Tanstack Preact Table Table State

This skill builds on @tanstack/table-core#core and getting-started. Preact selection resembles React, but imports and store bindings must remain Preact-native.

State Mental Model

TanStack Table is primarily a state coordinator. Keep state internal unless another subsystem needs to read, persist, or drive it. With no initialState, atoms, state, or on[State]Change, the table owns every registered state slice.

• table.baseAtoms are internal writable atoms initialized from resolved initial state.
• table.atoms are readonly derived atoms for the active owner of each registered slice.
• table.store is the readonly flat store assembled from those atoms.
• table.state contains only the result of the second useTable selector.

Only registered features contribute state and types. If pagination is absent from table.atoms, table.store, table.state, or table options, add rowPaginationFeature; do not cast around the missing API. Keep features, data, and columns stable across renders.

Setup

const table = useTable({ features, columns, data }, (state) => ({
  pagination: state.pagination,
}))
return <output>{table.state.pagination.pageIndex + 1}</output>

The selector determines rerenders and the shape exposed on table.state; omission selects all registered slices.

Core Patterns

Fine-grained Preact subscription

return (
  <table.Subscribe source={table.atoms.rowSelection}>
    {(selection) => <output>{Object.keys(selection).length}</output>}
  </table.Subscribe>
)

External atom ownership

import { useCreateAtom } from '@tanstack/preact-store'
const pagination = useCreateAtom({ pageIndex: 0, pageSize: 20 })
const table = useTable({ features, columns, data, atoms: { pagination } })

Choose State Ownership

Use one owner per slice:

• Prefer internal state and feature APIs when state is local to the table.
• Use initialState for starting/reset values; changing it later does not reset current state.
• Prefer a stable @tanstack/preact-store atom in atoms when state must be shared. Do not pair it with on[State]Change.
• Use state.<slice> and the matching callback for simple controlled state. Feed the next value back and handle value-or-updater semantics.

External atoms win over external state, which syncs into the internal base atom. Do not use two owners intentionally. The v8 global onStateChange option is gone; control slices individually or subscribe to table.store.

Initialize, Update, and Reset

Use feature methods (setSorting, nextPage, toggleVisibility, toggleSelected) for writes. Write baseAtoms only as a rare low-level escape hatch for internal state; write the external atom when it owns the slice.

table.resetSorting() // reset to table.initialState.sorting
table.resetPagination()
table.resetPagination(true) // reset to the feature default

Slice resets can update an external owner. Core table.reset() only resets internal base atoms. Import types such as PaginationState for one slice and use TableState<typeof features> when a full feature-inferred state type is actually needed.

Common Mistakes

HIGH Reading snapshots as subscriptions

Wrong:

const page = table.store.state.pagination.pageIndex

Correct:

const page = table.state.pagination.pageIndex

Store and atom .get() reads are snapshots; selected table.state or Subscribe connects a Preact render.

Source: packages/preact-table/src/useTable.ts

HIGH Controlling only the callback

Wrong:

useTable({ features, columns, data, onPaginationChange: setPagination })

Correct:

useTable({
  features,
  columns,
  data,
  state: { pagination },
  onPaginationChange: setPagination,
})

The callback must write into the value supplied for that controlled slice.

Source: docs/framework/preact/guide/table-state.md

MEDIUM Narrowing away rendered dependencies

Wrong:

const table = useTable(options, (state) => ({ pagination: state.pagination }))
return table.getSelectedRowModel().rows.length

Correct:

const table = useTable(options, (state) => ({
  pagination: state.pagination,
  rowSelection: state.rowSelection,
}))
return table.getSelectedRowModel().rows.length

If render output depends on selection, the owning render boundary must subscribe to it directly or via Subscribe.

Source: examples/preact/basic-subscribe

API Discovery

Inspect node_modules/@tanstack/preact-table/dist/useTable.d.ts and Subscribe.d.ts; use @tanstack/preact-store rather than React Store hooks.