TanStack Router Patterns

Type-safe, file-based routing for React applications with TanStack Router.

Installation

pnpm add @tanstack/react-router
pnpm add -D @tanstack/router-plugin

// 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
  ],
})

Automatic Code Splitting (Recommended)

TanStack Router v1.x+ (2025) introduces automatic code splitting that separates critical route configuration from non-critical components.

// 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({
      autoCodeSplitting: true, // NEW: Enable automatic splitting
    }),
  ],
})

What Gets Split:

Benefits:

• Smaller initial bundle (route config without components)
• Automatic optimization (no manual .lazy.tsx files needed)
• Better perceived performance (loaders start immediately)

When to Use:

• Recommended for all new projects
• Existing projects: Enable and test bundle sizes
• Large apps benefit most (many routes)

Bootstrap

// 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

Virtual File Routes

Virtual file routes allow the router to auto-generate route anchors without physical files:

src/routes/
├── __root.tsx           # Root layout
├── index.tsx            # "/" (physical file)
├── about.lazy.tsx       # "/about" (virtual route, lazy only)
└── users/
    ├── index.tsx        # "/users" (physical)
    └── $userId.lazy.tsx # "/users/:userId" (virtual, lazy only)

Key Insight: If you only need a component (no loader, no search validation), you can delete the base route file. The router auto-generates a virtual anchor for .lazy.tsx files.

Example - Minimal About Page:

// src/routes/about.lazy.tsx
// No about.tsx needed! Router creates virtual anchor
import { createLazyFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createLazyFileRoute('/about')({
  component: () => <div>About Us</div>,
})

When Virtual Routes Make Sense:

• Static pages with no data fetching
• Simple UI components
• When you want maximum code splitting

Root Layout

// 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

// 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

// 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

// 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

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

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:

// 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 tanstack-query skill for details):

import { queryClient } from '@/app/queryClient'
import { userQueryOptions } from '@/features/users/queries'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/users/$userId')({
  loader: ({ params }) =>
    queryClient.ensureQueryData(userQueryOptions(params.userId)),
  component: UserComponent,
})

Manual Code Splitting (.lazy.tsx Pattern)

For fine-grained control over code splitting, split routes into critical and lazy files:

Critical Route File (posts.tsx):

// src/routes/posts.tsx - Loaded immediately
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { postsQueryOptions } from '@/features/posts/queries'
import { queryClient } from '@/app/queryClient'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
  // Critical: loaders, search validation, beforeLoad
  loader: () => queryClient.ensureQueryData(postsQueryOptions()),
  validateSearch: (search) => postsSearchSchema.parse(search),
})

Lazy Route File (posts.lazy.tsx):

// src/routes/posts.lazy.tsx - Code-split, loaded on navigation
import { createLazyFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { Posts } from '@/features/posts/components/Posts'

export const Route = createLazyFileRoute('/posts')({
  // Non-critical: component, error/pending/notFound
  component: Posts,
  pendingComponent: () => <PostsSkeleton />,
  errorComponent: ({ error }) => <PostsError error={error} />,
})

Lazy-Only Properties:

• component - The main route component
• errorComponent - Error boundary UI
• pendingComponent - Loading/suspense UI
• notFoundComponent - 404 UI for this route

Critical-Only Properties (NOT in lazy):

• loader / loaderDeps
• beforeLoad
• validateSearch
• search (search middleware)
• context

Best Practice: Use automatic code splitting (autoCodeSplitting: true) unless you need specific control over what goes in each file.

Type-Safe Route Data Access (getRouteApi)

When building components outside the route file, use getRouteApi for type-safe access:

// src/features/posts/components/PostHeader.tsx
import { getRouteApi } from '@tanstack/react-router'

// Get typed route API without importing the route
const routeApi = getRouteApi('/posts/$postId')

export function PostHeader() {
  // All these are fully typed!
  const { postId } = routeApi.useParams()
  const { post } = routeApi.useLoaderData()
  const { view } = routeApi.useSearch()
  const context = routeApi.useRouteContext()

  return (
    <header>
      <h1>{post.title}</h1>
      <span>Viewing: {view}</span>
    </header>
  )
}

Available Methods:

• useParams() - Route parameters
• useSearch() - Search/query params
• useLoaderData() - Data from loader
• useRouteContext() - Route context
• useMatch() - Full route match object

When to Use:

• Components in separate files from route definition
• Shared components used across routes
• Avoiding circular imports
• Cleaner separation of concerns

Important: The route path string must exactly match the route definition.

