Tanstack Devtools Devtools

Use @tanstack/devtools-utils factory functions to create per-framework devtools plugin adapters. Each framework has a subpath export (/react, /vue, /solid, /preact) with two factories:

1. createXPlugin -- wraps a component into a [Plugin, NoOpPlugin] tuple for tree-shaking.
2. createXPanel -- wraps a class-based devtools core (mount/unmount) into a [Panel, NoOpPanel] component tuple.

Key Source Files

• packages/devtools-utils/src/react/plugin.tsx -- createReactPlugin
• packages/devtools-utils/src/react/panel.tsx -- createReactPanel, DevtoolsPanelProps
• packages/devtools-utils/src/vue/plugin.ts -- createVuePlugin (different API)
• packages/devtools-utils/src/vue/panel.ts -- createVuePanel, DevtoolsPanelProps (includes 'system' theme)
• packages/devtools-utils/src/solid/plugin.tsx -- createSolidPlugin
• packages/devtools-utils/src/solid/panel.tsx -- createSolidPanel
• packages/devtools-utils/src/solid/class.ts -- constructCoreClass (Solid-specific)
• packages/devtools-utils/src/preact/plugin.tsx -- createPreactPlugin
• packages/devtools-utils/src/preact/panel.tsx -- createPreactPanel

Shared Pattern

All four frameworks follow the same two-factory pattern:

Plugin Factory

Every createXPlugin returns readonly [Plugin, NoOpPlugin]:

• Plugin -- returns a plugin object with metadata and a render function that renders your component.
• NoOpPlugin -- returns a plugin object with the same metadata but renders an empty fragment.

Panel Factory

Every createXPanel returns readonly [Panel, NoOpPanel]:

• Panel -- a framework component that creates a <div style="height:100%">, instantiates the core class, calls core.mount(el, theme) on mount, and core.unmount() on cleanup.
• NoOpPanel -- renders an empty fragment.

DevtoolsPanelProps

// React, Solid, Preact
interface DevtoolsPanelProps {
  theme?: 'light' | 'dark'
}

// Vue (note: includes 'system')
interface DevtoolsPanelProps {
  theme?: 'dark' | 'light' | 'system'
}

Import from the framework subpath:

import type { DevtoolsPanelProps } from '@tanstack/devtools-utils/react'
import type { DevtoolsPanelProps } from '@tanstack/devtools-utils/vue'
import type { DevtoolsPanelProps } from '@tanstack/devtools-utils/solid'
import type { DevtoolsPanelProps } from '@tanstack/devtools-utils/preact'

Primary Example (React)

import { createReactPlugin } from '@tanstack/devtools-utils/react'

function MyStorePanel({ theme }: { theme?: 'light' | 'dark' }) {
  return <div className={theme}>My Store Devtools</div>
}

const [MyPlugin, NoOpPlugin] = createReactPlugin({
  name: 'My Store',
  id: 'my-store',
  defaultOpen: false,
  Component: MyStorePanel,
})

// Tree-shaking: use NoOp in production
const ActivePlugin =
  process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' ? MyPlugin : NoOpPlugin

With Class-Based Panel

import {
  createReactPanel,
  createReactPlugin,
} from '@tanstack/devtools-utils/react'

class MyDevtoolsCore {
  mount(el: HTMLElement, theme: 'light' | 'dark') {
    /* render into el */
  }
  unmount() {
    /* cleanup */
  }
}

const [MyPanel, NoOpPanel] = createReactPanel(MyDevtoolsCore)

const [MyPlugin, NoOpPlugin] = createReactPlugin({
  name: 'My Store',
  Component: MyPanel,
})

Framework API Differences

React & Preact -- Options Object

createReactPlugin({ name, id?, defaultOpen?, Component })  // => [Plugin, NoOpPlugin]
createPreactPlugin({ name, id?, defaultOpen?, Component }) // => [Plugin, NoOpPlugin]

• Component receives DevtoolsPanelProps (with theme).
• Plugin() returns { name, id?, defaultOpen?, render(el, theme) }.
• Preact is identical to React but uses Preact JSX types and preact/hooks.

