React Router

TanStack Router provides first-class support for React with type-safe components, hooks, and patterns designed specifically for React applications.

Installation

npm install @tanstack/react-router

Core Components

RouterProvider

The top-level component that renders active route matches and provides the router to the React tree via context.

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

const router = createRouter({ routeTree })

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

Link

Type-safe navigation component with preloading and active state support.

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

function Navigation() {
  return (
    <Link
      to="/posts/$postId"
      params={{ postId: '123' }}
      activeProps={{
        className: 'font-bold',
      }}
      activeOptions={{ exact: true }}
    >
      View Post
    </Link>
  )
}

Key Props:

to - Type-safe destination path
params - Path parameters
search - Search parameters
activeProps - Props applied when link is active
inactiveProps - Props applied when link is inactive
preload - Controls preloading behavior (false, 'intent', 'viewport')
disabled - Disables navigation

Outlet

Renders child route matches at the current level.

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

function LayoutComponent() {
  return (
    <div>
      <header>Header</header>
      <main>
        <Outlet />
      </main>
    </div>
  )
}

ErrorComponent

Default error boundary component that displays error details.

import { ErrorComponent } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import type { ErrorComponentProps } from '@tanstack/react-router'

function CustomErrorComponent({ error }: ErrorComponentProps) {
  if (error instanceof NotFoundError) {
    return <div>{error.message}</div>
  }
  
  return <ErrorComponent error={error} />
}

Navigate

Component-based navigation trigger.

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

function RedirectComponent() {
  return <Navigate to="/home" />
}

React Hooks

useRouter

Access the router instance from any component.

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

function MyComponent() {
  const router = useRouter()
  
  const handleNavigate = () => {
    router.navigate({ to: '/about' })
  }
  
  return <button onClick={handleNavigate}>Go to About</button>
}

useNavigate

Type-safe programmatic navigation.

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

function MyComponent() {
  const navigate = useNavigate({ from: '/posts' })
  
  const handleClick = () => {
    navigate({ to: '/posts/$postId', params: { postId: '123' } })
  }
  
  return <button onClick={handleClick}>View Post</button>
}

useParams

Access route path parameters with type safety.

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

function PostComponent() {
  const params = useParams({ from: '/posts/$postId' })
  
  return <div>Post ID: {params.postId}</div>
}

useSearch

Access route search parameters with type safety.

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

function PostsComponent() {
  const search = useSearch({ from: '/posts' })
  
  return <div>Filter: {search.filter}</div>
}

useLoaderData

Access data loaded by the route’s loader function.

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

function PostComponent() {
  const post = useLoaderData({ from: '/posts/$postId' })
  
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>{post.title}</h1>
      <p>{post.body}</p>
    </div>
  )
}

useMatch

Access the current route match with full type safety.

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

function MyComponent() {
  const match = useMatch({ from: '/posts/$postId' })
  
  return (
    <div>
      <p>Status: {match.status}</p>
      <p>Post ID: {match.params.postId}</p>
    </div>
  )
}

useRouteContext

Access route context provided by parent routes.

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

function MyComponent() {
  const context = useRouteContext({ from: '/posts/$postId' })
  
  return <div>User: {context.user.name}</div>
}

useLocation

Access the current location object.

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

function MyComponent() {
  const location = useLocation()
  
  return (
    <div>
      <p>Pathname: {location.pathname}</p>
      <p>Hash: {location.hash}</p>
    </div>
  )
}

useRouterState

Access router state with optional selector.

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

function MyComponent() {
  const isLoading = useRouterState({
    select: (state) => state.isLoading,
  })
  
  return isLoading ? <div>Loading...</div> : null
}

useMatchRoute

Check if a specific route matches the current location.

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

function MyComponent() {
  const matchRoute = useMatchRoute()
  const isPostsRoute = matchRoute({ to: '/posts' })
  
  return <div>{isPostsRoute ? 'On Posts Page' : 'Not on Posts Page'}</div>
}

useLinkProps

Build anchor-like props for custom link components.

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

function CustomLink(props) {
  const linkProps = useLinkProps(props)
  
  return <a {...linkProps} className="custom-link" />
}

useBlocker

Block navigation based on a condition (useful for unsaved changes).

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

function FormComponent() {
  const [hasUnsavedChanges, setHasUnsavedChanges] = useState(false)
  
  useBlocker({
    condition: hasUnsavedChanges,
    blockerFn: () => window.confirm('You have unsaved changes. Leave anyway?'),
  })
  
  return <form>...</form>
}

Route API

RouteApi

Route-specific API with pre-bound hooks for a specific route ID.

