Storybook Tanstack Start

storybook-addon-tanstack-start

Vite plugin + mock stubs + router context that make Storybook work with TanStack Start.

The Problem

TanStack Start has server-side code (createServerFn, SSR entry points, Nitro/Worker entries) that crashes when Storybook tries to bundle it in the browser. This addon intercepts those imports and replaces them with safe stubs.

Install

pnpm add -D storybook-addon-tanstack-start

One package — includes storybook-addon-tanstack-router as a dependency.

Setup

1. Add the Vite plugin to .storybook/main.ts

import { tanstackStartPlugin } from 'storybook-addon-tanstack-start/plugin'
import { mergeConfig } from 'vite'

const config = {
  async viteFinal(config) {
    return mergeConfig(config, {
      plugins: [tanstackStartPlugin()],
    })
  },
}

2. Add the router decorator to .storybook/preview.ts

export { decorators } from 'storybook-addon-tanstack-start/preview'

3. Configure route params and loader data per story

import { tanstackRouterParameters } from 'storybook-addon-tanstack-start'

export const MyStory: Story = {
  parameters: {
    tanstackRouter: tanstackRouterParameters({
      location: {
        path: '/users/$userId',
        params: { userId: '42' },
        search: { tab: 'settings' },
      },
      loader: { data: { user: { name: 'Alice' } } },
    }),
  },
}

What the Plugin Does

1. Strips TanStack/Nitro Vite plugins — prevents them from injecting server entries that break with stubbed imports (opt out with stripTanStackPlugins: false)
2. Intercepts server imports via resolveId:
   • @tanstack/react-start and all sub-paths
   • @tanstack/start-server-core
   • Server/worker entries (server-entry, worker-entry, virtual:cloudflare)
   • routeTree.gen (from user code, not node_modules)
   • Any modules in additionalServerModules option
3. Provides mock exports: createServerFn (chainable builder), createStart, cookie helpers, router stubs, component stubs

Plugin Options

tanstackStartPlugin({
  // Stub additional server modules (e.g. your auth/billing server code)
  additionalServerModules: ['~/lib/auth/server', '~/lib/billing/server'],

  // Keep TanStack Vite plugins in the pipeline (default: true strips them)
  stripTanStackPlugins: false,
})

Double RouterProvider Warning

If you already wrap stories in a custom withRouter() decorator, don't also use the global decorator from the preview export — you'll get nested providers. Either remove your custom decorator or skip the global one.

App-Specific Server Mocks

For your app's own server modules (auth, billing, etc.), use additionalServerModules to redirect them to stubs, then create mock files:

// .storybook/mocks/auth-server.ts
export async function loginWithPassword({ data }) {
  if (data.email === 'test@example.com' && data.password === 'password123')
    return { ok: true, role: 'parent' }
  return { ok: false, error: 'Invalid credentials' }
}

// in tanstackStartPlugin config:
additionalServerModules: ['~/lib/auth/server']

// in .storybook/main.ts resolve.alias:
'~/lib/auth/server': path.resolve(__dirname, 'mocks/auth-server.ts')