => pathlessLayoutRoute,
	path: 'route-a',
})

const pathlessLayoutBRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => pathlessLayoutRoute,
	path: 'route-b',
})

const filesRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: 'files/$',
})

Anatomy of a Route

All other routes other than the root route are configured using the createRoute function:

const route = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: '/posts',
	component: PostsComponent,
})

The getParentRoute option is a function that returns the parent route of the route you're creating.

❓❓❓ "Wait, you're making me pass the parent route for every route I make?"

Absolutely! The reason for passing the parent route has everything to do with the magical type safety of TanStack Router. Without the parent route, TypeScript would have no idea what types to supply your route with!

[!IMPORTANT] For every route that's NOT the Root Route or a Pathless Layout Route, a path option is required. This is the path that will be matched against the URL pathname to determine if the route is a match.

When configuring route path option on a route, it ignores leading and trailing slashes (this does not include "index" route paths /). You can include them if you want, but they will be normalized internally by TanStack Router. Here is a table of valid paths and what they will be normalized to:

Path	Normalized Path
`/`	`/`
`/about`	`about`
`about/`	`about`
`about`	`about`
`$`	`$`
`/$`	`$`
`/$/`	`$`

Manually building the route tree

When building a route tree in code, it's not enough to define the parent route of each route. You must also construct the final route tree by adding each route to its parent route's children array. This is because the route tree is not built automatically for you like it is in file-based routing.

/* prettier-ignore */
const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([
  indexRoute,
  aboutRoute,
  postsRoute.addChildren([
    postsIndexRoute,
    postRoute,
  ]),
  postEditorRoute,
  settingsRoute.addChildren([
    profileRoute,
    notificationsRoute,
  ]),
  pathlessLayoutRoute.addChildren([
    pathlessLayoutARoute,
    pathlessLayoutBRoute,
  ]),
  filesRoute.addChildren([
    fileRoute,
  ]),
])
/* prettier-ignore-end */

But before you can go ahead and build the route tree, you need to understand how the Routing Concepts for Code-Based Routing work.

Routing Concepts for Code-Based Routing

Believe it or not, file-based routing is really a superset of code-based routing and uses the filesystem and a bit of code-generation abstraction on top of it to generate this structure you see above automatically.

We're going to assume you've read the Routing Concepts guide and are familiar with each of these main concepts:

The Root Route
Basic Routes
Index Routes
Dynamic Route Segments
Splat / Catch-All Routes
Layout Routes
Pathless Routes
Non-Nested Routes

Now, let's take a look at how to create each of these route types in code.

The Root Route

Creating a root route in code-based routing is thankfully the same as doing so in file-based routing. Call the createRootRoute() function.

Unlike file-based routing however, you do not need to export the root route if you don't want to. It's certainly not recommended to build an entire route tree and application in a single file (although you can and we do this in the examples to demonstrate routing concepts in brevity).

// Standard root route
import { createRootRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const rootRoute = createRootRoute()

// Root route with Context
import { createRootRouteWithContext } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import type { QueryClient } from '@tanstack/react-query'

export interface MyRouterContext {
	queryClient: QueryClient
}
const rootRoute = createRootRouteWithContext<MyRouterContext>()

To learn more about Context in TanStack Router, see the Router Context guide.

Basic Routes

To create a basic route, simply provide a normal path string to the createRoute function:

const aboutRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: 'about',
})

See, it's that simple! The aboutRoute will match the URL /about.

Index Routes

Unlike file-based routing, which uses the index filename to denote an index route, code-based routing uses a single slash / to denote an index route. For example, the posts.index.tsx file from our example route tree above would be represented in code-based routing like this:

const postsRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: 'posts',
})

const postsIndexRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => postsRoute,
	// Notice the single slash `/` here
	path: '/',
})

So, the postsIndexRoute will match the URL /posts/ (or /posts).

Dynamic Route Segments

Dynamic route segments work exactly the same in code-based routing as they do in file-based routing. Simply prefix a segment of the path with a $ and it will be captured into the params object of the route's loader or component:

const postIdRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => postsRoute,
	path: '$postId',
	// In a loader
	loader: ({ params }) => fetchPost(params.postId),
	// Or in a component
	component: PostComponent,
})

function PostComponent() {
	const { postId } = postIdRoute.useParams()
	return <div>Post ID: {postId}</div>
}

[!TIP] If your component is code-split, you can use the getRouteApi function to avoid having to import the postIdRoute configuration to get access to the typed useParams() hook.

Splat / Catch-All Routes

As expected, splat/catch-all routes also work the same in code-based routing as they do in file-based routing. Simply prefix a segment of the path with a $ and it will be captured into the params object under the _splat key:

const filesRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: 'files',
})

const fileRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => filesRoute,
	path: '$',
})

For the URL /documents/hello-world, the params object will look like this:

{
  '_splat': 'documents/hello-world'
}

Layout Routes

Layout routes are routes that wrap their children in a layout component. In code-based routing, you can create a layout route by simply nesting a route under another route:

const postsRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: 'posts',
	component: PostsLayoutComponent, // The layout component
})

function PostsLayoutComponent() {
	return (
		<div>
			<h1>Posts</h1>
			<Outlet />
		</div>
	)
}

const postsIndexRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => postsRoute,
	path: '/',
})

const postsCreateRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => postsRoute,
	path: 'create',
})

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([
	// The postsRoute is the layout route
	// Its children will be nested under the PostsLayoutComponent
	postsRoute.addChildren([postsIndexRoute, postsCreateRoute]),
])

Now, both the postsIndexRoute and postsCreateRoute will render their contents inside of the PostsLayoutComponent:

// URL: /posts
<PostsLayoutComponent>
  <PostsIndexComponent />
</PostsLayoutComponent>

// URL: /posts/create
<PostsLayoutComponent>
  <PostsCreateComponent />
</PostsLayoutComponent>

Pathless Layout Routes

In file-based routing a pathless layout route is prefixed with a _, but in code-based routing, this is simply a route with an id instead of a path option. This is because code-based routing does not use the filesystem to organize routes, so there is no need to prefix a route with a _ to denote that it has no path.

const pathlessLayoutRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	id: 'pathlessLayout',
	component: PathlessLayoutComponent,
})

function PathlessLayoutComponent() {
	return (
		<div>
			<h1>Pathless Layout</h1>
			<Outlet />
		</div>
	)
}

const pathlessLayoutARoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => pathlessLayoutRoute,
	path: 'route-a',
})

const pathlessLayoutBRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => pathlessLayoutRoute,
	path: 'route-b',
})

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([
	// The pathless layout route has no path, only an id
	// So its children will be nested under the pathless layout route
	pathlessLayoutRoute.addChildren([pathlessLayoutARoute, pathlessLayoutBRoute]),
])

Now both /route-a and /route-b will render their contents inside of the PathlessLayoutComponent:

// URL: /route-a
<PathlessLayoutComponent>
  <RouteAComponent />
</PathlessLayoutComponent>

// URL: /route-b
<PathlessLayoutComponent>
  <RouteBComponent />
</PathlessLayoutComponent>

Non-Nested Routes

Building non-nested routes in code-based routing does not require using a trailing _ in the path, but does require you to build your route and route tree with the right paths and nesting. Let's consider the route tree where we want the post editor to not be nested under the posts route:

/posts_/$postId/edit
/posts
- $postId

To do this we need to build a separate route for the post editor and include the entire path in the path option from the root of where we want the route to be nested (in this case, the root):

// The posts editor route is nested under the root route
const postEditorRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	// The path includes the entire path we need to match
	path: 'posts/$postId/edit',
})

const postsRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: 'posts',
})

const postRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => postsRoute,
	path: '$postId',
})

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([
	// The post editor route is nested under the root route
	postEditorRoute,
	postsRoute.addChildren([postRoute]),
])

File-Based Routing

Most of the TanStack Router documentation is written for file-based routing and is intended to help you understand in more detail how to configure file-based routing and the technical details behind how it works. While file-based routing is the preferred and recommended way to configure TanStack Router, you can also use code-based routing if you prefer.

What is File-Based Routing?

File-based routing is a way to configure your routes using the filesystem. Instead of defining your route structure via code, you can define your routes using a series of files and directories that represent the route hierarchy of your application. This brings a number of benefits:

Simplicity: File-based routing is visually intuitive and easy to understand for both new and experienced developers.
Organization: Routes are organized in a way that mirrors the URL structure of your application.
Scalability: As your application grows, file-based routing makes it easy to add new routes and maintain existing ones.
Code-Splitting: File-based routing allows TanStack Router to automatically code-split your routes for better performance.
Type-Safety: File-based routing raises the ceiling on type-safety by generating managing type linkages for your routes, which can otherwise be a tedious process via code-based routing.
Consistency: File-based routing enforces a consistent structure for your routes, making it easier to maintain and update your application and move from one project to another.

`/`s or `.`s?

While directories have long been used to represent route hierarchy, file-based routing introduces an additional concept of using the . character in the file-name to denote a route nesting. This allows you to avoid creating directories for few deeply nested routes and continue to use directories for wider route hierarchies. Let's take a look at some examples!

Directory Routes

Directories can be used to denote route hierarchy, which can be useful for organizing multiple routes into logical groups and also cutting down on the filename length for large groups of deeply nested routes.

See the example below:

Filename	Route Path	Component Output
ʦ `__root.tsx`		`<Root>`
ʦ `index.tsx`	`/` (exact)	`<Root><RootIndex>`
ʦ `about.tsx`	`/about`	`<Root><About>`
ʦ `posts.tsx`	`/posts`	`<Root><Posts>`
📂 `posts`
┄ ʦ `index.tsx`	`/posts` (exact)	`<Root><Posts><PostsIndex>`
┄ ʦ `$postId.tsx`	`/posts/$postId`	`<Root><Posts><Post>`
📂 `posts_`
┄ 📂 `$postId`
┄ ┄ ʦ `edit.tsx`	`/posts/$postId/edit`	`<Root><EditPost>`
ʦ `settings.tsx`	`/settings`	`<Root><Settings>`
📂 `settings`		`<Root><Settings>`
┄ ʦ `profile.tsx`	`/settings/profile`	`<Root><Settings><Profile>`
┄ ʦ `notifications.tsx`	`/settings/notifications`	`<Root><Settings><Notifications>`
ʦ `_pathlessLayout.tsx`		`<Root><PathlessLayout>`
📂 `_pathlessLayout`
┄ ʦ `route-a.tsx`	`/route-a`	`<Root><PathlessLayout><RouteA>`
┄ ʦ `route-b.tsx`	`/route-b`	`<Root><PathlessLayout><RouteB>`
📂 `files`
┄ ʦ `$.tsx`	`/files/$`	`<Root><Files>`
📂 `account`
┄ ʦ `route.tsx`	`/account`	`<Root><Account>`
┄ ʦ `overview.tsx`	`/account/overview`	`<Root><Account><Overview>`

Flat Routes

Flat routing gives you the ability to use .s to denote route nesting levels.