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

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

function PostComponent() {
  const params = postRoute.useParams()
  const post = postRoute.useLoaderData()
  const navigate = postRoute.useNavigate()
  
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>{post.title}</h1>
      <postRoute.Link to="/posts">Back to Posts</postRoute.Link>
    </div>
  )
}

Creating Routes

Code-based Routes

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

const rootRoute = createRootRoute({
  component: RootComponent,
})

function RootComponent() {
  return (
    <>
      <nav>...</nav>
      <Outlet />
    </>
  )
}

const indexRoute = createRoute({
  getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
  path: '/',
  component: IndexComponent,
})

function IndexComponent() {
  return <div>Welcome Home!</div>
}

const postRoute = createRoute({
  getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
  path: '/posts/$postId',
  loader: ({ params }) => fetchPost(params.postId),
  component: PostComponent,
})

function PostComponent() {
  const post = postRoute.useLoaderData()
  return <div>{post.title}</div>
}

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([indexRoute, postRoute])

File-based Routes

// src/routes/__root.tsx
import { createRootRoute, Outlet } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createRootRoute({
  component: () => (
    <>
      <nav>...</nav>
      <Outlet />
    </>
  ),
})

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

export const Route = createFileRoute('/')({ 
  component: () => <div>Welcome Home!</div>,
})

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

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
  loader: ({ params }) => fetchPost(params.postId),
  component: PostComponent,
})

function PostComponent() {
  const post = Route.useLoaderData()
  return <div>{post.title}</div>
}

SSR Support

React Router includes specialized SSR utilities:

// Server-side
import { createMemoryHistory } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const history = createMemoryHistory({
  initialEntries: [request.url],
})

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

await router.load()

const html = ReactDOMServer.renderToString(
  <RouterProvider router={router} />
)

// Client-side
import { createBrowserHistory } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const history = createBrowserHistory()
const router = createRouter({ routeTree, history })

ReactDOM.hydrateRoot(
  document.getElementById('root'),
  <RouterProvider router={router} />
)

React-Specific Features

Error Boundaries

React Router integrates with React’s error boundaries:

const route = createRoute({
  path: '/posts/$postId',
  errorComponent: ({ error, reset }) => (
    <div>
      <p>Error: {error.message}</p>
      <button onClick={reset}>Try Again</button>
    </div>
  ),
})

Suspense Integration

Works seamlessly with React Suspense:

const route = createRoute({
  path: '/posts',
  pendingComponent: () => <div>Loading posts...</div>,
  component: PostsComponent,
})

React 19 Support

Fully compatible with React 19 features including:

Server Components (RSC)
Server Actions
Enhanced hydration
View Transitions

Complete Example

import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client'
import {
  RouterProvider,
  createRouter,
  createRootRoute,
  createRoute,
  Link,
  Outlet,
} from '@tanstack/react-router'

const rootRoute = createRootRoute({
  component: () => (
    <div>
      <nav>
        <Link to="/" activeProps={{ className: 'font-bold' }}>
          Home
        </Link>
        <Link to="/posts" activeProps={{ className: 'font-bold' }}>
          Posts
        </Link>
      </nav>
      <Outlet />
    </div>
  ),
})

const indexRoute = createRoute({
  getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
  path: '/',
  component: () => <h1>Welcome Home!</h1>,
})

const postsRoute = createRoute({
  getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
  path: '/posts',
  loader: () => fetch('/api/posts').then(r => r.json()),
  component: PostsComponent,
})

function PostsComponent() {
  const posts = postsRoute.useLoaderData()
  return (
    <ul>
      {posts.map(post => (
        <li key={post.id}>
          <Link to="/posts/$postId" params={{ postId: post.id }}>
            {post.title}
          </Link>
        </li>
      ))}
    </ul>
  )
}

const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([indexRoute, postsRoute])
const router = createRouter({ routeTree })

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

const rootElement = document.getElementById('root')!
ReactDOM.createRoot(rootElement).render(<RouterProvider router={router} />)

Best Practices

Type Safety: Always register your router type for full type safety:

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

Use RouteApi: For code-split routes, use getRouteApi instead of importing routes:

const route = getRouteApi('/posts/$postId')
const data = route.useLoaderData()

Preloading: Configure preloading for better UX:

const router = createRouter({
  routeTree,
  defaultPreload: 'intent', // preload on hover/focus
})

Error Handling: Provide custom error components for better UX:

const route = createRoute({
  errorComponent: CustomErrorComponent,
})

Pending States: Use pending components for loading states:

const route = createRoute({
  pendingComponent: () => <Spinner />,
})

​React Router

​Installation

​Core Components

​RouterProvider

​Link

​Outlet

​ErrorComponent

​Navigate

​React Hooks

​useRouter

​useNavigate

​useParams

​useSearch

​useLoaderData

​useMatch

​useRouteContext

​useLocation

​useRouterState

​useMatchRoute

​useLinkProps

​useBlocker

​Route API

​RouteApi

​Creating Routes

​Code-based Routes

​File-based Routes

​SSR Support

​React-Specific Features

​Error Boundaries

​Suspense Integration

​React 19 Support

​Complete Example

​Best Practices