tanstack-router

# TanStack Router Patterns Type-safe, file-based routing for React applications with TanStack Router. ## Installation ```bash pnpm add @tanstack/react-router pnpm add -D @tanstack/router-plugin ``` ```typescript // vite.config.ts import { TanStackRouterVite } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/vite' import { defineConfig } from 'vite' import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react' export default defineConfig({ plugins: [ react(), TanStackRouterVite(), // Generates route tree ], }) ``` ## Bootstrap ```typescript // src/main.tsx import { StrictMode } from 'react' import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client' import { RouterProvider, createRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router' import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen' const router = createRouter({ routeTree }) // Register router for type safety declare module '@tanstack/react-router' { interface Register { router: typeof router } } ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('root')!).render( <StrictMode> <RouterProvider router={router} /> </StrictMode> ) ``` ## File-Based Routes ``` src/routes/ ├── __root.tsx # Root layout (Outlet, providers) ├── index.tsx # "/" route ├── about.tsx # "/about" route ├── users/ │ ├── index.tsx # "/users" route │ └── $userId.tsx # "/users/:userId" route (dynamic) └── posts/ ├── $postId/ │ ├── index.tsx # "/posts/:postId" route │ └── edit.tsx # "/posts/:postId/edit" route └── index.tsx # "/posts" route ``` **Naming Conventions:** - `__root.tsx` - Root layout (contains `<Outlet />`) - `index.tsx` - Index route for that path - `$param.tsx` - Dynamic parameter (e.g., `$userId` → `:userId`) - `_layout.tsx` - Layout route (no URL segment) - `route.lazy.tsx` - Lazy-loaded route ## Root Layout ```typescript // src/routes/__root.tsx import { createRootRoute, Outlet } from '@tanstack/react-router' import { TanStackRouterDevtools } from '@tanstack/router-devtools' export const Route = createRootRoute({ component: () => ( <> <nav> <Link to="/">Home</Link> <Link to="/about">About</Link> <Link to="/users">Users</Link> </nav> <main> <Outlet /> {/* Child routes render here */} </main> <TanStackRouterDevtools /> {/* Auto-hides in production */} </> ), }) ``` ## Basic Route ```typescript // src/routes/about.tsx import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router' export const Route = createFileRoute('/about')({ component: AboutComponent, }) function AboutComponent() { return <div>About Page</div> } ``` ## Dynamic Routes with Params ```typescript // src/routes/users/$userId.tsx import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router' export const Route = createFileRoute('/users/$userId')({ component: UserComponent, }) function UserComponent() { const { userId } = Route.useParams() // Fully typed! return <div>User ID: {userId}</div> } ``` ## Typed Search Params ```typescript // src/routes/users/index.tsx import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router' import { z } from 'zod' const userSearchSchema = z.object({ page: z.number().default(1), filter: z.enum(['active', 'inactive', 'all']).default('all'), search: z.string().optional(), }) export const Route = createFileRoute('/users/')({ validateSearch: userSearchSchema, component: UsersComponent, }) function UsersComponent() { const { page, filter, search } = Route.useSearch() // Fully typed! return ( <div> <p>Page: {page}</p> <p>Filter: {filter}</p> {search && <p>Search: {search}</p>} </div> ) } ``` ## Navigation with Link ```typescript import { Link } from '@tanstack/react-router' // Basic navigation <Link to="/about">About</Link> // With params <Link to="/users/$userId" params={{ userId: '123' }}> View User </Link> // With search params <Link to="/users" search={{ page: 2, filter: 'active' }} > Users Page 2 </Link> // With state <Link to="/details" state={{ from: 'home' }}> Details </Link> // Active link styling <Link to="/about" activeProps={{ className: 'text-blue-600 font-bold' }} inactiveProps={{ className: 'text-gray-600' }} > About </Link> ``` ## Programmatic Navigation ```typescript import { useNavigate } from '@tanstack/react-router' function MyComponent() { const navigate = useNavigate() const handleClick = () => { // Navigate to route navigate({ to: '/users' }) // With params navigate({ to: '/users/$userId', params: { userId: '123' } }) // With search navigate({ to: '/users', search: { page: 2 } }) // Replace