Vue -- Positional Arguments, NOT Options Object

createVuePlugin(name: string, component: DefineComponent) // => [Plugin, NoOpPlugin]

• Takes (name, component) as separate arguments, NOT an options object.
• Plugin(props) returns { name, component, props } -- it passes props through.
• NoOpPlugin(props) returns { name, component: Fragment, props }.
• Vue's DevtoolsPanelProps.theme also accepts 'system'.

Solid -- Same API as React, Different Internals

createSolidPlugin({ name, id?, defaultOpen?, Component }) // => [Plugin, NoOpPlugin]

• Same options-object API as React.
• Component must be a Solid component function (props: DevtoolsPanelProps) => JSX.Element.
• The render function internally returns <Component theme={theme} /> -- Solid handles reactivity.
• Solid also exports constructCoreClass from @tanstack/devtools-utils/solid/class for building lazy-loaded devtools cores.

Common Mistakes

CRITICAL: Using React JSX Pattern in Vue Adapter

Vue uses positional (name, component) arguments, NOT an options object.

// WRONG -- will fail at compile time or produce garbage at runtime
const [MyPlugin, NoOpPlugin] = createVuePlugin({
  name: 'My Plugin',
  Component: MyPanel,
})

// CORRECT
const [MyPlugin, NoOpPlugin] = createVuePlugin('My Plugin', MyPanel)

Vue plugins also work differently at call time -- you pass props:

// WRONG -- calling Plugin() with no args (React pattern)
const plugin = MyPlugin()

// CORRECT -- Vue Plugin takes props
const plugin = MyPlugin({ theme: 'dark' })

CRITICAL: Solid Render Prop Not Wrapped in Function

When using Solid components, Component must be a function reference, not raw JSX.

// WRONG -- evaluates immediately, breaks Solid reactivity
createSolidPlugin({
  name: 'My Store',
  Component: <MyPanel />, // This is JSX.Element, not a component function
})

// CORRECT -- pass the component function itself
createSolidPlugin({
  name: 'My Store',
  Component: (props) => <MyPanel theme={props.theme} />,
})

// ALSO CORRECT -- pass the component reference directly
createSolidPlugin({
  name: 'My Store',
  Component: MyPanel,
})

HIGH: Ignoring NoOp Variant for Production

The factory returns [Plugin, NoOpPlugin]. Both must be destructured and used for proper tree-shaking.

// WRONG -- NoOp variant discarded, devtools code ships to production
const [MyPlugin] = createReactPlugin({ name: 'Store', Component: MyPanel })

// CORRECT -- conditionally use NoOp in production
const [MyPlugin, NoOpPlugin] = createReactPlugin({
  name: 'Store',
  Component: MyPanel,
})
const ActivePlugin =
  process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' ? MyPlugin : NoOpPlugin

MEDIUM: Not Passing Theme Prop to Panel Component

DevtoolsPanelProps includes theme. The devtools shell passes it so panels can match light/dark mode. If your component ignores it, the panel will not adapt to theme changes.

// WRONG -- theme is ignored
const Component = () => <div>My Panel</div>

// CORRECT -- use theme for styling
const Component = ({ theme }: DevtoolsPanelProps) => (
  <div className={theme === 'dark' ? 'dark-mode' : 'light-mode'}>My Panel</div>
)

Design Tension

The core architecture is framework-agnostic, but each framework has different idioms:

• React/Preact use an options object with Component as a JSX function component.
• Vue uses positional arguments with a DefineComponent and passes props through.
• Solid uses the same options API as React but with Solid's JSX and reactivity model.

Agents trained on React patterns will get Vue wrong. Always check the import path to determine which factory API to use.

Cross-References

• devtools-plugin-panel -- Build your panel component first, then wrap it with the appropriate framework adapter.
• devtools-production -- NoOp variants are the primary mechanism for stripping devtools from production bundles.

Reference Files

• references/react.md -- Full React factory API and examples
• references/vue.md -- Full Vue factory API and examples (different from React)
• references/solid.md -- Full Solid factory API and examples
• references/preact.md -- Full Preact factory API and examples

Source: TanStack/devtools — distributed by TomeVault.