This can be useful when you have a large number of uniquely deeply nested routes and want to avoid creating directories for each one:

See the example below:

Filename	Route Path	Component Output
ʦ `__root.tsx`		`<Root>`
ʦ `index.tsx`	`/` (exact)	`<Root><RootIndex>`
ʦ `about.tsx`	`/about`	`<Root><About>`
ʦ `posts.tsx`	`/posts`	`<Root><Posts>`
ʦ `posts.index.tsx`	`/posts` (exact)	`<Root><Posts><PostsIndex>`
ʦ `posts.$postId.tsx`	`/posts/$postId`	`<Root><Posts><Post>`
ʦ `posts_.$postId.edit.tsx`	`/posts/$postId/edit`	`<Root><EditPost>`
ʦ `settings.tsx`	`/settings`	`<Root><Settings>`
ʦ `settings.profile.tsx`	`/settings/profile`	`<Root><Settings><Profile>`
ʦ `settings.notifications.tsx`	`/settings/notifications`	`<Root><Settings><Notifications>`
ʦ `_pathlessLayout.tsx`		`<Root><PathlessLayout>`
ʦ `_pathlessLayout.route-a.tsx`	`/route-a`	`<Root><PathlessLayout><RouteA>`
ʦ `_pathlessLayout.route-b.tsx`	`/route-b`	`<Root><PathlessLayout><RouteB>`
ʦ `files.$.tsx`	`/files/$`	`<Root><Files>`
ʦ `account.tsx`	`/account`	`<Root><Account>`
ʦ `account.overview.tsx`	`/account/overview`	`<Root><Account><Overview>`

Mixed Flat and Directory Routes

It's extremely likely that a 100% directory or flat route structure won't be the best fit for your project, which is why TanStack Router allows you to mix both flat and directory routes together to create a route tree that uses the best of both worlds where it makes sense:

See the example below:

Filename	Route Path	Component Output
ʦ `__root.tsx`		`<Root>`
ʦ `index.tsx`	`/` (exact)	`<Root><RootIndex>`
ʦ `about.tsx`	`/about`	`<Root><About>`
ʦ `posts.tsx`	`/posts`	`<Root><Posts>`
📂 `posts`
┄ ʦ `index.tsx`	`/posts` (exact)	`<Root><Posts><PostsIndex>`
┄ ʦ `$postId.tsx`	`/posts/$postId`	`<Root><Posts><Post>`
┄ ʦ `$postId.edit.tsx`	`/posts/$postId/edit`	`<Root><Posts><Post><EditPost>`
ʦ `settings.tsx`	`/settings`	`<Root><Settings>`
ʦ `settings.profile.tsx`	`/settings/profile`	`<Root><Settings><Profile>`
ʦ `settings.notifications.tsx`	`/settings/notifications`	`<Root><Settings><Notifications>`
ʦ `account.tsx`	`/account`	`<Root><Account>`
ʦ `account.overview.tsx`	`/account/overview`	`<Root><Account><Overview>`

Both flat and directory routes can be mixed together to create a route tree that uses the best of both worlds where it makes sense.

[!TIP] If you find that the default file-based routing structure doesn't fit your needs, you can always use Virtual File Routes to control the source of your routes whilst still getting the awesome performance benefits of file-based routing.

Getting started with File-Based Routing

To get started with file-based routing, you'll need to configure your project's bundler to use the TanStack Router Plugin or the TanStack Router CLI.

To enable file-based routing, you'll need to be using React with a supported bundler. See if your bundler is listed in the configuration guides below.

When using TanStack Router's file-based routing through one of the supported bundlers, our plugin will automatically generate your route configuration through your bundler's dev and build processes. It is the easiest way to use TanStack Router's route generation features.

If your bundler is not yet supported, you can reach out to us on Discord or GitHub to let us know.

File Naming Conventions

File-based routing requires that you follow a few simple file naming conventions to ensure that your routes are generated correctly. The concepts these conventions enable are covered in detail in the Route Trees & Nesting guide.

Feature	Description
`__root.tsx`	The root route file must be named `__root.tsx` and must be placed in the root of the configured `routesDirectory`.
`.` Separator	Routes can use the `.` character to denote a nested route. For example, `blog.post` will be generated as a child of `blog`.
`$` Token	Route segments with the `$` token are parameterized and will extract the value from the URL pathname as a route `param`.
`_` Prefix	Route segments with the `_` prefix are considered to be pathless layout routes and will not be used when matching its child routes against the URL pathname.
`_` Suffix	Route segments with the `_` suffix exclude the route from being nested under any parent routes.
`-` Prefix	Files and folders with the `-` prefix are excluded from the route tree. They will not be added to the `routeTree.gen.ts` file and can be used to colocate logic in route folders.
`(folder)` folder name pattern	A folder that matches this pattern is treated as a route group, preventing the folder from being included in the route's URL path.
`[x]` Escaping	Square brackets escape special characters in filenames that would otherwise have routing meaning. For example, `script[.]js.tsx` becomes `/script.js` and `api[.]v1.tsx` becomes `/api.v1`.
`index` Token	Route segments ending with the `index` token (before any file extensions) will match the parent route when the URL pathname matches the parent route exactly. This can be configured via the `indexToken` configuration option, see options.
`.route.tsx` File Type	When using directories to organise routes, the `route` suffix can be used to create a route file at the directory's path. For example, `blog.post.route.tsx` or `blog/post/route.tsx` can be used as the route file for the `/blog/post` route. This can be configured via the `routeToken` configuration option, see options.

💡 Remember: The file-naming conventions for your project could be affected by what options are configured.

Dynamic Path Params

Dynamic path params can be used in both flat and directory routes to create routes that can match a dynamic segment of the URL path. Dynamic path params are denoted by the $ character in the filename:

Filename	Route Path	Component Output
...	...	...
ʦ `posts.$postId.tsx`	`/posts/$postId`	`<Root><Posts><Post>`

We'll learn more about dynamic path params in the Path Params guide.

Pathless Routes

Pathless routes wrap child routes with either logic or a component without requiring a URL path. Non-path routes are denoted by the _ character in the filename:

Filename	Route Path	Component Output
ʦ `_app.tsx`
ʦ `_app.a.tsx`	/a	`<Root><App><A>`
ʦ `_app.b.tsx`	/b	`<Root><App><B>`

To learn more about pathless routes, see the Routing Concepts - Pathless Routes guide.

Route Matching

Route matching follows a consistent and predictable pattern. This guide will explain how route trees are matched.

When TanStack Router processes your route tree, all of your routes are automatically sorted to match the most specific routes first. This means that regardless of the order your route tree is defined, routes will always be sorted in this order:

Index Route
Static Routes (most specific to least specific)
Dynamic Routes (longest to shortest)
Splat/Wildcard Routes

Consider the following pseudo route tree:

Root
  - blog
    - $postId
    - /
    - new
  - /
  - *
  - about
  - about/us

After sorting, this route tree will become:

Root
  - /
  - about/us
  - about
  - blog
    - /
    - new
    - $postId
  - *

This final order represents the order in which routes will be matched based on specificity.

Using that route tree, let's follow the matching process for a few different URLs:

/blog

Root
  ❌ /
  ❌ about/us
  ❌ about
  ⏩ blog
    ✅ /
    - new
    - $postId
  - *

/blog/my-post

Root
  ❌ /
  ❌ about/us
  ❌ about
  ⏩ blog
    ❌ /
    ❌ new
    ✅ $postId
  - *

/

Root
  ✅ /
  - about/us
  - about
  - blog
    - /
    - new
    - $postId
  - *

/not-a-route

Root
  ❌ /
  ❌ about/us
  ❌ about
  ❌ blog
    - /
    - new
    - $postId
  ✅ *

Route Trees

TanStack Router uses a nested route tree to match up the URL with the correct component tree to render.

To build a route tree, TanStack Router supports:

Both methods support the exact same core features and functionality, but file-based routing requires less code for the same or better results. For this reason, file-based routing is the preferred and recommended way to configure TanStack Router. Most of the documentation is written from the perspective of file-based routing.

Route Trees

Nested routing is a powerful concept that allows you to use a URL to render a nested component tree. For example, given the URL of /blog/posts/123, you could create a route hierarchy that looks like this:

├── blog
│   ├── posts
│   │   ├── $postId

And render a component tree that looks like this:

<Blog>
	<Posts>
		<Post postId="123" />
	</Posts>
</Blog>

Let's take that concept and expand it out to a larger site structure, but with file-names now:

/routes
├── __root.tsx
├── index.tsx
├── about.tsx
├── posts/
│   ├── index.tsx
│   ├── $postId.tsx
├── posts.$postId.edit.tsx
├── settings/
│   ├── profile.tsx
│   ├── notifications.tsx
├── _pathlessLayout/
│   ├── route-a.tsx
├── ├── route-b.tsx
├── files/
│   ├── $.tsx

The above is a valid route tree configuration that can be used with TanStack Router! There's a lot of power and convention to unpack with file-based routing, so let's break it down a bit.

Route Tree Configuration

Route trees can be configured using a few different ways:

Please be sure to check out the full documentation links above for each type of route tree, or just proceed to the next section to get started with file-based routing.

Routing Concepts

TanStack Router supports a number of powerful routing concepts that allow you to build complex and dynamic routing systems with ease.

Each of these concepts is useful and powerful, and we'll dive into each of them in the following sections.

Anatomy of a Route

All other routes, other than the Root Route, are configured using the createFileRoute function, which provides type safety when using file-based routing:

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/')({
	component: PostsComponent,
})

The createFileRoute function takes a single argument, the file-route's path as a string.

❓❓❓ "Wait, you're making me pass the path of the route file to createFileRoute?"

Yes! But don't worry, this path is automatically written and managed by the router for you via the TanStack Router Bundler Plugin or Router CLI. So, as you create new routes, move routes around or rename routes, the path will be updated for you automatically.

The reason for this pathname has everything to do with the magical type safety of TanStack Router. Without this pathname, TypeScript would have no idea what file we're in! (We wish TypeScript had a built-in for this, but they don't yet 🤷‍♂️)

The Root Route

The root route is the top-most route in the entire tree and encapsulates all other routes as children.

It has no path
It is always matched
Its component is always rendered

Even though it doesn't have a path, the root route has access to all of the same functionality as other routes including:

components
loaders
search param validation
etc.

To create a root route, call the createRootRoute() function and export it as the Route variable in your route file:

// Standard root route
import { createRootRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createRootRoute()

// Root route with Context
import { createRootRouteWithContext } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import type { QueryClient } from '@tanstack/react-query'

export interface MyRouterContext {
	queryClient: QueryClient
}
export const Route = createRootRouteWithContext<MyRouterContext>()

To learn more about Context in TanStack Router, see the Router Context guide.

Basic Routes

Basic routes match a specific path, for example /about, /settings, /settings/notifications are all basic routes, as they match the path exactly.

Let's take a look at an /about route:

// about.tsx
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/about')({
	component: AboutComponent,
})

function AboutComponent() {
	return <div>About</div>
}

Basic routes are simple and straightforward. They match the path exactly and render the provided component.

Index Routes

Index routes specifically target their parent route when it is matched exactly and no child route is matched.

Let's take a look at an index route for a /posts URL:

// posts.index.tsx
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

// Note the trailing slash, which is used to target index routes
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/')({
	component: PostsIndexComponent,
})

function PostsIndexComponent() {
	return <div>Please select a post!</div>
}

This route will be matched when the URL is /posts exactly.

Dynamic Route Segments

Route path segments that start with a $ followed by a label are dynamic and capture that section of the URL into the params object for use in your application. For example, a pathname of /posts/123 would match the /posts/$postId route, and the params object would be { postId: '123' }.

These params are then usable in your route's configuration and components! Let's look at a posts.$postId.tsx route:

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	// In a loader
	loader: ({ params }) => fetchPost(params.postId),
	// Or in a component
	component: PostComponent,
})

function PostComponent() {
	// In a component!
	const { postId } = Route.useParams()
	return <div>Post ID: {postId}</div>
}

🧠 Dynamic segments work at each segment of the path. For example, you could have a route with the path of /posts/$postId/$revisionId and each $ segment would be captured into the params object.