Layouts

Layout Route (_layout.tsx - no URL segment):

// 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"

Route Groups

Route groups organize files without affecting URLs using parentheses:

src/routes/
├── (auth)/                    # Group (not in URL)
│   ├── login.tsx              # "/login"
│   ├── register.tsx           # "/register"
│   └── forgot-password.tsx    # "/forgot-password"
├── (dashboard)/               # Group (not in URL)
│   ├── _layout.tsx            # Shared dashboard layout
│   ├── index.tsx              # "/" (or "/dashboard")
│   ├── analytics.tsx          # "/analytics"
│   └── settings.tsx           # "/settings"
└── __root.tsx

Benefits:

• Organize related routes without nesting URLs
• Apply shared layouts to grouped routes
• Better file organization in large apps
• No URL pollution

Example - Auth Group Layout:

// src/routes/(auth)/_layout.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/(auth)/_layout')({
  component: () => (
    <div className="auth-layout">
      <Logo />
      <Outlet />
    </div>
  ),
})

Loading States

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

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:

// 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

// 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:

<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

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 (Splat) Routes:

v1.x Syntax:

// src/routes/files/$.tsx - Catches all paths under /files/
export const Route = createFileRoute('/files/$')({
  component: FileViewer,
})

function FileViewer() {
  // Access splat via '_splat' key (v1.x+)
  const { _splat } = Route.useParams()
  // '/files/docs/readme.md' → _splat = 'docs/readme.md'

  return <div>File: {_splat}</div>
}

v2 Migration Note: In TanStack Router v2 (upcoming), splat routes use _splat key consistently:

• v1: params['*'] or params._splat (both work)
• v2: Only params._splat (star deprecated)

Prepare for v2:

// ✅ Future-proof
const { _splat } = Route.useParams()

// ⚠️ Works in v1, deprecated in v2
const splat = Route.useParams()['*']

404 Not Found Route:

// src/routes/$.tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/$')({
  component: () => <div>404 Not Found</div>,
})

Optional Params:

// Use search params for optional data
const searchSchema = z.object({
  optional: z.string().optional(),
})

Multi-Level Dynamic Routes:

/posts/$postId/comments/$commentId

Production Best Practices (2026)

Insights from large-scale TanStack Router deployments:

1. File Structure = URL Structure

Colocate everything a page needs within its route folder:

src/routes/users/
├── $userId/
│   ├── index.tsx           # Route definition
│   ├── index.lazy.tsx      # Lazy component
│   ├── UserProfile.tsx     # Page-specific component
│   └── useUserActions.ts   # Page-specific hooks
└── index.tsx

Components/functions belong at the nearest shared ancestor in the hierarchy.

2. Let Router Handle Loading States

// ✅ Recommended - Router handles loading/error
export const Route = createFileRoute('/users/$userId')({
  loader: fetchUser,
  pendingComponent: UserSkeleton,
  errorComponent: UserError,
  component: UserProfile, // Only handles happy path!
})

// ❌ Avoid - Manual loading in component
function UserProfile() {
  const { data, isLoading, error } = useUser()
  if (isLoading) return <Spinner />  // Router should handle this
  if (error) return <Error />         // Router should handle this
  return <div>{data.name}</div>
}

3. Preload Strategy

// List views → preload detail on hover
<Link
  to="/users/$userId"
  params={{ userId }}
  preload="intent"  // Preload on hover
>
  {user.name}
</Link>

// Critical navigation → preload on render
<Link to="/dashboard" preload="render">
  Dashboard
</Link>

4. Search Params for Everything Shareable

If users should be able to share or bookmark a specific view, use search params:

const searchSchema = z.object({
  tab: z.enum(['overview', 'activity', 'settings']).default('overview'),
  page: z.number().default(1),
  sort: z.enum(['name', 'date', 'score']).optional(),
})

TanStack Start (Full-Stack Framework)

TanStack Start is the full-stack meta-framework built on TanStack Router:

Stack:

• TanStack Router (routing)
• Vite (bundler)
• Nitro (server)
• Vinxi (dev server)

When to Consider Start:

• New full-stack projects
• Need SSR/SSG out of the box
• Want alternatives to Next.js/Remix
• Prefer TanStack's type-safety approach

When to Stick with Router + Vite:

• SPAs without server requirements
• Existing Vite projects
• When you need maximum control

Resources:

• TanStack Start Docs
• Start vs Router

Note: Start is still maturing. For production SPAs in 2026, TanStack Router + Query + Vite remains the recommended stack.

Related Skills

• tanstack-query - Server state management, caching, and route loader integration
• react-typescript - React 19 patterns, component composition, and Actions
• shadcn-ui - UI components with proper route integration
• browser-debugging - DevTools and debugging TanStack Router
• testing-frontend - Testing routes and navigation