TanStack Router

Type-safe, file-based routing for React SPAs with route-level data loading and TanStack Query integration

---

Quick Start

Last Updated: 2026-01-03 Version: @tanstack/react-router@1.144.0

npm install @tanstack/react-router @tanstack/router-devtools
npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin
# Optional: Zod validation adapter
npm install @tanstack/zod-adapter zod

Vite Config (TanStackRouterVite MUST come before react()):

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

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [TanStackRouterVite(), react()], // Order matters!
})

File Structure:

src/routes/
├── __root.tsx         → createRootRoute() with <Outlet />
├── index.tsx          → createFileRoute('/')
└── posts.$postId.tsx  → createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')

App Setup:

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

const router = createRouter({ routeTree })
<RouterProvider router={router} />

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Core Patterns

Type-Safe Navigation (routes auto-complete, params typed):

<Link to="/posts/$postId" params={{ postId: '123' }} />
<Link to="/invalid" /> // ❌ TypeScript error

Route Loaders (data fetching before render):

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
  loader: async ({ params }) => ({ post: await fetchPost(params.postId) }),
  component: ({ useLoaderData }) => {
    const { post } = useLoaderData() // Fully typed!
    return <h1>{post.title}</h1>
  },
})

TanStack Query Integration (prefetch + cache):

const postOpts = (id: string) => queryOptions({
  queryKey: ['posts', id],
  queryFn: () => fetchPost(id),
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
  loader: ({ context: { queryClient }, params }) =>
    queryClient.ensureQueryData(postOpts(params.postId)),
  component: () => {
    const { postId } = Route.useParams()
    const { data } = useQuery(postOpts(postId))
    return <h1>{data.title}</h1>
  },
})

---

Virtual File Routes (v1.140+)

Programmatic route configuration when file-based conventions don't fit your needs:

Install: npm install @tanstack/virtual-file-routes

Vite Config:

import { tanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/vite'

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [
    tanstackRouter({
      target: 'react',
      virtualRouteConfig: './routes.ts', // Point to your routes file
    }),
    react(),
  ],
})

routes.ts (define routes programmatically):

import { rootRoute, route, index, layout, physical } from '@tanstack/virtual-file-routes'

export const routes = rootRoute('root.tsx', [
  index('home.tsx'),
  route('/posts', 'posts/posts.tsx', [
    index('posts/posts-home.tsx'),
    route('$postId', 'posts/posts-detail.tsx'),
  ]),
  layout('first', 'layout/first-layout.tsx', [
    route('/nested', 'nested.tsx'),
  ]),
  physical('/classic', 'file-based-subtree'), // Mix with file-based
])

Use Cases: Custom route organization, mixing file-based and code-based, complex nested layouts.

---

Search Params Validation (Zod Adapter)

Type-safe URL search params with runtime validation:

Basic Pattern (inline validation):

import { z } from 'zod'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/products')({
  validateSearch: (search) => z.object({
    page: z.number().catch(1),
    filter: z.string().catch(''),
    sort: z.enum(['newest', 'oldest', 'price']).catch('newest'),
  }).parse(search),
})

Recommended Pattern (Zod adapter with fallbacks):

import { zodValidator, fallback } from '@tanstack/zod-adapter'
import { z } from 'zod'

const searchSchema = z.object({
  query: z.string().min(1).max(100),
  page: fallback(z.number().int().positive(), 1),
  sortBy: z.enum(['name', 'date', 'relevance']).optional(),
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/search')({
  validateSearch: zodValidator(searchSchema),
  // Type-safe: Route.useSearch() returns typed params
})

Why .catch() over .default(): Use .catch() to silently fix malformed params. Use .default() + errorComponent to show validation errors.

---

Error Boundaries

Handle errors at route level with typed error components:

Route-Level Error Handling:

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
  loader: async ({ params }) => {
    const post = await fetchPost(params.postId)
    if (!post) throw new Error('Post not found')
    return { post }
  },
  errorComponent: ({ error, reset }) => (
    <div>
      <p>Error: {error.message}</p>
      <button onClick={reset}>Retry</button>
    </div>
  ),
})

Default Error Component (global fallback):

const router = createRouter({
  routeTree,
  defaultErrorComponent: ({ error }) => (
    <div className="error-page">
      <h1>Something went wrong</h1>
      <p>{error.message}</p>
    </div>
  ),
})

Not Found Handling:

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
  notFoundComponent: () => <div>Post not found</div>,
})

---

Authentication with beforeLoad

Protect routes before they load (no flash of protected content):

Single Route Protection:

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

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

Protect Multiple Routes (layout route pattern):

// routes/(authenticated)/route.tsx - protects all children
export const Route = createFileRoute('/(authenticated)')({
  beforeLoad: async ({ context }) => {
    if (!context.auth.isAuthenticated) {
      throw redirect({ to: '/login' })
    }
  },
})

Passing Auth Context (from React hooks):

// main.tsx - pass auth state to router
function App() {
  const auth = useAuth() // Your auth hook

  return (
    <RouterProvider
      router={router}
      context={{ auth }} // Available in beforeLoad
    />
  )
}

---

Known Issues & Solutions

Issue #1: Devtools Dependency Resolution

• Error: Build fails with @tanstack/router-devtools-core not found
• Fix: npm install @tanstack/router-devtools

Issue #2: Vite Plugin Order (CRITICAL)

• Error: Routes not auto-generated, routeTree.gen.ts missing
• Fix: TanStackRouterVite MUST come before react() in plugins array
• Why: Plugin processes route files before React compilation

Issue #3: Type Registration Missing

• Error: <Link to="..."> not typed, no autocomplete
• Fix: Import routeTree from ./routeTree.gen in main.tsx to register types

Issue #4: Loader Not Running

• Error: Loader function not called on navigation
• Fix: Ensure route exports Route constant: export const Route = createFileRoute('/path')({ loader: ... })

Issue #5: Memory Leak with TanStack Form

• Error: Production crashes when using TanStack Form + Router
• Source: GitHub Issue #5734 (known issue, still open as of v1.144)
• Workaround: Use React Hook Form or Formik instead

Issue #6: Virtual Routes Index/Layout Conflict

• Error: route.tsx and index.tsx conflict when using physical() in virtual routing
• Source: GitHub Issue #5421
• Fix: Use pathless route instead: _layout.tsx + _layout.index.tsx

Issue #7: Search Params Type Inference

• Error: Type inference not working with zodSearchValidator
• Source: GitHub Issue #3100 (regression since v1.81.5)
• Fix: Use zodValidator from @tanstack/zod-adapter instead

Issue #8: TanStack Start Validators on Reload

• Error: validateSearch not working on page reload in TanStack Start
• Source: GitHub Issue #3711
• Note: Works on client-side navigation, fails on direct page load

---

Cloudflare Workers Integration

Vite Config (add @cloudflare/vite-plugin):

import { cloudflare } from '@cloudflare/vite-plugin'

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [TanStackRouterVite(), react(), cloudflare()],
})

API Routes Pattern (fetch from Workers backend):

// Worker: functions/api/posts.ts
export async function onRequestGet({ env }) {
  const { results } = await env.DB.prepare('SELECT * FROM posts').all()
  return Response.json(results)
}

// Router: src/routes/posts.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
  loader: async () => fetch('/api/posts').then(r => r.json()),
})

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Related Skills: tanstack-query (data fetching), react-hook-form-zod (form validation), cloudflare-worker-base (API backend), tailwind-v4-shadcn (UI)

Related Packages: @tanstack/zod-adapter (search validation), @tanstack/virtual-file-routes (programmatic routes)