Splat / Catch-All Routes

A route with a path of only $ is called a "splat" route because it always captures any remaining section of the URL pathname from the $ to the end. The captured pathname is then available in the params object under the special _splat property.

For example, a route targeting the files/$ path is a splat route. If the URL pathname is /files/documents/hello-world, the params object would contain documents/hello-world under the special _splat property:

{
  '_splat': 'documents/hello-world'
}

⚠️ In v1 of the router, splat routes are also denoted with a * instead of a _splat key for backwards compatibility. This will be removed in v2.

🧠 Why use $? Thanks to tools like Remix, we know that despite *s being the most common character to represent a wildcard, they do not play nice with filenames or CLI tools, so just like them, we decided to use $ instead.

Optional Path Parameters

// posts.{-$category}.tsx - Optional category parameter
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/{-$category}')({
	component: PostsComponent,
})

function PostsComponent() {
	const { category } = Route.useParams()

	return <div>{category ? `Posts in ${category}` : 'All Posts'}</div>
}

This route will match both /posts (category is undefined) and /posts/tech (category is "tech").

You can also define multiple optional parameters in a single route:

// posts.{-$category}.{-$slug}.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/{-$category}/{-$slug}')({
	component: PostsComponent,
})

This route matches /posts, /posts/tech, and /posts/tech/hello-world.

🧠 Routes with optional parameters are ranked lower in priority than exact matches, ensuring that more specific routes like /posts/featured are matched before /posts/{-$category}.

Layout Routes

Layout routes are used to wrap child routes with additional components and logic. They are useful for:

Wrapping child routes with a layout component
Enforcing a loader requirement before displaying any child routes
Validating and providing search params to child routes
Providing fallbacks for error components or pending elements to child routes
Providing shared context to all child routes
And more!

Let's take a look at an example layout route called app.tsx:

routes/
├── app.tsx
├── app.dashboard.tsx
├── app.settings.tsx

In the tree above, app.tsx is a layout route that wraps two child routes, app.dashboard.tsx and app.settings.tsx.

This tree structure is used to wrap the child routes with a layout component:

import { Outlet, createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/app')({
	component: AppLayoutComponent,
})

function AppLayoutComponent() {
	return (
		<div>
			<h1>App Layout</h1>
			<Outlet />
		</div>
	)
}

The following table shows which component(s) will be rendered based on the URL:

URL Path	Component
`/app`	`<AppLayout>`
`/app/dashboard`	`<AppLayout><Dashboard>`
`/app/settings`	`<AppLayout><Settings>`

Since TanStack Router supports mixed flat and directory routes, you can also express your application's routing using layout routes within directories:

routes/
├── app/
│   ├── route.tsx
│   ├── dashboard.tsx
│   ├── settings.tsx

In this nested tree, the app/route.tsx file is a configuration for the layout route that wraps two child routes, app/dashboard.tsx and app/settings.tsx.

Layout Routes also let you enforce component and loader logic for Dynamic Route Segments:

routes/
├── app/users/
│   ├── $userId/
|   |   ├── route.tsx
|   |   ├── index.tsx
|   |   ├── edit.tsx

Pathless Layout Routes

Like Layout Routes, Pathless Layout Routes are used to wrap child routes with additional components and logic. However, pathless layout routes do not require a matching path in the URL and are used to wrap child routes with additional components and logic without requiring a matching path in the URL.

Pathless Layout Routes are prefixed with an underscore (_) to denote that they are "pathless".

🧠 The part of the path after the _ prefix is used as the route's ID and is required because every route must be uniquely identifiable, especially when using TypeScript so as to avoid type errors and accomplish autocomplete effectively.

Let's take a look at an example route called _pathlessLayout.tsx:


routes/
├── _pathlessLayout.tsx
├── _pathlessLayout.a.tsx
├── _pathlessLayout.b.tsx

In the tree above, _pathlessLayout.tsx is a pathless layout route that wraps two child routes, _pathlessLayout.a.tsx and _pathlessLayout.b.tsx.

The _pathlessLayout.tsx route is used to wrap the child routes with a Pathless layout component:

import { Outlet, createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/_pathlessLayout')({
	component: PathlessLayoutComponent,
})

function PathlessLayoutComponent() {
	return (
		<div>
			<h1>Pathless layout</h1>
			<Outlet />
		</div>
	)
}

The following table shows which component will be rendered based on the URL:

URL Path	Component
`/`	`<Index>`
`/a`	`<PathlessLayout><A>`
`/b`	`<PathlessLayout><B>`

Since TanStack Router supports mixed flat and directory routes, you can also express your application's routing using pathless layout routes within directories:

routes/
├── _pathlessLayout/
│   ├── route.tsx
│   ├── a.tsx
│   ├── b.tsx

However, unlike Layout Routes, since Pathless Layout Routes do match based on URL path segments, this means that these routes do not support Dynamic Route Segments as part of their path and therefore cannot be matched in the URL.

This means that you cannot do this:

routes/
├── _$postId/ ❌
│   ├── ...

Rather, you'd have to do this:

routes/
├── $postId/
├── _postPathlessLayout/ ✅
│   ├── ...

Non-Nested Routes

Non-nested routes can be created by suffixing a parent file route segment with a _ and are used to un-nest a route from its parents and render its own component tree.

Consider the following flat route tree:

routes/
├── posts.tsx
├── posts.$postId.tsx
├── posts_.$postId.edit.tsx

The following table shows which component will be rendered based on the URL:

URL Path	Component
`/posts`	`<Posts>`
`/posts/123`	`<Posts><Post postId="123">`
`/posts/123/edit`	`<PostEditor postId="123">`

The posts.$postId.tsx route is nested as normal under the posts.tsx route and will render <Posts><Post>.
The posts_.$postId.edit.tsx route does not share the same posts prefix as the other routes and therefore will be treated as if it is a top-level route and will render <PostEditor>.

Excluding Files and Folders from Routes

Files and folders can be excluded from route generation with a - prefix attached to the file name. This gives you the ability to colocate logic in the route directories.

Consider the following route tree:

routes/
├── posts.tsx
├── -posts-table.tsx // 👈🏼 ignored
├── -components/ // 👈🏼 ignored
│   ├── header.tsx // 👈🏼 ignored
│   ├── footer.tsx // 👈🏼 ignored
│   ├── ...

We can import from the excluded files into our posts route

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { PostsTable } from './-posts-table'
import { PostsHeader } from './-components/header'
import { PostsFooter } from './-components/footer'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	loader: () => fetchPosts(),
	component: PostComponent,
})

function PostComponent() {
	const posts = Route.useLoaderData()

	return (
		<div>
			<PostsHeader />
			<PostsTable posts={posts} />
			<PostsFooter />
		</div>
	)
}

The excluded files will not be added to routeTree.gen.ts.

Pathless Route Group Directories

Pathless route group directories use () as a way to group routes files together regardless of their path. They are purely organizational and do not affect the route tree or component tree in any way.

routes/
├── index.tsx
├── (app)/
│   ├── dashboard.tsx
│   ├── settings.tsx
│   ├── users.tsx
├── (auth)/
│   ├── login.tsx
│   ├── register.tsx

In the example above, the app and auth directories are purely organizational and do not affect the route tree or component tree in any way. They are used to group related routes together for easier navigation and organization.

The following table shows which component will be rendered based on the URL:

URL Path	Component
`/`	`<Index>`
`/dashboard`	`<Dashboard>`
`/settings`	`<Settings>`
`/users`	`<Users>`
`/login`	`<Login>`
`/register`	`<Register>`

As you can see, the app and auth directories are purely organizational and do not affect the route tree or component tree in any way.

Virtual File Routes

We'd like to thank the Remix team for pioneering the concept of virtual file routes. We've taken inspiration from their work and adapted it to work with TanStack Router's existing file-based route-tree generation.

Virtual file routes are a powerful concept that allows you to build a route tree programmatically using code that references real files in your project. This can be useful if:

You have an existing route organization that you want to keep.
You want to customize the location of your route files.
You want to completely override TanStack Router's file-based route generation and build your own convention.

Here's a quick example of using virtual file routes to map a route tree to a set of real files in your project:

// routes.ts
import {
	rootRoute,
	route,
	index,
	layout,
	physical,
} from '@tanstack/virtual-file-routes'

export const routes = rootRoute('root.tsx', [
	index('index.tsx'),
	layout('pathlessLayout.tsx', [
		route('/dashboard', 'app/dashboard.tsx', [
			index('app/dashboard-index.tsx'),
			route('/invoices', 'app/dashboard-invoices.tsx', [
				index('app/invoices-index.tsx'),
				route('$id', 'app/invoice-detail.tsx'),
			]),
		]),
		physical('/posts', 'posts'),
	]),
])

Configuration

Virtual file routes can be configured either via:

The TanStackRouter plugin for Vite/Rspack/Webpack
The tsr.config.json file for the TanStack Router CLI

Configuration via the TanStackRouter Plugin

If you're using the TanStackRouter plugin for Vite/Rspack/Webpack, you can configure virtual file routes by passing the path of your routes file to the virtualRoutesConfig option when setting up the plugin:

// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react'
import { tanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/vite'

export default defineConfig({
	plugins: [
		tanstackRouter({
			target: 'react',
			virtualRouteConfig: './routes.ts',
		}),
		react(),
	],
})

Or, you choose to define the virtual routes directly in the configuration:

// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react'
import { tanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/vite'
import { rootRoute } from '@tanstack/virtual-file-routes'

const routes = rootRoute('root.tsx', [
	// ... the rest of your virtual route tree
])

export default defineConfig({
	plugins: [tanstackRouter({ virtualRouteConfig: routes }), react()],
})

Creating Virtual File Routes

To create virtual file routes, you'll need to import the @tanstack/virtual-file-routes package. This package provides a set of functions that allow you to create virtual routes that reference real files in your project. A few utility functions are exported from the package:

rootRoute - Creates a virtual root route.
route - Creates a virtual route.
index - Creates a virtual index route.
layout - Creates a virtual pathless layout route.
physical - Creates a physical virtual route (more on this later).

Virtual Root Route

The rootRoute function is used to create a virtual root route. It takes a file name and an array of children routes. Here's an example of a virtual root route:

// routes.ts
import { rootRoute } from '@tanstack/virtual-file-routes'

export const routes = rootRoute('root.tsx', [
	// ... children routes
])

Virtual Route

The route function is used to create a virtual route. It takes a path, a file name, and an array of children routes. Here's an example of a virtual route:

// routes.ts
import { route } from '@tanstack/virtual-file-routes'

export const routes = rootRoute('root.tsx', [
	route('/about', 'about.tsx', [
		// ... children routes
	]),
])

You can also define a virtual route without a file name. This allows to set a common path prefix for its children:

// routes.ts
import { route } from '@tanstack/virtual-file-routes'

export const routes = rootRoute('root.tsx', [
	route('/hello', [
		route('/world', 'world.tsx'), // full path will be "/hello/world"
		route('/universe', 'universe.tsx'), // full path will be "/hello/universe"
	]),
])

Virtual Index Route

The index function is used to create a virtual index route. It takes a file name. Here's an example of a virtual index route:

import { index } from '@tanstack/virtual-file-routes'

const routes = rootRoute('root.tsx', [index('index.tsx')])

Virtual Pathless Route

The layout function is used to create a virtual pathless route. It takes a file name, an array of children routes, and an optional pathless ID. Here's an example of a virtual pathless route:

// routes.ts
import { layout } from '@tanstack/virtual-file-routes'

export const routes = rootRoute('root.tsx', [
	layout('pathlessLayout.tsx', [
		// ... children routes
	]),
])

You can also specify a pathless ID to give the route a unique identifier that is different from the filename:

// routes.ts
import { layout } from '@tanstack/virtual-file-routes'

export const routes = rootRoute('root.tsx', [
	layout('my-pathless-layout-id', 'pathlessLayout.tsx', [
		// ... children routes
	]),
])

Physical Virtual Routes

Physical virtual routes are a way to "mount" a directory of good ol' TanStack Router File Based routing convention under a specific URL path. This can be useful if you are using virtual routes to customize a small portion of your route tree high up in the hierarchy, but want to use the standard file-based routing convention for sub-routes and directories.

