Tanstack Router Routing

Sub-skill of tanstack. Owns the routing surface — file-based routes under apps/web/app/routes/, the createFileRoute API, route params, search params, the Link / useNavigate / useRouter hooks. Every route param/search param schema goes through zod (this skill defers there).

When to invoke

• Adding or renaming a file under apps/web/app/routes/.
• Authoring a route's component, loader (build-time only), validateSearch, or params.parse.
• Wiring <Link>, useNavigate, useRouter, useParams, useSearch, or useLoaderData.
• Diagnosing a stale routeTree.gen.ts, a broken type inference on params, or a Link that points at a route that doesn't prerender.
• Choosing between validateSearch: zodValidator(...) and a hand-rolled parser (use the Zod path).

Owns

File-based routing in app/routes/, route trees, route params, search params, link/navigate APIs, and Zod-validated route params (deferring to the zod skill for schema authoring).

Defers to

• tanstack (parent) — version pin and routing.
• zod — for how to author every route param / search param schema. The integration shape lives here; the schema authoring rules (z.object, z.infer, z.coerce, safeParse) are zod's surface.
• tanstack-start-spa-prerender — for the prerender enumeration of every route file this skill creates.
• tanstack-router-pwa-deep-links — for what the navigation fallback resolves to when a route is hit offline.
• tanstack-router-preload — for the defaultPreload policy, per-<Link preload="..."> overrides, and the quicklink-rejected position. The <Link> API itself lives here; the preload prop value is owned there.
• react-19-primitives — for <Suspense> boundaries inside route components and use(promise) reads of stable promises.
• jotai — for state read inside a route component.
• t3-env — for env.VITE_* access inside a route component.

Dean-stack rules

• Pillar 1 (Storybook-first) means: a route file is an integration site, not a construction site. Build the inner pieces in Storybook first; the route file composes them.
• Pillar 2 (Zod-first types) means: every route param and every search param is parsed through a z.object schema. The TS type comes from z.infer — never hand-written. See zod.
• Pillar 3 (IDB-first state) means: routes never fetch user state at runtime (there is no runtime). Reads come from atoms (which read from IDB after hydration); writes go through useSetAtom.
• Pillar 4 (CLI-gate-first) means: a route that fails to prerender (param parser throws, loader throws) fails the build. Don't suppress; fix.
• The generated routeTree.gen.ts is owned by the plugin and lives at apps/<name>/app/routeTree.gen.ts (one level above routes/, not inside it — putting it in routes/ makes the plugin warn "does not export a Route"). Never hand-edit it; commit it (or .gitignore it — pick one and stick to it).
• The router factory exports getRouter(), not createRouter() — TanStack Start's plugin generates the Register { router: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof getRouter>> } declaration block expecting that name.

Patterns

File-based route layout

apps/web/app/routes/
├── __root.tsx          # createRootRoute — html shell, head, scripts
├── index.tsx           # /
├── games/
│   ├── index.tsx       # /games
│   └── maze/
│       ├── index.tsx   # /games/maze
│       └── $level.tsx  # /games/maze/$level (param)
└── routeTree.gen.ts    # generated; do NOT hand-edit

File names map to URLs. $param segments become route params; _layout prefix denotes a layout (non-rendered) route.

Root route — html shell

// apps/web/app/routes/__root.tsx — pinned: @tanstack/react-router ^1.x
import { createRootRoute, HeadContent, Outlet, Scripts } from "@tanstack/react-router";
import type { ReactNode } from "react";

export const Route = createRootRoute({
  head: () => ({
    meta: [
      { charSet: "utf-8" },
      { name: "viewport", content: "width=device-width, initial-scale=1" },
      { title: "dean-stack" },
    ],
  }),
  component: RootComponent,
  errorComponent: RouteError,        // see "Error & notFound boundaries" below
  notFoundComponent: NotFound,       // see "Error & notFound boundaries" below
});

function RootComponent() {
  return (
    <html lang="en">
      <head><HeadContent /></head>
      <body>
        <Outlet />
        <Scripts />
      </body>
    </html>
  );
}

The shell is what the prerender writes to disk; the client hydrates and reads from IDB to fill it in.

