Tanstack Vue Router

Vue Router (@tanstack/vue-router)

This skill builds on router-core. Read router-core first for foundational concepts.

This skill covers the Vue-specific bindings, components, composables, and setup for TanStack Router.

CRITICAL: TanStack Router types are FULLY INFERRED. Never cast, never annotate inferred values.

CRITICAL: TanStack Router is CLIENT-FIRST. Loaders run on the client by default, not on the server.

CRITICAL: Most composables return Ref<T> — access via .value in script, auto-unwrapped in templates. This is the #1 difference from the React version.

CRITICAL: Do not confuse @tanstack/vue-router with vue-router (the official Vue router). They are completely different libraries with different APIs.

Full Setup: File-Based Routing with Vite

1. Install Dependencies

npm install @tanstack/vue-router
npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin @vitejs/plugin-vue-jsx

2. Configure Vite Plugin

// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import vue from '@vitejs/plugin-vue'
import vueJsx from '@vitejs/plugin-vue-jsx'
import { tanstackRouter } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/vite'

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [
    // MUST come before vue()
    tanstackRouter({
      target: 'vue',
      autoCodeSplitting: true,
    }),
    vue(),
    vueJsx(), // Required for JSX/TSX route files
  ],
})

3. Create Root Route

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

export const Route = createRootRoute({
  component: RootLayout,
})

function RootLayout() {
  return (
    <>
      <nav>
        <Link to="/" activeProps={{ class: 'font-bold' }}>
          Home
        </Link>
        <Link to="/about" activeProps={{ class: 'font-bold' }}>
          About
        </Link>
      </nav>
      <hr />
      <Outlet />
    </>
  )
}

4. Create Route Files

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

export const Route = createFileRoute('/')({
  component: HomePage,
})

function HomePage() {
  return <h1>Welcome Home</h1>
}

5. Create Router Instance and Register Types

// src/main.tsx
import { createApp } from 'vue'
import { RouterProvider, createRouter } from '@tanstack/vue-router'
import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen'

const router = createRouter({ routeTree })

// REQUIRED — without this, Link/useNavigate/useSearch have no type safety
declare module '@tanstack/vue-router' {
  interface Register {
    router: typeof router
  }
}

const app = createApp(RouterProvider, { router })
app.mount('#root')

Composables Reference

All composables imported from @tanstack/vue-router. Most return Ref<T> — access via .value in script or auto-unwrap in templates.

useRouter() — returns TRouter (NOT a Ref)

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

const router = useRouter()
router.invalidate()

useRouterState() — returns Ref<T>

Subscribe to router state changes. Exposes the entire state and thus incurs a performance cost. For matches or location favor useMatches and useLocation.

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

const isLoading = useRouterState({ select: (s) => s.isLoading })
// Access: isLoading.value

useNavigate() — returns a function (NOT a Ref)

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

const navigate = useNavigate()

async function handleSubmit() {
  await saveData()
  navigate({ to: '/posts/$postId', params: { postId: '123' } })
}

useSearch({ from }) — returns Ref<T>

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

const search = useSearch({ from: '/products' })
// Access: search.value.page

useParams({ from }) — returns Ref<T>

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

const params = useParams({ from: '/posts/$postId' })
// Access: params.value.postId

useLoaderData({ from }) — returns Ref<T>

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

const data = useLoaderData({ from: '/posts/$postId' })
// Access: data.value.post.content

useMatch({ from }) — returns Ref<T>

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

const match = useMatch({ from: '/posts/$postId' })
// Access: match.value.loaderData.post.title

Other Composables

• useMatches() — Ref<Array<Match>>, all active route matches
• useRouteContext({ from }) — Ref<T>, context from beforeLoad
• useBlocker({ shouldBlockFn }) — blocks navigation for unsaved changes
• useCanGoBack() — Ref<boolean>
• useLocation() — Ref<ParsedLocation>
• useLoaderDeps({ from }) — Ref<T>, loader dependency values
• useLinkProps() — returns LinkHTMLAttributes
• useMatchRoute() — returns a function; calling it returns Ref<false | Params>

Components Reference

RouterProvider

import { RouterProvider } from '@tanstack/vue-router'
// In createApp or template
<RouterProvider :router="router" />

Link

Type-safe navigation link with scoped slot for active state:

<Link to="/posts/$postId" :params="{ postId: '42' }">
  View Post
</Link>

<!-- Scoped slot for active state -->
<Link to="/about">
  <template #default="{ isActive }">
    <span :class="{ active: isActive }">About</span>
  </template>
</Link>

Outlet

Renders the matched child route component.