Consider the following file structure:

/routes
├── root.tsx
├── index.tsx
├── pathlessLayout.tsx
├── app
│   ├── dashboard.tsx
│   ├── dashboard-index.tsx
│   ├── dashboard-invoices.tsx
│   ├── invoices-index.tsx
│   ├── invoice-detail.tsx
└── posts
    ├── index.tsx
    ├── $postId.tsx
    ├── $postId.edit.tsx
    ├── comments/
    │   ├── index.tsx
    │   ├── $commentId.tsx
    └── likes/
        ├── index.tsx
        ├── $likeId.tsx

Let's use virtual routes to customize our route tree for everything but posts, then use physical virtual routes to mount the posts directory under the /posts path:

// routes.ts
export const routes = rootRoute('root.tsx', [
	// Set up your virtual routes as normal
	index('index.tsx'),
	layout('pathlessLayout.tsx', [
		route('/dashboard', 'app/dashboard.tsx', [
			index('app/dashboard-index.tsx'),
			route('/invoices', 'app/dashboard-invoices.tsx', [
				index('app/invoices-index.tsx'),
				route('$id', 'app/invoice-detail.tsx'),
			]),
		]),
		// Mount the `posts` directory under the `/posts` path
		physical('/posts', 'posts'),
	]),
])

Virtual Routes inside of TanStack Router File Based routing

The previous section showed you how you can use TanStack Router's File Based routing convention inside of a virtual route configuration. However, the opposite is possible as well.
You can configure the main part of your app's route tree using TanStack Router's File Based routing convention and opt into virtual route configuration for specific subtrees.

Consider the following file structure:

/routes
├── __root.tsx
├── foo
│   ├── bar
│   │   ├── __virtual.ts
│   │   ├── details.tsx
│   │   ├── home.tsx
│   │   └── route.ts
│   └── bar.tsx
└── index.tsx

Let's look at the bar directory which contains a special file named __virtual.ts. This file instructs the generator to switch over to virtual file route configuration for this directory (and its child directories).

__virtual.ts configures the virtual routes for that particular subtree of the route tree. It uses the same API as explained above, with the only difference being that no rootRoute is defined for that subtree:

// routes/foo/bar/__virtual.ts
import {
	defineVirtualSubtreeConfig,
	index,
	route,
} from '@tanstack/virtual-file-routes'

export default defineVirtualSubtreeConfig([
	index('home.tsx'),
	route('$id', 'details.tsx'),
])

The helper function defineVirtualSubtreeConfig is closely modeled after vite's defineConfig and allows you to define a subtree configuration via a default export. The default export can either be

a subtree config object
a function returning a subtree config object
an async function returning a subtree config object

Inception

You can mix and match TanStack Router's File Based routing convention and virtual route configuration however you like.
Let's go deeper!
Check out the following example that starts off using File Based routing convention, switches over to virtual route configuration for /posts, switches back to File Based routing convention for /posts/lets-go only to switch over to virtual route configuration again for /posts/lets-go/deeper.

├── __root.tsx
├── index.tsx
├── posts
│   ├── __virtual.ts
│   ├── details.tsx
│   ├── home.tsx
│   └── lets-go
│       ├── deeper
│       │   ├── __virtual.ts
│       │   └── home.tsx
│       └── index.tsx
└── posts.tsx

Configuration via the TanStack Router CLI

If you're using the TanStack Router CLI, you can configure virtual file routes by defining the path to your routes file in the tsr.config.json file:

// tsr.config.json
{
	"virtualRouteConfig": "./routes.ts"
}

Or you can define the virtual routes directly in the configuration, while much less common allows you to configure them via the TanStack Router CLI by adding a virtualRouteConfig object to your tsr.config.json file and defining your virtual routes and passing the resulting JSON that is generated by calling the actual rootRoute/route/index/etc functions from the @tanstack/virtual-file-routes package:

// tsr.config.json
{
	"virtualRouteConfig": {
		"type": "root",
		"file": "root.tsx",
		"children": [
			{
				"type": "index",
				"file": "home.tsx"
			},
			{
				"type": "route",
				"file": "posts/posts.tsx",
				"path": "/posts",
				"children": [
					{
						"type": "index",
						"file": "posts/posts-home.tsx"
					},
					{
						"type": "route",
						"file": "posts/posts-detail.tsx",
						"path": "$postId"
					}
				]
			},
			{
				"type": "layout",
				"id": "first",
				"file": "layout/first-pathless-layout.tsx",
				"children": [
					{
						"type": "layout",
						"id": "second",
						"file": "layout/second-pathless-layout.tsx",
						"children": [
							{
								"type": "route",
								"file": "a.tsx",
								"path": "/route-a"
							},
							{
								"type": "route",
								"file": "b.tsx",
								"path": "/route-b"
							}
						]
					}
				]
			}
		]
	}
}

</@tanstack/react-router_routing>

<@tanstack/react-router_installation> Always Apply: false - This rule should only be applied when relevant files are open Always apply this rule in these files: src//*.ts, src//*.tsx

Manual Setup

To set up TanStack Router manually in a React project, follow the steps below. This gives you a bare minimum setup to get going with TanStack Router using both file-based route generation and code-based route configuration:

Using File-Based Route Generation

Install TanStack Router, Vite Plugin, and the Router Devtools

npm install @tanstack/react-router @tanstack/react-router-devtools
npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin
# or
pnpm add @tanstack/react-router @tanstack/react-router-devtools
pnpm add -D @tanstack/router-plugin
# or
yarn add @tanstack/react-router @tanstack/react-router-devtools
yarn add -D @tanstack/router-plugin
# or
bun add @tanstack/react-router @tanstack/react-router-devtools
bun add -D @tanstack/router-plugin
# or
deno add npm:@tanstack/react-router npm:@tanstack/router-plugin npm:@tanstack/react-router-devtools

Configure the Vite Plugin

// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react'
import { tanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/vite'

// https://vitejs.dev/config/
export default defineConfig({
	plugins: [
		// Please make sure that '@tanstack/router-plugin' is passed before '@vitejs/plugin-react'
		tanstackRouter({
			target: 'react',
			autoCodeSplitting: true,
		}),
		react(),
		// ...,
	],
})

[!TIP] If you are not using Vite, or any of the supported bundlers, you can check out the TanStack Router CLI guide for more info.

Create the following files:

src/routes/__root.tsx (with two '_' characters)
src/routes/index.tsx
src/routes/about.tsx
src/main.tsx

`src/routes/__root.tsx`

import { createRootRoute, Link, Outlet } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { TanStackRouterDevtools } from '@tanstack/react-router-devtools'

const RootLayout = () => (
	<>
		<div className="flex gap-2 p-2">
			<Link to="/" className="[&.active]:font-bold">
				Home
			</Link>{' '}
			<Link to="/about" className="[&.active]:font-bold">
				About
			</Link>
		</div>
		<hr />
		<Outlet />
		<TanStackRouterDevtools />
	</>
)

export const Route = createRootRoute({ component: RootLayout })

`src/routes/index.tsx`

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/')({
	component: Index,
})

function Index() {
	return (
		<div className="p-2">
			<h3>Welcome Home!</h3>
		</div>
	)
}

`src/routes/about.tsx`

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/about')({
	component: About,
})

function About() {
	return <div className="p-2">Hello from About!</div>
}

`src/main.tsx`

Regardless of whether you are using the @tanstack/router-plugin package and running the npm run dev/npm run build scripts, or manually running the tsr watch/tsr generate commands from your package scripts, the route tree file will be generated at src/routeTree.gen.ts.

Import the generated route tree and create a new router instance:

import { StrictMode } from 'react'
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client'
import { RouterProvider, createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router'

// Import the generated route tree
import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen'

// Create a new router instance
const router = createRouter({ routeTree })

// Register the router instance for type safety
declare module '@tanstack/react-router' {
	interface Register {
		router: typeof router
	}
}

// Render the app
const rootElement = document.getElementById('root')!
if (!rootElement.innerHTML) {
	const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(rootElement)
	root.render(
		<StrictMode>
			<RouterProvider router={router} />
		</StrictMode>,
	)
}

If you are working with this pattern you should change the id of the root <div> on your index.html file to <div id='root'></div>

Using Code-Based Route Configuration

[!IMPORTANT] The following example shows how to configure routes using code, and for simplicity's sake is in a single file for this demo. While code-based generation allows you to declare many routes and even the router instance in a single file, we recommend splitting your routes into separate files for better organization and performance as your application grows.

import { StrictMode } from 'react'
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client'
import {
	Outlet,
	RouterProvider,
	Link,
	createRouter,
	createRoute,
	createRootRoute,
} from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { TanStackRouterDevtools } from '@tanstack/react-router-devtools'

const rootRoute = createRootRoute({
	component: () => (
		<>
			<div className="flex gap-2 p-2">
				<Link to="/" className="[&.active]:font-bold">
					Home
				</Link>{' '}
				<Link to="/about" className="[&.active]:font-bold">
					About
				</Link>
			</div>
			<hr />
			<Outlet />
			<TanStackRouterDevtools />
		</>
	),
})

const indexRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: '/',
	component: function Index() {
		return (
			<div className="p-2">
				<h3>Welcome Home!</h3>
			</div>
		)
	},
})

const aboutRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
	path: '/about',
	component: function About() {
		return <div className="p-2">Hello from About!</div>
	},
})

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([indexRoute, aboutRoute])

const router = createRouter({ routeTree })

declare module '@tanstack/react-router' {
	interface Register {
		router: typeof router
	}
}

const rootElement = document.getElementById('app')!
if (!rootElement.innerHTML) {
	const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(rootElement)
	root.render(
		<StrictMode>
			<RouterProvider router={router} />
		</StrictMode>,
	)
}

If you glossed over these examples or didn't understand something, we don't blame you, because there's so much more to learn to really take advantage of TanStack Router! Let's move on.

Migration from React Location

Before you begin your journey in migrating from React Location, it's important that you have a good understanding of the Routing Concepts and Design Decisions used by TanStack Router.

Differences between React Location and TanStack Router

React Location and TanStack Router share much of same design decisions concepts, but there are some key differences that you should be aware of.

React Location uses generics to infer types for routes, while TanStack Router uses module declaration merging to infer types.
Route configuration in React Location is done using a single array of route definitions, while in TanStack Router, route configuration is done using a tree of route definitions starting with the root route.
File-based routing is the recommended way to define routes in TanStack Router, while React Location only allows you to define routes in a single file using a code-based approach.
- TanStack Router does support a code-based approach to defining routes, but it is not recommended for most use cases. You can read more about why, over here: why is file-based routing the preferred way to define routes?