history navigate({ to: '/login', replace: true }) // Go back navigate({ to: '..' }) // Relative navigation } return <button onClick={handleClick}>Navigate</button> } ``` ## Route Loaders (Data Fetching) **Basic Loader:** ```typescript // src/routes/users/$userId.tsx import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router' export const Route = createFileRoute('/users/$userId')({ loader: async ({ params }) => { const user = await fetchUser(params.userId) return { user } }, component: UserComponent, }) function UserComponent() { const { user } = Route.useLoaderData() // Fully typed! return <div>{user.name}</div> } ``` **With TanStack Query Integration** (see **router-query-integration** skill for details): ```typescript import { queryClient } from '@/app/queryClient' import { userQuery Options } from '@/features/users/queries' export const Route = createFileRoute('/users/$userId')({ loader: ({ params }) => queryClient.ensureQueryData(userQueryOptions(params.userId)), component: UserComponent, }) ``` ## Layouts **Layout Route** (`_layout.tsx` - no URL segment): ```typescript // src/routes/_layout.tsx import { createFileRoute, Outlet } from '@tanstack/react-router' export const Route = createFileRoute('/_layout')({ component: LayoutComponent, }) function LayoutComponent() { return ( <div className="dashboard-layout"> <Sidebar /> <div className="content"> <Outlet /> {/* Child routes */} </div> </div> ) } // Child routes // src/routes/_layout/dashboard.tsx → "/dashboard" // src/routes/_layout/settings.tsx → "/settings" ``` ## Loading States ```typescript export const Route = createFileRoute('/users')({ loader: async () => { const users = await fetchUsers() return { users } }, pendingComponent: () => <Spinner />, errorComponent: ({ error }) => <ErrorMessage>{error.message}</ErrorMessage>, component: UsersComponent, }) ``` ## Error Handling ```typescript import { ErrorComponent } from '@tanstack/react-router' export const Route = createFileRoute('/users')({ loader: async () => { const users = await fetchUsers() if (!users) throw new Error('Failed to load users') return { users } }, errorComponent: ({ error, reset }) => ( <div> <h1>Error loading users</h1> <p>{error.message}</p> <button onClick={reset}>Try Again</button> </div> ), component: UsersComponent, }) ``` ## Route Context **Providing Context:** ```typescript // src/routes/__root.tsx export const Route = createRootRoute({ beforeLoad: () => ({ user: getCurrentUser(), }), component: RootComponent, }) // Access in child routes export const Route = createFileRoute('/dashboard')({ component: function Dashboard() { const { user } = Route.useRouteContext() return <div>Welcome, {user.name}</div> }, }) ``` ## Route Guards / Auth ```typescript // src/routes/_authenticated.tsx import { createFileRoute, redirect } from '@tanstack/react-router' export const Route = createFileRoute('/_authenticated')({ beforeLoad: ({ context }) => { if (!context.user) { throw redirect({ to: '/login' }) } }, component: Outlet, }) // Protected routes // src/routes/_authenticated/dashboard.tsx // src/routes/_authenticated/profile.tsx ``` ## Preloading **Hover Preload:** ```typescript <Link to="/users/$userId" params={{ userId: '123' }} preload="intent" // Preload on hover > View User </Link> ``` **Options:** - `preload="intent"` - Preload on hover/focus - `preload="render"` - Preload when link renders - `preload={false}` - No preload (default) ## DevTools ```typescript import { TanStackRouterDevtools } from '@tanstack/router-devtools' // Add to root layout <TanStackRouterDevtools position="bottom-right" /> ``` Auto-hides in production builds. ## Best Practices 1. **Use Type-Safe Navigation** - Let TypeScript catch routing errors at compile time 2. **Validate Search Params** - Use Zod schemas for search params 3. **Prefetch Data in Loaders** - Integrate with TanStack Query for optimal data fetching 4. **Use Layouts for Shared UI** - Avoid duplicating layout code across routes 5. **Lazy Load Routes** - Use `route.lazy.tsx` for code splitting 6. **Leverage Route Context** - Share data down the route tree efficiently ## Common Patterns **Catch-All Route:** ```typescript // src/routes/$.tsx export const Route = createFileRoute('/$')({ component: () => <div>404 Not Found</div>, }) ``` **Optional Params:** ```typescript // Use search params for optional data const searchSchema = z.object({ optional: z.string().optional(), }) ``` **Multi-Level Dynamic Routes:** ```