Error & notFound boundaries — load-bearing for Pillar 3

Every dean-stack app MUST wire BOTH a per-route boundary on __root__ AND a router-level fallback. A render throw from a deeper route bubbles up to the closest errorComponent; if a route doesn't declare one, it falls through to root; if root somehow doesn't render (route-resolution itself throws, loader rejects), the router's defaultErrorComponent catches. Same shape for notFoundComponent / defaultNotFoundComponent for notFound() calls.

The contract is gate-asserted in app/router.test.ts — removing any of the four wirings turns bun run check red.

// __root__.tsx — exports both fallbacks for router.tsx to wire as defaults
export function NotFound() { /* 404 UI */ }
export function RouteError({ error, reset }: { error: Error; reset: () => void }) {
  // Re-throw on the server so prerender.failOnError aborts the build
  // instead of baking a "Something broke" page into static HTML for a
  // route that should have failed.
  if (typeof window === "undefined") throw error;

  if (import.meta.env.DEV) console.error("[Route error boundary caught]", error);
  return (
    <main>
      <h1>Something broke</h1>
      {import.meta.env.DEV ? <pre>{error.message}</pre> : null}
      <button type="button" again</button>
      <a href="/">Go home</a>
    </main>
  );
}

// router.tsx — wires both as router-level defaults
import { NotFound, RouteError } from "./routes/__root";

export function getRouter() {
  return createTanStackRouter({
    routeTree,
    scrollRestoration: true,
    defaultPreload: "intent",
    defaultErrorComponent: RouteError,
    defaultNotFoundComponent: NotFound,
  });
}

// router.test.ts — Pillar-adjacent contract; failure turns the gate red
test("__root__ wires per-route boundaries", () => {
  expect(RootRoute.options.errorComponent).toBe(RouteError);
  expect(RootRoute.options.notFoundComponent).toBe(NotFound);
});
test("router.tsx wires router-level fallbacks", () => {
  const router = getRouter();
  expect(router.options.defaultErrorComponent).toBe(RouteError);
  expect(router.options.defaultNotFoundComponent).toBe(NotFound);
});
test("RouteError re-throws on the server (prerender failOnError gate)", () => {
  expect(() => RouteError({ error: new Error("kaboom"), reset: () => {} })).toThrow("kaboom");
});

What this catches in dean-stack specifically:

• Pillar 3 — IDB-corrupt-state recovery. A schema-mismatch in IDB (manual DevTools edit, half-applied migration on a flaky iPad reload) throws inside use(idbHydrationPromise) or atom getters → the kid sees the recovery UI on the iPad, not a blank page.
• Pillar 2 — Zod parse-on-set throws. An atom set with bad data throws synchronously; the boundary renders the error UI, React still logs to console (Pillar 2 stays loud in dev).
• Side-channel setup throws. A bug inside usePixiApp's setup callback or useAnime's anime params throws → boundary renders, side channel disposes via the hook's cleanup.
• Per-route component throws isolated to the route — a render bug in /games/maze/$level doesn't crash /games listings.

Per-route games SHOULD declare their own errorComponent for tighter recovery UIs (e.g. "this level is broken — pick another"). The root-level boundary is the safety net.

File route with Zod-parsed params

// apps/web/app/routes/games/maze/$level.tsx
import { createFileRoute } from "@tanstack/react-router";
import * as z from "zod"; // schema authoring per `zod`

const ParamsSchema = z.object({
  level: z.coerce.int().min(1).max(99),
});

export const Route = createFileRoute("/games/maze/$level")({
  // `params.parse` runs on every navigation; throws → router error boundary.
  params: { parse: (raw) => ParamsSchema.parse(raw) },
  component: MazeLevel,
});

function MazeLevel() {
  const { level } = Route.useParams(); // typed as `{ level: number }` via `z.infer`
  return <main>Level {level}</main>;
}

The schema lives in zod's surface; this skill shows the integration shape. Route.useParams() returns the parsed type — no as-cast.