Migration guide

In this guide we'll go over the process of migrating the React Location Basic example over to TanStack Router using file-based routing, with the end goal of having the same functionality as the original example (styling and other non-routing related code will be omitted).

[!TIP] To use a code-based approach for defining your routes, you can read the code-based Routing guide.

Step 1: Swap over to TanStack Router's dependencies

First, we need to install the dependencies for TanStack Router. For detailed installation instructions, see our How to Install TanStack Router guide.

npm install @tanstack/react-router @tanstack/router-devtools

And remove the React Location dependencies.

npm uninstall @tanstack/react-location @tanstack/react-location-devtools

Step 2: Use the file-based routing watcher

If your project uses Vite (or one of the supported bundlers), you can use the TanStack Router plugin to watch for changes in your routes files and automatically update the routes configuration.

Installation of the Vite plugin:

npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin

And add it to your vite.config.js:

import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react'
import { tanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/vite'

export default defineConfig({
	// ...
	plugins: [tanstackRouter(), react()],
})

However, if your application does not use Vite, you use one of our other supported bundlers, or you can use the @tanstack/router-cli package to watch for changes in your routes files and automatically update the routes configuration.

Step 3: Add the file-based configuration file to your project

Create a tsr.config.json file in the root of your project with the following content:

{
	"routesDirectory": "./src/routes",
	"generatedRouteTree": "./src/routeTree.gen.ts"
}

You can find the full list of options for the tsr.config.json file here.

Step 4: Create the routes directory

Create a routes directory in the src directory of your project.

mkdir src/routes

Step 5: Create the root route file

// src/routes/__root.tsx
import { createRootRoute, Outlet, Link } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { TanStackRouterDevtools } from '@tanstack/router-devtools'

export const Route = createRootRoute({
	component: () => {
		return (
			<>
				<div>
					<Link to="/" activeOptions={{ exact: true }}>
						Home
					</Link>
					<Link to="/posts">Posts</Link>
				</div>
				<hr />
				<Outlet />
				<TanStackRouterDevtools />
			</>
		)
	},
})

Step 6: Create the index route file

// src/routes/index.tsx
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/')({
	component: Index,
})

You will need to move any related components and logic needed for the index route from the src/index.tsx file to the src/routes/index.tsx file.

Step 7: Create the posts route file

// src/routes/posts.tsx
import { createFileRoute, Link, Outlet } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
	component: Posts,
	loader: async () => {
		const posts = await fetchPosts()
		return {
			posts,
		}
	},
})

function Posts() {
	const { posts } = Route.useLoaderData()
	return (
		<div>
			<nav>
				{posts.map((post) => (
					<Link
						key={post.id}
						to={`/posts/$postId`}
						params={{ postId: post.id }}
					>
						{post.title}
					</Link>
				))}
			</nav>
			<Outlet />
		</div>
	)
}

You will need to move any related components and logic needed for the posts route from the src/index.tsx file to the src/routes/posts.tsx file.

Step 8: Create the posts index route file

// src/routes/posts.index.tsx
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/')({
	component: PostsIndex,
})

You will need to move any related components and logic needed for the posts index route from the src/index.tsx file to the src/routes/posts.index.tsx file.

Step 9: Create the posts id route file

// src/routes/posts.$postId.tsx
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
	component: PostsId,
	loader: async ({ params: { postId } }) => {
		const post = await fetchPost(postId)
		return {
			post,
		}
	},
})

function PostsId() {
	const { post } = Route.useLoaderData()
	// ...
}

You will need to move any related components and logic needed for the posts id route from the src/index.tsx file to the src/routes/posts.$postId.tsx file.

Step 10: Generate the route tree

If you are using one of the supported bundlers, the route tree will be generated automatically when you run the dev script.

If you are not using one of the supported bundlers, you can generate the route tree by running the following command:

npx tsr generate

Step 11: Update the main entry file to render the Router

Once you've generated the route-tree, you can then update the src/index.tsx file to create the router instance and render it.

// src/index.tsx
import React from 'react'
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom'
import { createRouter, RouterProvider } from '@tanstack/react-router'

// Import the generated route tree
import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen'

// Create a new router instance
const router = createRouter({ routeTree })

// Register the router instance for type safety
declare module '@tanstack/react-router' {
	interface Register {
		router: typeof router
	}
}

const domElementId = 'root' // Assuming you have a root element with the id 'root'

// Render the app
const rootElement = document.getElementById(domElementId)
if (!rootElement) {
	throw new Error(`Element with id ${domElementId} not found`)
}

ReactDOM.createRoot(rootElement).render(
	<React.StrictMode>
		<RouterProvider router={router} />
	</React.StrictMode>,
)

Finished!

You should now have successfully migrated your application from React Location to TanStack Router using file-based routing.

React Location also has a few more features that you might be using in your application. Here are some guides to help you migrate those features:

TanStack Router also has a few more features that you might want to explore:

If you are facing any issues or have any questions, feel free to ask for help in the TanStack Discord.

Migration from React Router Checklist

If your UI is blank, open the console, and you will probably have some errors that read something along the lines of cannot use 'useNavigate' outside of context . This means there are React Router api’s that are still imported and referenced that you need to find and remove. The easiest way to make sure you find all React Router imports is to uninstall react-router-dom and then you should get typescript errors in your files. Then you will know what to change to a @tanstack/react-router import.

Here is the example repo

Install Router - npm i @tanstack/react-router (see detailed installation guide)
Optional: Uninstall React Router to get TypeScript errors on imports.
- At this point I don’t know if you can do a gradual migration, but it seems likely you could have multiple router providers, not desirable.
- The api’s between React Router and TanStack Router are very similar and could most likely be handled in a sprint cycle or two if that is your companies way of doing things.
Create Routes for each existing React Router route we have
Create root route
Create router instance
Add global module in main.tsx
Remove any React Router (createBrowserRouter or BrowserRouter), Routes, and Route Components from main.tsx
Optional: Refactor render function for custom setup/providers - The repo referenced above has an example - This was necessary in the case of Supertokens. Supertoken has a specific setup with React Router and a different setup with all other React implementations
Set RouterProvider and pass it the router as the prop
Replace all instances of React Router Link component with @tanstack/react-router Link component
- Add to prop with literal path
- Add params prop, where necessary with params like so params={{ orderId: order.id }}
Replace all instances of React Router useNavigate hook with @tanstack/react-router useNavigate hook
- Set to property and params property where needed
Replace any React Router Outlet's with the @tanstack/react-router equivalent
If you are using useSearchParams hook from React Router, move the search params default value to the validateSearch property on a Route definition.
- Instead of using the useSearchParams hook, use @tanstack/react-router Link's search property to update the search params state
- To read search params you can do something like the following
  - const { page } = useSearch({ from: productPage.fullPath })
If using React Router’s useParams hook, update the import to be from @tanstack/react-router and set the from property to the literal path name where you want to read the params object from
- So say we have a route with the path name orders/$orderid.
- In the useParams hook we would set up our hook like so: const params = useParams({ from: "/orders/$orderId" })
- Then wherever we wanted to access the order id we would get it off of the params object params.orderId

Installation with Esbuild

To use file-based routing with Esbuild, you'll need to install the @tanstack/router-plugin package.

npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin

Once installed, you'll need to add the plugin to your configuration.

// esbuild.config.js
import { tanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/esbuild'

export default {
	// ...
	plugins: [
		tanstackRouter({
			target: 'react',
			autoCodeSplitting: true,
		}),
	],
}

Or, you can clone our Quickstart Esbuild example and get started.

Now that you've added the plugin to your Esbuild configuration, you're all set to start using file-based routing with TanStack Router.

Ignoring the generated route tree file

If your project is configured to use a linter and/or formatter, you may want to ignore the generated route tree file. This file is managed by TanStack Router and therefore shouldn't be changed by your linter or formatter.

Here are some resources to help you ignore the generated route tree file:

[!WARNING] If you are using VSCode, you may experience the route tree file unexpectedly open (with errors) after renaming a route.

You can prevent that from the VSCode settings by marking the file as readonly. Our recommendation is to also exclude it from search results and file watcher with the following settings:

{
	"files.readonlyInclude": {
		"**/routeTree.gen.ts": true
	},
	"files.watcherExclude": {
		"**/routeTree.gen.ts": true
	},
	"search.exclude": {
		"**/routeTree.gen.ts": true
	}
}

You can use those settings either at a user level or only for a single workspace by creating the file .vscode/settings.json at the root of your project.

Configuration

When using the TanStack Router Plugin with Esbuild for File-based routing, it comes with some sane defaults that should work for most projects:

{
	"routesDirectory": "./src/routes",
	"generatedRouteTree": "./src/routeTree.gen.ts",
	"routeFileIgnorePrefix": "-",
	"quoteStyle": "single"
}

If these defaults work for your project, you don't need to configure anything at all! However, if you need to customize the configuration, you can do so by editing the configuration object passed into the tanstackRouter function.

You can find all the available configuration options in the File-based Routing API Reference.

Installation with Router CLI

[!WARNING] You should only use the TanStack Router CLI if you are not using a supported bundler. The CLI only supports the generation of the route tree file and does not provide any other features.

To use file-based routing with the TanStack Router CLI, you'll need to install the @tanstack/router-cli package.

npm install -D @tanstack/router-cli

Once installed, you'll need to amend your scripts in your package.json for the CLI to watch and generate files.

{
	"scripts": {
		"generate-routes": "tsr generate",
		"watch-routes": "tsr watch",
		"build": "npm run generate-routes && ...",
		"dev": "npm run watch-routes && ..."
	}
}

You shouldn't forget to ignore the generated route tree file. Head over to the Ignoring the generated route tree file section to learn more.

With the CLI installed, the following commands are made available via the tsr command

Using the `generate` command

Generates the routes for a project based on the provided configuration.

tsr generate

Using the `watch` command

Continuously watches the specified directories and regenerates routes as needed.

Usage:

tsr watch

With file-based routing enabled, whenever you start your application in development mode, TanStack Router will watch your configured routesDirectory and generate your route tree whenever a file is added, removed, or changed.

Ignoring the generated route tree file

Here are some resources to help you ignore the generated route tree file:

[!WARNING] If you are using VSCode, you may experience the route tree file unexpectedly open (with errors) after renaming a route.

You can prevent that from the VSCode settings by marking the file as readonly. Our recommendation is to also exclude it from search results and file watcher with the following settings:

{
	"files.readonlyInclude": {
		"**/routeTree.gen.ts": true
	},
	"files.watcherExclude": {
		"**/routeTree.gen.ts": true
	},
	"search.exclude": {
		"**/routeTree.gen.ts": true
	}
}

You can use those settings either at a user level or only for a single workspace by creating the file .vscode/settings.json at the root of your project.

Configuration

When using the TanStack Router CLI for File-based routing, it comes with some sane defaults that should work for most projects:

{
	"routesDirectory": "./src/routes",
	"generatedRouteTree": "./src/routeTree.gen.ts",
	"routeFileIgnorePrefix": "-",
	"quoteStyle": "single"
}

If these defaults work for your project, you don't need to configure anything at all! However, if you need to customize the configuration, you can do so by creating a tsr.config.json file in the root of your project directory.

You can find all the available configuration options in the File-based Routing API Reference.

Installation with Rspack

To use file-based routing with Rspack or Rsbuild, you'll need to install the @tanstack/router-plugin package.

npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin

Once installed, you'll need to add the plugin to your configuration.