Navigate

Declarative redirect (triggers navigation in onMounted).

Await

Async setup component for deferred data — use with Vue's <Suspense>.

CatchBoundary

Error boundary using Vue's onErrorCaptured.

Html and Body

Vue-specific SSR shell components:

function RootComponent() {
  return (
    <Html>
      <head>
        <HeadContent />
      </head>
      <Body>
        <Outlet />
        <Scripts />
      </Body>
    </Html>
  )
}

ClientOnly

Renders children only after onMounted (hydration complete):

<ClientOnly fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
  <BrowserOnlyWidget />
</ClientOnly>

Vue-Specific Patterns

Custom Link Component with createLink

import { createLink } from '@tanstack/vue-router'
import { defineComponent, h } from 'vue'

const StyledLinkComponent = defineComponent({
  setup(props, { slots, attrs }) {
    return () => h('a', { ...attrs, class: 'styled-link' }, slots.default?.())
  },
})

const StyledLink = createLink(StyledLinkComponent)

Render Functions (h())

All components in @tanstack/vue-router use h() render functions internally. Route components can use either SFC templates or render functions:

SFC template (most common for user code) in MyRoute.component.vue:

<template>
  <div>{{ data.title }}</div>
</template>

<script setup>
import { useLoaderData } from '@tanstack/vue-router'
const data = useLoaderData({ from: '/posts/$postId' })
</script>

Auth with Router Context

import { createRootRouteWithContext } from '@tanstack/vue-router'

const rootRoute = createRootRouteWithContext<{ auth: AuthState }>()({
  component: RootComponent,
})

const router = createRouter({
  routeTree,
  context: { auth: authState },
})

// In a route — access via beforeLoad
beforeLoad: ({ context }) => {
  if (!context.auth.isAuthenticated) {
    throw redirect({ to: '/login' })
  }
}

Vue File Conventions for Code Splitting

With autoCodeSplitting, Vue routes can optionally use split-file conventions. These are NOT required — single-file .tsx routes work fine. Split files are useful for separating route config from components:

• myRoute.ts — route configuration (search params, loader, beforeLoad)
• myRoute.component.vue — route component (lazy-loaded)
• myRoute.errorComponent.vue — error component (lazy-loaded)
• myRoute.notFoundComponent.vue — not-found component (lazy-loaded)
• myRoute.lazy.ts — lazy-loaded route options

Common Mistakes

1. CRITICAL: Forgetting .value in script blocks

Composables return Ref<T> — access via .value in <script>. Templates auto-unwrap.

// WRONG — accessing Ref without .value in script
const params = useParams({ from: '/posts/$postId' })
console.log(params.postId) // undefined!

// CORRECT — use .value
const params = useParams({ from: '/posts/$postId' })
console.log(params.value.postId)

2. HIGH: Confusing with vue-router (official)

@tanstack/vue-router is NOT vue-router. Do not use <router-view>, <router-link>, useRoute(), useRouter() from vue-router.

// WRONG — official vue-router imports
import { useRoute, useRouter } from 'vue-router'

// CORRECT — TanStack Vue Router imports
import { useMatch, useRouter } from '@tanstack/vue-router'

3. HIGH: Using Vue hooks in beforeLoad or loader

beforeLoad and loader are NOT component setup functions — they are plain async functions. Vue composables cannot be used in them. Pass state via router context instead.

4. MEDIUM: Wrong plugin target

Must set target: 'vue' in the router plugin config. Default is 'react'.

Cross-References

• ../tanstack-router-core/SKILL.md — all sub-skills for domain-specific patterns (search params, data loading, navigation, auth, SSR, etc.)