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Tanstack Router React Cursor Rules

Cursor rules for TanStack Router v1 with file-based routing, typed params, search validation, loaders, auth guards, and route preloading.

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---
description: "Cursor rules for TanStack Router v1 with file-based routing, typed params, search validation, loaders, auth guards, and route preloading."
globs: **/*
alwaysApply: false
---
You are an expert in TanStack Router, React, TypeScript, and modern type-safe client-side routing.

# TanStack Router + React Guidelines

## Core Philosophy
- TanStack Router is 100% type-safe — leverage TypeScript generics for route params, search params, and loader data
- Prefer file-based routing for scalability; use code-based routing only for highly dynamic use cases
- Always define routes with `createFileRoute` or `createRootRoute` — never use plain objects
- Route data loading belongs in `loader` functions, not in component `useEffect`
- Search params are first-class citizens — define their schema with Zod or Valibot for validation and type inference

## Project Setup
- Use `@tanstack/react-router` with Vite and the `@tanstack/router-vite-plugin` for file-based routing
- Enable `routeTree.gen.ts` auto-generation — never manually edit this file
- Structure routes under `src/routes/` directory
- Root layout goes in `src/routes/__root.tsx`
- Use `src/routes/index.tsx` for the home/index route

## File-Based Route Conventions
```
src/routes/
  __root.tsx          ← Root layout (wraps all routes)
  index.tsx           ← / route
  about.tsx           ← /about route
  posts/
    index.tsx         ← /posts route
    $postId.tsx       ← /posts/:postId (dynamic segment)
    _layout.tsx       ← Layout route (no path segment)
  _auth/
    login.tsx         ← /login (grouped under auth layout)
  (admin)/
    dashboard.tsx     ← /dashboard (pathless group)
```

## Route Definition Patterns
```tsx
// src/routes/posts/$postId.tsx
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
  loader: async ({ params }) => {
    return fetchPost(params.postId) // fully typed params
  },
  component: PostComponent,
})

function PostComponent() {
  const post = Route.useLoaderData() // type-safe loader data
  const { postId } = Route.useParams() // type-safe params
  return <div>{post.title}</div>
}
```

## Type-Safe Search Params
- Always define search param schemas using `z.object()` from Zod
- Use `validateSearch` option on route definition
- Access with `Route.useSearch()` — never read raw `window.location.search`
```tsx
import { z } from 'zod'
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

const searchSchema = z.object({
  page: z.number().int().min(1).default(1),
  q: z.string().optional(),
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/search')({
  validateSearch: searchSchema,
  component: SearchPage,
})

function SearchPage() {
  const { page, q } = Route.useSearch()
  // ...
}
```

## Navigation
- Use `<Link>` from `@tanstack/react-router` — never `<a href>` for internal navigation
- Use `useNavigate()` for programmatic navigation
- Always pass typed `params` and `search` to Link — the compiler will catch mistakes
```tsx
import { Link, useNavigate } from '@tanstack/react-router'

// Declarative
<Link to="/posts/$postId" params={{ postId: '123' }}>View Post</Link>

// Programmatic
const navigate = useNavigate()
navigate({ to: '/posts/$postId', params: { postId: post.id } })
```

## Loaders & Data Fetching
- Use `loader` for data that must be available before render (no loading spinners for critical data)
- Integrate with TanStack Query by using `ensureQueryData` inside loaders for caching
- Use `staleTime` on loaders to avoid redundant fetches during navigation
- Return plain serializable data from loaders — no class instances
```tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts')({
  loader: ({ context: { queryClient } }) =>
    queryClient.ensureQueryData(postsQueryOptions()),
  component: PostsPage,
})
```

## Error Handling
- Define `errorComponent` on routes to handle loader or render errors
- Use `notFoundComponent` for 404 states within a route subtree
- Use `pendingComponent` for showing skeletons/spinners during data loading
```tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/posts/$postId')({
  loader: fetchPost,
  errorComponent: ({ error }) => <ErrorBanner message={error.message} />,
  pendingComponent: () => <PostSkeleton />,
  notFoundComponent: () => <NotFound />,
  component: PostDetail,
})
```

## Router Context
- Use router context to inject global dependencies (queryClient, auth, theme) into loaders
- Define context type in `__root.tsx` and pass it when creating the router
```tsx
// __root.tsx
import { createRootRouteWithContext } from '@tanstack/react-router'

interface RouterContext {
  queryClient: QueryClient
  auth: AuthState
}

export const Route = createRootRouteWithContext<RouterContext>()({
  component: RootLayout,
})

// main.tsx
const router = createRouter({
  routeTree,
  context: { queryClient, auth },
})
```

## Route Guards / Auth
- Use `beforeLoad` for authentication checks — redirect to login if unauthenticated
- Never put auth logic inside components — handle it at the routing layer
```tsx
export const Route = createFileRoute('/_auth/dashboard')({
  beforeLoad: ({ context }) => {
    if (!context.auth.isAuthenticated) {
      throw redirect({ to: '/login' })
    }
  },
  component: Dashboard,
})
```

## Performance
- Use `preload` on `<Link>` to trigger loader prefetching on hover/focus
- Set `defaultPreload: 'intent'` on the router for automatic preloading
- Use `gcTime` and `staleTime` on loaders to tune cache behavior
- Lazy-load route components with `React.lazy` for code splitting

## DevTools
- Install `@tanstack/router-devtools` and render `<TanStackRouterDevtools />` in development
- Use devtools to inspect route tree, active matches, loader data, and search params

## Testing
- Use `createMemoryHistory` and `createRouter` to create isolated router instances in tests
- Wrap components under test with `<RouterProvider router={testRouter} />`
- Mock loaders by providing fake context values