// rsbuild.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from '@rsbuild/core'
import { pluginReact } from '@rsbuild/plugin-react'
import { tanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/rspack'

export default defineConfig({
	plugins: [pluginReact()],
	tools: {
		rspack: {
			plugins: [
				tanstackRouter({
					target: 'react',
					autoCodeSplitting: true,
				}),
			],
		},
	},
})

Or, you can clone our Quickstart Rspack/Rsbuild example and get started.

Now that you've added the plugin to your Rspack/Rsbuild configuration, you're all set to start using file-based routing with TanStack Router.

Ignoring the generated route tree file

Here are some resources to help you ignore the generated route tree file:

[!WARNING] If you are using VSCode, you may experience the route tree file unexpectedly open (with errors) after renaming a route.

You can prevent that from the VSCode settings by marking the file as readonly. Our recommendation is to also exclude it from search results and file watcher with the following settings:

{
	"files.readonlyInclude": {
		"**/routeTree.gen.ts": true
	},
	"files.watcherExclude": {
		"**/routeTree.gen.ts": true
	},
	"search.exclude": {
		"**/routeTree.gen.ts": true
	}
}

You can use those settings either at a user level or only for a single workspace by creating the file .vscode/settings.json at the root of your project.

Configuration

When using the TanStack Router Plugin with Rspack (or Rsbuild) for File-based routing, it comes with some sane defaults that should work for most projects:

{
	"routesDirectory": "./src/routes",
	"generatedRouteTree": "./src/routeTree.gen.ts",
	"routeFileIgnorePrefix": "-",
	"quoteStyle": "single"
}

You can find all the available configuration options in the File-based Routing API Reference.

Installation with Vite

To use file-based routing with Vite, you'll need to install the @tanstack/router-plugin package.

npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin

Once installed, you'll need to add the plugin to your Vite configuration.

// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react'
import { tanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/vite'

// https://vitejs.dev/config/
export default defineConfig({
	plugins: [
		// Please make sure that '@tanstack/router-plugin' is passed before '@vitejs/plugin-react'
		tanstackRouter({
			target: 'react',
			autoCodeSplitting: true,
		}),
		react(),
		// ...
	],
})

Or, you can clone our Quickstart Vite example and get started.

[!WARNING] If you are using the older @tanstack/router-vite-plugin package, you can still continue to use it, as it will be aliased to the @tanstack/router-plugin/vite package. However, we would recommend using the @tanstack/router-plugin package directly.

Now that you've added the plugin to your Vite configuration, you're all set to start using file-based routing with TanStack Router.

Ignoring the generated route tree file

Here are some resources to help you ignore the generated route tree file:

[!WARNING] If you are using VSCode, you may experience the route tree file unexpectedly open (with errors) after renaming a route.

You can prevent that from the VSCode settings by marking the file as readonly. Our recommendation is to also exclude it from search results and file watcher with the following settings:

{
	"files.readonlyInclude": {
		"**/routeTree.gen.ts": true
	},
	"files.watcherExclude": {
		"**/routeTree.gen.ts": true
	},
	"search.exclude": {
		"**/routeTree.gen.ts": true
	}
}

You can use those settings either at a user level or only for a single workspace by creating the file .vscode/settings.json at the root of your project.

Configuration

When using the TanStack Router Plugin with Vite for File-based routing, it comes with some sane defaults that should work for most projects:

{
	"routesDirectory": "./src/routes",
	"generatedRouteTree": "./src/routeTree.gen.ts",
	"routeFileIgnorePrefix": "-",
	"quoteStyle": "single"
}

You can find all the available configuration options in the File-based Routing API Reference.

Installation with Webpack

To use file-based routing with Webpack, you'll need to install the @tanstack/router-plugin package.

npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin

Once installed, you'll need to add the plugin to your configuration.

// webpack.config.ts
import { tanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/webpack'

export default {
	plugins: [
		tanstackRouter({
			target: 'react',
			autoCodeSplitting: true,
		}),
	],
}

Or, you can clone our Quickstart Webpack example and get started.

Now that you've added the plugin to your Webpack configuration, you're all set to start using file-based routing with TanStack Router.

Ignoring the generated route tree file

Here are some resources to help you ignore the generated route tree file:

[!WARNING] If you are using VSCode, you may experience the route tree file unexpectedly open (with errors) after renaming a route.

You can prevent that from the VSCode settings by marking the file as readonly. Our recommendation is to also exclude it from search results and file watcher with the following settings:

{
	"files.readonlyInclude": {
		"**/routeTree.gen.ts": true
	},
	"files.watcherExclude": {
		"**/routeTree.gen.ts": true
	},
	"search.exclude": {
		"**/routeTree.gen.ts": true
	}
}

You can use those settings either at a user level or only for a single workspace by creating the file .vscode/settings.json at the root of your project.

Configuration

When using the TanStack Router Plugin with Webpack for File-based routing, it comes with some sane defaults that should work for most projects:

{
	"routesDirectory": "./src/routes",
	"generatedRouteTree": "./src/routeTree.gen.ts",
	"routeFileIgnorePrefix": "-",
	"quoteStyle": "single"
}

You can find all the available configuration options in the File-based Routing API Reference.

</@tanstack/react-router_installation>

<@tanstack/react-router_setup-and-architecture> Always Apply: false - This rule should only be applied when relevant files are open Always apply this rule in these files: package.json, vite.config.ts, tsconfig.json, src//*.ts, src//*.tsx

Overview

TanStack Router is a router for building React and Solid applications. Some of its features include:

100% inferred TypeScript support
Typesafe navigation
Nested Routing and layout routes (with pathless layouts)
Built-in Route Loaders w/ SWR Caching
Designed for client-side data caches (TanStack Query, SWR, etc.)
Automatic route prefetching
Asynchronous route elements and error boundaries
File-based Route Generation
Typesafe JSON-first Search Params state management APIs
Path and Search Parameter Schema Validation
Search Param Navigation APIs
Custom Search Param parser/serializer support
Search param middleware
Route matching/loading middleware

To get started quickly, head to the next page. For a more lengthy explanation, buckle up while I bring you up to speed!

"A Fork in the Route"

Using a router to build applications is widely regarded as a must-have and is usually one of the first choices you’ll make in your tech stack.

Why TanStack Router?

TanStack Router delivers on the same fundamental expectations as other routers that you’ve come to expect:

Nested routes, layout routes, grouped routes
File-based Routing
Parallel data loading
Prefetching
URL Path Params
Error Boundaries and Handling
SSR
Route Masking

And it also delivers some new features that raise the bar:

100% inferred TypeScript support
Typesafe navigation
Built-in SWR Caching for loaders
Designed for client-side data caches (TanStack Query, SWR, etc.)
Typesafe JSON-first Search Params state management APIs
Path and Search Parameter Schema Validation
Search Parameter Navigation APIs
Custom Search Param parser/serializer support
Search param middleware
Inherited Route Context
Mixed file-based and code-based routing

Let’s dive into some of the more important ones in more detail!

100% Inferred TypeScript Support

Everything these days is written “in Typescript” or at the very least offers type definitions that are veneered over runtime functionality, but too few packages in the ecosystem actually design their APIs with TypeScript in mind. So while I’m pleased that your router is auto-completing your option fields and catching a few property/method typos here and there, there is much more to be had.

TanStack Router is fully aware of all of your routes and their configuration at any given point in your code. This includes the path, path params, search params, context, and any other configuration you’ve provided. Ultimately this means that you can navigate to any route in your app with 100% type safety and confidence that your link or navigate call will succeed.
TanStack Router provides lossless type-inference. It uses countless generic type parameters to enforce and propagate any type information you give it throughout the rest of its API and ultimately your app. No other router offers this level of type safety and developer confidence.

What does all of that mean for you?

Faster feature development with auto-completion and type hints
Safer and faster refactors
Confidence that your code will work as expected

1st Class Search Parameters

Search parameters are often an afterthought, treated like a black box of strings (or string) that you can parse and update, but not much else. Existing solutions are not type-safe either, adding to the caution that is required to deal with them. Even the most "modern" frameworks and routers leave it up to you to figure out how to manage this state. Sometimes they'll parse the search string into an object for you, or sometimes you're left to do it yourself with URLSearchParams.

Let's step back and remember that search params are the most powerful state manager in your entire application. They are global, serializable, bookmarkable, and shareable making them the perfect place to store any kind of state that needs to survive a page refresh or a social share.

To live up to that responsibility, search parameters are a first-class citizen in TanStack Router. While still based on standard URLSearchParams, TanStack Router uses a powerful parser/serializer to manage deeper and more complex data structures in your search params, all while keeping them type-safe and easy to work with.

It's like having useState right in the URL!

Search parameters are:

Automatically parsed and serialized as JSON
Validated and typed
Inherited from parent routes
Accessible in loaders, components, and hooks
Easily modified with the useSearch hook, Link, navigate, and router.navigate APIs
Customizable with a custom search filters and middleware
Subscribed via fine-grained search param selectors for efficient re-renders

Once you start using TanStack Router's search parameters, you'll wonder how you ever lived without them.

Built-In Caching and Friendly Data Loading

Data loading is a critical part of any application and while most existing routers offer some form of critical data loading APIs, they often fall short when it comes to caching and data lifecycle management. Existing solutions suffer from a few common problems:

No caching at all. Data is always fresh, but your users are left waiting for frequently accessed data to load over and over again.
Overly-aggressive caching. Data is cached for too long, leading to stale data and a poor user experience.
Blunt invalidation strategies and APIs. Data may be invalidated too often, leading to unnecessary network requests and wasted resources, or you may not have any fine-grained control over when data is invalidated at all.

TanStack Router solves these problems with a two-prong approach to caching and data loading:

Built-in Cache

TanStack Router provides a light-weight built-in caching layer that works seamlessly with the Router. This caching layer is loosely based on TanStack Query, but with fewer features and a much smaller API surface area. Like TanStack Query, sane but powerful defaults guarantee that your data is cached for reuse, invalidated when necessary, and garbage collected when not in use. It also provides a simple API for invalidating the cache manually when needed.

Flexible & Powerful Data Lifecycle APIs

TanStack Router is designed with a flexible and powerful data loading API that more easily integrates with existing data fetching libraries like TanStack Query, SWR, Apollo, Relay, or even your own custom data fetching solution. Configurable APIs like context, beforeLoad, loaderDeps and loader work in unison to make it easy to define declarative data dependencies, prefetch data, and manage the lifecycle of an external data source with ease.

Inherited Route Context

TanStack Router's router and route context is a powerful feature that allows you to define context that is specific to a route which is then inherited by all child routes. Even the router and root routes themselves can provide context. Context can be built up both synchronously and asynchronously, and can be used to share data, configuration, or even functions between routes and route configurations. This is especially useful for scenarios like:

Authentication and Authorization
Hybrid SSR/CSR data fetching and preloading
Theming
Singletons and global utilities
Curried or partial application across preloading, loading, and rendering stages

Also, what would route context be if it weren't type-safe? TanStack Router's route context is fully type-safe and inferred at zero cost to you.

File-based and/or Code-Based Routing

TanStack Router supports both file-based and code-based routing at the same time. This flexibility allows you to choose the approach that best fits your project's needs.

TanStack Router's file-based routing approach is uniquely user-facing. Route configuration is generated for you either by the Vite plugin or TanStack Router CLI, leaving the usage of said generated code up to you! This means that you're always in total control of your routes and router, even if you use file-based routing.

Acknowledgements

TanStack Router builds on concepts and patterns popularized by many other OSS projects, including:

We acknowledge the investment, risk and research that went into their development, but are excited to push the bar they have set even higher.