Zod-validated search params

import { createFileRoute } from "@tanstack/react-router";
import * as z from "zod";

const SearchSchema = z.object({
  sort: z.enum(["asc", "desc"]).default("asc"),
  page: z.coerce.int().min(1).default(1),
});

export const Route = createFileRoute("/games")({
  validateSearch: (raw) => SearchSchema.parse(raw),
  component: GamesIndex,
});

function GamesIndex() {
  const { sort, page } = Route.useSearch(); // typed
  return <main>Sort: {sort}, page {page}</main>;
}

validateSearch runs on every URL change; the result is the typed search object the route exposes via useSearch(). See zod for z.coerce, defaults, and discriminated unions.

Link — typed navigation, no string typos

import { Link } from "@tanstack/react-router";

export function MazeMenu() {
  return (
    <nav>
      <Link to="/games/maze/$level" params={{ level: 1 }}>Level 1</Link>
      <Link to="/games" search={{ sort: "desc", page: 1 }}>All games</Link>
    </nav>
  );
}

The to string is checked against the generated route tree; params and search are checked against the schemas. A typo or a missing param fails tsgo --noEmit.

useNavigate — programmatic transitions

import { useNavigate } from "@tanstack/react-router";

export function NextLevelButton({ level }: { level: number }) {
  const navigate = useNavigate();
  return (
    <button => navigate({ to: "/games/maze/$level", params: { level: level + 1 } })}>
      Next level
    </button>
  );
}

Same shape as Link — typed to + typed params/search. Compiler-friendly: no useCallback needed (see react-compiler-rules).

Router setup

// apps/web/app/router.tsx
import { createRouter as createTanStackRouter } from "@tanstack/react-router";
import { routeTree } from "./routeTree.gen";

export function getRouter() {
  return createTanStackRouter({
    routeTree,
    scrollRestoration: true,
    defaultPreload: "intent", // hover/focus = preload
  });
}

declare module "@tanstack/react-router" {
  interface Register {
    router: ReturnType<typeof getRouter>;
  }
}

The Register declaration is what wires per-route type inference into Link / useParams / useSearch. Without it, every to is string and the gate doesn't catch typos.

<Suspense> inside a route — defer to react-19-primitives

import { Suspense } from "react"; // see `react-19-primitives`
import { Route } from "./$level";

function MazeLevel() {
  const { level } = Route.useParams();
  return (
    <main>
      <Suspense fallback={<Skeleton />}>
        <LevelBoard level={level} />
      </Suspense>
    </main>
  );
}

<Suspense> API is owned by react-19-primitives; this skill just notes the integration site.

Anti-patterns

• Don't hand-write the param/search type — every shape comes from a z.object and z.infer<typeof Schema>. See zod. A hand-written type can silently drift from the schema.
• Don't use as-cast on useParams() / useSearch() returns — if the type isn't right, the schema or the Register declaration is wrong; fix the source.
• Don't define routes outside the app/routes/ tree — file-based routing is the single source of truth. Programmatic routes drift from the generated tree and break Link type inference.
• Don't hand-edit routeTree.gen.ts — the plugin regenerates it on save. Edits are clobbered.
• Don't use TanStack Router's loader to fetch user state — there is no runtime. Loaders that need user data should read atoms (which read IDB after hydration). Build-time loaders are fine for genuinely static data.
• Don't import @tanstack/router-vite-plugin — legacy. The plugin is now @tanstack/react-start/plugin/vite (see tanstack-start-spa-prerender).
• Don't use Meta from the old @tanstack/start package — head metadata is head: () => ({ meta: [...] }) on the route + <HeadContent /> in the root, both from @tanstack/react-router.
• Don't useMemo around useParams() / useSearch() — the React Compiler memoizes (see react-compiler-rules).

Triggers on

tanstack router, file-based routing, createRoute, route param, search params, useNavigate, Link, route tree