| name | tanstack-start |
| description | TanStack Start (RC) full-stack React with server functions, SSR, Cloudflare Workers. Use for Next.js migration, edge rendering, or encountering hydration, auth, data pattern errors. |
TanStack Start (React) — RC-Ready Playbook
Full-stack React on TanStack Router with per-route SSR/CSR, file-based routing, server functions, and first-class Cloudflare Workers support.
Use this skill when
- Building a greenfield React app that needs route-level SSR/CSR/SSG switches.
- Migrating from Next.js/React Router while keeping file-based routing + API routes.
- Shipping to edge runtimes (Workers) with typed server functions and bindings.
- You want predictable routing with type-safe params/search + built-in preloading.
What’s inside
- References: quickstart/layout, rendering modes, server functions, Cloudflare hosting, execution/auth, plus new routing/data/navigation/devtools guides.
- Script:
scripts/bootstrap-cloudflare-start.sh <app> scaffolds Start + Workers + binding types.
- Troubleshooting: hydration, API routing, bindings, navigation/preloading failures.
Quick Start (React)
npm create @tanstack/start@latest my-app
cd my-app
npm run dev
Manual installs (all bundle targets are supported): add @tanstack/react-router + @tanstack/react-start with your bundler plugin (vite, webpack, or esbuild) per the official install guides.
Core layout reminder
app/routes/** file-based routes → router tree, automatic code-splitting + data preloading.app/entry.client.tsx hydrates <StartClient />; app/entry.server.tsx wraps createServerEntry.app/config.ts or app/start.ts sets defaultSsr, spaMode, middleware, and context.
Routing + Data Best Practices
- Type-safe params & search:
createFileRoute() infers path params; add validateSearch (zod) to parse and coerce search params.
- Route matching order is deterministic (index → static → dynamic → splat); rely on this when adding catch-alls.
- Loaders run once per location change; return plain data, throw
redirect()/notFound() for control flow.
- Data mutations: colocate
action/server functions; keep loaders read-only and invalidate via router.invalidate() after mutation.
- TanStack Query bridge: create a
QueryClient in router context and ensureQueryData inside loaders to dedupe fetches.
- Deferred/external data: stream partial data or read from external loaders; prefer suspense-friendly responses.
- Head management: set
head per route for <title>/meta; derive from loader data to keep SEO consistent.
- Not-found/auth: throw
notFound() or redirect() in loaders/middleware; use error boundaries for UX.
Example route (typed search + data-only SSR):
import { createFileRoute, redirect } from "@tanstack/react-router";
import { z } from "zod";
export const Route = createFileRoute("/posts/$postId")({
validateSearch: z.object({ preview: z.boolean().optional() }),
ssr: "data-only",
loader: async ({ params, search, context }) => {
const post = await context.queryClient.ensureQueryData(["post", params.postId], () =>
fetch(`/api/posts/${params.postId}?preview=${!!search.preview}`).then((r) => r.json()),
);
if (!post.published && !search.preview) throw redirect({ to: "/drafts" });
return { post };
},
});
Navigation, Preloading, and UX
- Link prefetch defaults:
<Link preload="intent"> (hover/focus) preloads route data/code; use preload="render" for above-the-fold routes.
- Programmatic preloading:
router.preloadRoute({ to, search }) to warm caches before navigation (e.g., on visibility).
- Route masking: keep canonical URLs while showing user-friendly masks (e.g.,
/products?slug=abc masked as /p/abc).
- Navigation blocking: protect unsaved forms with
router.navigate({ to, replace, from }) blockers or useBlocker.
- Scroll restoration: enable
scrollRestoration to restore positions on back/forward; customize per route when using long lists.
- Search param serialization: customize parse/stringify to keep numbers/dates stable and avoid stringified booleans.
Rendering & Performance
- Per-route SSR: set
ssr: true | false | 'data-only' on routes; defaultSsr config sets the baseline.
- Code-splitting: file-based routes auto-split; add
lazy/load for manual chunks on code-based routes.
- Preloading strategy: pair
preload="intent" links with defaultPreloadStaleTime to avoid over-fetching.
- Render optimizations: keep loaders pure, memoize heavy components, and use
pendingComponent for CSR routes to avoid layout shift.
Devtools, Linting, and LLM Support
- Add
<RouterDevtools /> during development to inspect matches, loader states, and preloading.
- Enable the ESLint plugin
@tanstack/eslint-plugin-router with the recommended config to enforce inference-sensitive property order (e.g., beforeLoad before loader).
- LLM-aware routing: the Router exposes structured route metadata to LLM agents; keep descriptions concise in
Route meta for better AI navigation.
Deployment Notes (Cloudflare-friendly)
- Keep
cloudflare({ viteEnvironment: { name: 'ssr' } }) first in Vite plugins so bindings reach server entry.
- Regenerate bindings after changes:
npm run cf-typegen.
- For static-heavy sites, enable prerender to ship HTML to Workers Assets/Pages; exclude param routes or add explicit
pages.
Ship Checklist