Let's go!

Enough overview, there's so much more to do with TanStack Router. Hit that next button and let's get started!

Quick Start

Impatient?

The fastest way to get started with TanStack Router is to scaffold a new project. Just run:

npx create-tsrouter-app@latest

The CLI will guide you through a short series of prompts to customize your setup, including options for:

File-based or code-based route configuration
TypeScript support
Tailwind CSS integration
Toolchain setup
Git initialization

Once complete, a new React project will be generated with TanStack Router installed and ready to use:

cd your-project-name
npm run dev

[!TIP] For full details on available options and templates, visit the create-tsrouter-app documentation.

Routing Options

TanStack Router supports both file-based and code-based route configurations. You can specify your preference during the CLI setup, or use these commands directly:

File-Based Route Generation

The file-based approach is the recommended option for most projects. It automatically creates routes based on your file structure, giving you the best mix of performance, simplicity, and developer experience.

npx create-tsrouter-app@latest my-app --template file-router

Code-Based Route Configuration

If you prefer to define routes programmatically, you can use the code-based route configuration. This approach gives you full control over routing logic.

npx create-tsrouter-app@latest my-app

With either approach, navigate to your project directory and start the development server:

cd my-app
npm run dev

Existing Project

If you have an existing React project and want to add TanStack Router to it, you can install it manually.

Requirements

Before installing TanStack Router, please ensure your project meets the following requirements:

react v18 or later with createRoot support.
react-dom v18 or later.

[!NOTE] Using TypeScript (v5.3.x or higher) is recommended for the best development experience, though not strictly required. We aim to support the last 5 minor versions of TypeScript, but using the latest version will help avoid potential issues.

TanStack Router is currently only compatible with React (with ReactDOM) and Solid. If you're interested in contributing to support other frameworks, such as React Native, Angular, or Vue, please reach out to us on Discord.

Installation

To install TanStack Router in your project, run the following command using your preferred package manager:

npm install @tanstack/react-router
# or
pnpm add @tanstack/react-router
#or
yarn add @tanstack/react-router
# or
bun add @tanstack/react-router
# or
deno add npm:@tanstack/react-router

Once installed, you can verify the installation by checking your package.json file for the dependency.

{
	"dependencies": {
		"@tanstack/react-router": "^x.x.x"
	}
}

Decisions on Developer Experience

When people first start using TanStack Router, they often have a lot of questions that revolve around the following themes:

Why do I have to do things this way?

Why is it done this way? and not that way?

I'm used to doing it this way, why should I change?

And they are all valid questions. For the most part, people are used to using routing libraries that are very similar to each other. They all have a similar API, similar concepts, and similar ways of doing things.

But TanStack Router is different. It's not your average routing library. It's not your average state management library. It's not your average anything.

TanStack Router's origin story

It's important to remember that TanStack Router's origins stem from Nozzle.io's need for a client-side routing solution that offered a first-in-class URL Search Parameters experience without compromising on the type-safety that was required to power its complex dashboards.

And so, from TanStack Router's very inception, every facet of its design was meticulously thought out to ensure that its type-safety and developer experience were second to none.

How does TanStack Router achieve this?

TypeScript! TypeScript! TypeScript!

Every aspect of TanStack Router is designed to be as type-safe as possible, and this is achieved by leveraging TypeScript's type system to its fullest extent. This involves using some very advanced and complex types, type inference, and other features to ensure that the developer experience is as smooth as possible.

But to achieve this, we had to make some decisions that deviate from the norms in the routing world.

Route configuration boilerplate?: You have to define your routes in a way that allows TypeScript to infer the types of your routes as much as possible.
TypeScript module declaration for the router?: You have to pass the Router instance to the rest of your application using TypeScript's module declaration.
Why push for file-based routing over code-based?: We push for file-based routing as the preferred way to define your routes.

TLDR; All the design decisions in the developer experience of using TanStack Router are made so that you can have a best-in-class type-safety experience without compromising on the control, flexibility, and maintainability of your route configurations.

Why is the Router's configuration done this way?

When you want to leverage the TypeScript's inference features to its fullest, you'll quickly realize that Generics are your best friend. And so, TanStack Router uses Generics everywhere to ensure that the types of your routes are inferred as much as possible.

This means that you have to define your routes in a way that allows TypeScript to infer the types of your routes as much as possible.

Can I use JSX to define my routes?

Using JSX for defining your routes is out of the question, as TypeScript will not be able to infer the route configuration types of your router.

// ⛔️ This is not possible
function App() {
	return (
		<Router>
			<Route path="/posts" component={PostsPage} />
			<Route path="/posts/$postId" component={PostIdPage} />
			{/* ... */}
		</Router>
		// ^? TypeScript cannot infer the routes in this configuration
	)
}

And since this would mean that you'd have to manually type the to prop of the <Link> component and wouldn't catch any errors until runtime, it's not a viable option.

Maybe I could define my routes as a tree of nested objects?

// ⛔️ This file will just keep growing and growing...
const router = createRouter({
	routes: {
		posts: {
			component: PostsPage, // /posts
			children: {
				$postId: {
					component: PostIdPage, // /posts/$postId
				},
			},
		},
		// ...
	},
})

At first glance, this seems like a good idea. It's easy to visualize the entire route hierarchy in one go. But this approach has a couple of big downsides that make it not ideal for large applications:

It's not very scalable: As your application grows, the tree will grow and become harder to manage. And since it's all defined in one file, it can become very hard to maintain.
It's not great for code-splitting: You'd have to manually code-split each component and then pass it into the component property of the route, further complicating the route configuration with an ever-growing route configuration file.

This only gets worse as you begin to use more features of the router, such as nested context, loaders, search param validation, etc.

So, what's the best way to define my routes?

What we found to be the best way to define your routes is to abstract the definition of the route configuration outside of the route-tree. Then stitch together your route configurations into a single cohesive route-tree that is then passed into the createRouter function.

You can read more about code-based routing to see how to define your routes in this way.

[!TIP] Finding Code-based routing to be a bit too cumbersome? See why file-based routing is the preferred way to define your routes.

Declaring the Router instance for type inference

Why do I have to declare the Router?

This declaration stuff is way too complicated for me...

Once you've constructed your routes into a tree and passed it into your Router instance (using createRouter) with all the generics working correctly, you then need to somehow pass this information to the rest of your application.

There were two approaches we considered for this:

Imports: You could import the Router instance from the file where you created it and use it directly in your components.

import { router } from '@/src/app'
export const PostsIdLink = () => {
	return (
		<Link<typeof router> to="/posts/$postId" params={{ postId: '123' }}>
			Go to post 123
		</Link>
	)
}

A downside to this approach is that you'd have to import the entire Router instance into every file where you want to use it. This can lead to increased bundle sizes and can be cumbersome to manage, and only get worse as your application grows and you use more features of the router.

Module declaration: You can use TypeScript's module declaration to declare the Router instance as a module that can be used for type inference anywhere in your application without having to import it.

You'll do this once in your application.

// src/app.tsx
declare module '@tanstack/react-router' {
	interface Register {
		router: typeof router
	}
}

And then you can benefit from its auto-complete anywhere in your app without having to import it.

export const PostsIdLink = () => {
	return (
		<Link
			to="/posts/$postId"
			// ^? TypeScript will auto-complete this for you
			params={{ postId: '123' }} // and this too!
		>
			Go to post 123
		</Link>
	)
}

We went with module declaration, as it is what we found to be the most scalable and maintainable approach with the least amount of overhead and boilerplate.

Why is file-based routing the preferred way to define routes?

Why are the docs pushing for file-based routing?

I'm used to defining my routes in a single file, why should I change?

Something you'll notice (quite soon) in the TanStack Router documentation is that we push for file-based routing as the preferred method for defining your routes. This is because we've found that file-based routing is the most scalable and maintainable way to define your routes.

[!TIP] Before you continue, it's important you have a good understanding of code-based routing and file-based routing.

As mentioned in the beginning, TanStack Router was designed for complex applications that require a high degree of type-safety and maintainability. And to achieve this, the configuration of the router has been done in a precise way that allows TypeScript to infer the types of your routes as much as possible.

A key difference in the set-up of a basic application with TanStack Router, is that your route configurations require a function to be provided to getParentRoute, that returns the parent route of the current route.

import { createRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { postsRoute } from './postsRoute'

export const postsIndexRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => postsRoute,
	path: '/',
})

At this stage, this is done so the definition of postsIndexRoute can be aware of its location in the route tree and so that it can correctly infer the types of the context, path params, search params returned by the parent route. Incorrectly defining the getParentRoute function means that the properties of the parent route will not be correctly inferred by the child route.

As such, this is a critical part of the route configuration and a point of failure if not done correctly.

But this is only one part of setting up a basic application. TanStack Router requires all the routes (including the root route) to be stitched into a route-tree so that it may be passed into the createRouter function before declaring the Router instance on the module for type inference. This is another critical part of the route configuration and a point of failure if not done correctly.

🤯 If this route-tree were in its own file for an application with ~40-50 routes, it can easily grow up to 700+ lines.

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([
	postsRoute.addChildren([postsIndexRoute, postsIdRoute]),
])

This complexity only increases as you begin to use more features of the router, such as nested context, loaders, search param validation, etc. As such, it no longer becomes feasible to define your routes in a single file. And so, users end up building their own semi consistent way of defining their routes across multiple files. This can lead to inconsistencies and errors in the route configuration.

Finally, comes the issue of code-splitting. As your application grows, you'll want to code-split your components to reduce the initial bundle size of your application. This can be a bit of a headache to manage when you're defining your routes in a single file or even across multiple files.

import { createRoute, lazyRouteComponent } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { postsRoute } from './postsRoute'

export const postsIndexRoute = createRoute({
	getParentRoute: () => postsRoute,
	path: '/',
	component: lazyRouteComponent(() => import('../page-components/posts/index')),
})

All of this boilerplate, no matter how essential for providing a best-in-class type-inference experience, can be a bit overwhelming and can lead to inconsistencies and errors in the route configuration.

... and this example configuration is just for rendering a single codes-split route. Imagine having to do this for 40-50 routes. Now remember that you still haven't touched the context, loaders, search param validation, and other features of the router 🤕.

So, why's file-based routing the preferred way?

TanStack Router's file-based routing is designed to solve all of these issues. It allows you to define your routes in a predictable way that is easy to manage and maintain, and is scalable as your application grows.

The file-based routing approach is powered by the TanStack Router Bundler Plugin. It performs 3 essential tasks that solve the pain points in route configuration when using code-based routing:

Route configuration boilerplate: It generates the boilerplate for your route configurations.
Route tree stitching: It stitches together your route configurations into a single cohesive route-tree. Also in the background, it correctly updates the route configurations to define the getParentRoute function match the routes with their parent routes.
Code-splitting: It automatically code-splits your route content components and updates the route configurations with the correct component. Additionally, at runtime, it ensures that the correct component is loaded when the route is visited.

Let's take a look at how the route configuration for the previous example would look like with file-based routing.

// src/routes/posts/index.ts
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/')({
	component: () => 'Posts index component goes here!!!',
})

That's it! No need to worry about defining the getParentRoute function, stitching together the route-tree, or code-splitting your components. The TanStack Router Bundler Plugin handles all of this for you.

At no point does the TanStack Router Bundler Plugin take away your control over your route configurations. It's designed to be as flexible as possible, allowing you to define your routes in a way that suits your application whilst reducing the boilerplate and complexity of the route configuration.

Check out the guides for file-based routing and code-splitting for a more in-depth explanation of how they work in TanStack Router.

Devtools

Link, take this sword... I mean Devtools!... to help you on your way!

Wave your hands in the air and shout hooray because TanStack Router comes with dedicated devtools! 🥳

When you begin your TanStack Router journey, you'll want these devtools by your side. They help visualize all of the inner workings of TanStack Router and will likely save you hours of debugging if you find yourself in a pinch!

Installation

The devtools are a separate package that you need to install:

npm install @tanstack/react-router-devtools

pnpm add @tanstack/react-router-devtools

yarn add @tanstack/react-router-devtools

bun add @tanstack/react-router-devtools

Import the Devtools

import { TanStackRouterDevtools } from '@tanstack/react-router-devtools'

Using Devtools in production

The Devtools, if imported as TanStackRouterDevtools will not be shown in production. If you want to have devtools in an environment with process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production', use instead TanStackRouterDevtoolsInProd, which has all the same options:

import { TanStackRouterDevtoolsInProd } from '@tanstack/react-router-devtools'

Using inside of the `RouterProvider`

The easiest way for the devtools to work is to render them inside of your root route (or any other route). This will automatically connect the devtools to the router instance.

const rootRoute = createRootRoute({
	component: () => (
		<>
			<Outlet />
			<TanStackRouterDevtools />
		</>
	),
})

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([
	// ... other routes
])

const router = createRouter({
	routeTree,
})

function App() {
	return <RouterProvider router={router} />
}

Manually passing the Router Instance

If rendering the devtools inside of the RouterProvider isn't your cup of tea, a router prop for the devtools accepts the same router instance you pass to the Router component. This makes it possible to place the devtools anywhere on the page, not just inside the provider:

function App() {
	return (
		<>
			<RouterProvider router={router} />
			<TanStackRouterDevtools router={router} />
		</>
	)
}

Floating Mode

Floating Mode will mount the devtools as a fixed, floating element in your app and provide a toggle in the corner of the screen to show and hide the devtools. This toggle state will be stored and remembered in localStorage across reloads.

Place the following code as high in your React app as you can. The closer it is to the root of the page, the better it will work!

import { TanStackRouterDevtools } from '@tanstack/react-router-devtools'

function App() {
	return (
		<>
			<Router />
			<TanStackRouterDevtools initialIsOpen={false} />
		</>
	)
}

Devtools Options

router: Router
- The router instance to connect to.
initialIsOpen: Boolean
- Set this true if you want the devtools to default to being open.
panelProps: PropsObject
- Use this to add props to the panel. For example, you can add className, style (merge and override default style), etc.
closeButtonProps: PropsObject
- Use this to add props to the close button. For example, you can add className, style (merge and override default style), onClick (extend default handler), etc.
toggleButtonProps: PropsObject
- Use this to add props to the toggle button. For example, you can add className, style (merge and override default style), onClick (extend default handler), etc.
position?: "top-left" | "top-right" | "bottom-left" | "bottom-right"
- Defaults to bottom-left.
- The position of the TanStack Router logo to open and close the devtools panel.
shadowDOMTarget?: ShadowRoot
- Specifies a Shadow DOM target for the devtools.
- By default, devtool styles are applied to the <head> tag of the main document (light DOM). When a shadowDOMTarget is provided, styles will be applied within this Shadow DOM instead.
containerElement?: string | any
- Use this to render the devtools inside a different type of container element for ally purposes.
- Any string which corresponds to a valid intrinsic JSX element is allowed.
- Defaults to 'footer'.

Fixed Mode

To control the position of the devtools, import the TanStackRouterDevtoolsPanel:

import { TanStackRouterDevtoolsPanel } from '@tanstack/react-router-devtools'

It can then be attached to provided shadow DOM target:

<TanStackRouterDevtoolsPanel
	shadowDOMTarget={shadowContainer}
	router={router}
/>

Click here to see a live example of this in StackBlitz.

Embedded Mode

Embedded Mode will embed the devtools as a regular component in your application. You can style it however you'd like after that!

import { TanStackRouterDevtoolsPanel } from '@tanstack/react-router-devtools'

function App() {
	return (
		<>
			<Router router={router} />
			<TanStackRouterDevtoolsPanel
				router={router}
				style={styles}
				className={className}
			/>
		</>
	)
}

DevtoolsPanel Options

router: Router
- The router instance to connect to.
style: StyleObject
- The standard React style object used to style a component with inline styles.
className: string
- The standard React className property used to style a component with classes.
isOpen?: boolean
- A boolean variable indicating whether the panel is open or closed.
setIsOpen?: (isOpen: boolean) => void
- A function that toggles the open and close state of the panel.
handleDragStart?: (e: any) => void
- Handles the opening and closing the devtools panel.
shadowDOMTarget?: ShadowRoot
- Specifies a Shadow DOM target for the devtools.
- By default, devtool styles are applied to the <head> tag of the main document (light DOM). When a shadowDOMTarget is provided, styles will be applied within this Shadow DOM instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to the TanStack Router FAQ! Here you'll find answers to common questions about the TanStack Router. If you have a question that isn't answered here, please feel free to ask in the TanStack Discord.

Why should you choose TanStack Router over another router?

To answer this question, it's important to view the other options in the space. There are many alternatives to choose from, but only a couple that are widely adopted and actively maintained:

Next.js - Widely regarded as the leading framework for starting new React projects. Its design focuses on performance, development workflows, and cutting-edge technology. The framework's APIs and abstractions, while powerful, can sometimes present as non-standard. Rapid growth and industry adoption have resulted in a feature-rich experience, sometimes leading to a steeper learning curve and increased overhead.
Remix / React Router - Based on the historically successful React Router, Remix delivers a powerful developer and user experience. Its API and architectural vision are firmly rooted in web standards such as Request/Response, with an emphasis on adaptability across various JavaScript environments. Many of its APIs and abstractions are well-designed and have influenced more than a few of TanStack Router's APIs. However, its rigid design, the integration of type safety as an add-on, and sometimes strict adherence to platform APIs can present limitations for some developers.

These frameworks and routers have their strengths, but they also come with trade-offs that may not align with every project's needs. TanStack Router aims to strike a balance by offering routing APIs designed to improve the developer experience without sacrificing flexibility or performance.

Is TanStack Router a framework?

TanStack Router itself is not a "framework" in the traditional sense, since it doesn't address a few other common full-stack concerns. However, TanStack Router has been designed to be upgradable to a full-stack framework when used in conjunction with other tools that address bundling, deployments, and server-side-specific functionality. This is why we are currently developing TanStack Start, a full-stack framework that is built on top of TanStack Router and Vite. For a deeper dive on the history of TanStack Router, feel free to read TanStack Router's History.

Should I commit my `routeTree.gen.ts` file into git?

Yes! Although the route tree file (i.e., routeTree.gen.ts) is generated by TanStack Router, it is essentially part of your application’s runtime, not a build artifact. The route tree file is a critical part of your application’s source code, and it is used by TanStack Router to build your application’s routes at runtime.

You should commit this file into git so that other developers can use it to build your application.

Can I conditionally render the Root Route component?

No, the root route is always rendered as it is the entry point of your application.

If you need to conditionally render a route's component, this usually means that the page content needs to be different based on some condition (e.g. user authentication). For this use case, you should use a Layout Route or a Pathless Layout Route to conditionally render the content.

You can restrict access to these routes using a conditional check in the beforeLoad function of the route.

// src/routes/_pathless-layout.tsx
import { createFileRoute, Outlet } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { isAuthenticated } from '../utils/auth'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/_pathless-layout', {
	beforeLoad: async () => {
		// Check if the user is authenticated
		const authed = await isAuthenticated()
		if (!authed) {
			// Redirect the user to the login page
			return '/login'
		}
	},
	component: PathlessLayoutRouteComponent,
	// ...
})

function PathlessLayoutRouteComponent() {
	return (
		<div>
			<h1>You are authed</h1>
			<Outlet />
		</div>
	)
}

</@tanstack/react-router_setup-and-architecture>

tanstack

SKILL.md

name: tanstack description: Latest framework knowledge and best practices for building web apps using Tanstack start with React + Vite. compatibility: opencode metadata: frameworks: React, Vite, SSR, SPA, Routing, Fetching

ActiveLinkOptions type

ActiveLinkOptions properties

activeProps

inactiveProps

AsyncRouteComponent type

FileRoute class

FileRoute constructor

Constructor options

Constructor returns

FileRoute methods

.createRoute method

.createRoute options

.createRoute returns

Examples

LinkOptions type

LinkOptions properties

target

activeOptions

preload

preloadDelay

disabled

LinkProps type

LinkProps properties

children

MatchRouteOptions type

MatchRouteOptions properties

pending property

caseSensitive property (deprecated)

includeSearch property

fuzzy property

NavigateOptions type

NavigateOptions properties

replace

resetScroll

hashScrollIntoView

viewTransition

ignoreBlocker

reloadDocument

href

NotFoundError

NotFoundError properties

global property (⚠️ deprecated, use routeId: rootRouteId instead)

data property

throw property

route property

headers property

NotFoundRoute class

Constructor options

Examples

ParsedHistoryState type

ParsedLocation type

Redirect type

Redirect properties

statusCode property

throw property

headers property

Navigation Properties

Register type

Examples

RootRoute class

RootRoute constructor

Constructor options

Constructor returns

Examples

RouteApi class

Constructor options

opts.routeId option

Constructor returns

Examples

RouteApi Type

RouteApi properties and methods

useMatch method

useRouteContext method

useSearch method

useParams method

useLoaderData method

useLoaderDeps method

`activeProps`

`inactiveProps`

`FileRoute` constructor

`FileRoute` methods

`.createRoute` method

`target`

`activeOptions`

`preload`

`preloadDelay`

`disabled`

`children`

`pending` property

`caseSensitive` property (deprecated)

`includeSearch` property

`fuzzy` property

`replace`

`resetScroll`

`hashScrollIntoView`

`viewTransition`

`ignoreBlocker`

`reloadDocument`

`href`

`global` property (⚠️ deprecated, use `routeId: rootRouteId` instead)

`data` property

`throw` property

`route` property

`headers` property

`statusCode` property

`throw` property

`headers` property

`RootRoute` constructor

`opts.routeId` option

`RouteApi` properties and methods

`useMatch` method

`useRouteContext` method

`useSearch` method

`useParams` method

`useLoaderData` method

`useLoaderDeps` method

`useNavigate` method

`Route` constructor

`...ToOptions`

`options.routeTree`

`options.unmaskOnReload`

`getParentRoute` method

`path` property

`id` property

`component` property

`errorComponent` property

`pendingComponent` property

`notFoundComponent` property

`validateSearch` method

`search.middlewares` property

`parseParams` method (⚠️ deprecated, use `params.parse` instead)

`stringifyParams` method (⚠️ deprecated, use `params.stringify` instead)

`params.parse` method

`params.stringify` method

`beforeLoad` method

`loader` method

`loaderDeps` method

`staleTime` property

`preloadStaleTime` property

`gcTime` property

`shouldReload` property

`caseSensitive` property

`wrapInSuspense` property

`pendingMs` property

`pendingMinMs` property

`preloadMaxAge` property

`preSearchFilters` property (⚠️ deprecated, use `search.middlewares` instead)

`postSearchFilters` property (⚠️ deprecated, use `search.middlewares` instead)

`onError` property

`onEnter` property

`onStay` property

`onLeave` property

`onCatch` property

`remountDeps` method

`headers` method

`head` method

`scripts` method