clerk-tanstack-patterns

Included with Lifetime

$97 forever

TanStack React Start auth patterns with @clerk/tanstack-react-start - createServerFn, beforeLoad guards, loaders, Vinxi server. Triggers on: TanStack auth, createServerFn clerk, beforeLoad protection, TanStack Start middleware.

Web Dev

What this skill does


# TanStack React Start Patterns

## What Do You Need?

| Task | Reference |
|------|-----------|
| Protect routes with beforeLoad | references/router-guards.md |
| Auth in createServerFn | references/server-functions.md |
| Pass auth to loaders | references/loaders.md |
| Configure Vinxi + clerkMiddleware | references/vinxi-server.md |

## References

| Reference | Description |
|-----------|-------------|
| `references/router-guards.md` | beforeLoad auth redirect |
| `references/server-functions.md` | createServerFn with auth() |
| `references/loaders.md` | Auth context in loaders |
| `references/vinxi-server.md` | clerkMiddleware() setup |

## Setup

```
npm install @clerk/tanstack-react-start
```

`.env`:
```
CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_...
CLERK_SECRET_KEY=sk_...
```

`src/start.ts` (Vinxi entry):
```typescript
import { clerkMiddleware } from '@clerk/tanstack-react-start/server'
import { createStart } from '@tanstack/react-start'

export const startInstance = createStart(() => {
  return {
    requestMiddleware: [clerkMiddleware()],
  }
})
```

`src/routes/__root.tsx` — wrap with `<ClerkProvider>`:
```tsx
import { ClerkProvider } from '@clerk/tanstack-react-start'

function RootDocument({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <html lang="en">
      <body>
        <ClerkProvider>
          {children}
        </ClerkProvider>
      </body>
    </html>
  )
}
```

## Mental Model

TanStack Start runs on Vinxi. Auth flows through two layers:

1. **Server layer** — `createServerFn` + `auth()` from `@clerk/tanstack-react-start/server`
2. **Router layer** — `beforeLoad` on route definitions, throws `redirect` for unauthenticated

Both layers are server-executed. Client hooks (`useAuth`, `useUser`) are React hooks for the browser side.

## Minimal Pattern

```typescript
import { createFileRoute, redirect } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { createServerFn } from '@tanstack/react-start'
import { auth } from '@clerk/tanstack-react-start/server'

const authStateFn = createServerFn().handler(async () => {
  const { isAuthenticated, userId } = await auth()
  if (!isAuthenticated) {
    throw redirect({ to: '/sign-in' })
  }
  return { userId }
})

export const Route = createFileRoute('/dashboard')({
  beforeLoad: async () => await authStateFn(),
})
```

## Common Pitfalls

| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---------|-------|-----|
| `auth()` returns empty | Missing `clerkMiddleware` in start.ts | Add to `requestMiddleware` array |
| `redirect` not thrown | Using `return` instead of `throw` | `throw redirect(...)` in TanStack |
| Wrong import for `auth` | Mixing client/server imports | Server: `@clerk/tanstack-react-start/server` |
| Loader context missing userId | Not passing from beforeLoad | Return from beforeLoad, access via `context` |
| `ClerkProvider` missing | Forgot root wrapping | Add to `__root.tsx` shell component |

## See Also

- `clerk-setup` - Initial Clerk install
- `clerk-custom-ui` - Custom flows & appearance
- `clerk-orgs` - B2B organizations

## Docs

[TanStack React Start SDK](https://clerk.com/docs/tanstack-react-start/getting-started/quickstart)

Files: 13

Size: 19.0 KB

Complexity: 50/100

Category: Web Dev

Source: https://github.com/clerk/skills/tree/main/skills/frameworks/clerk-tanstack-patterns

Related in Web Dev

generating-lwc-components

Included

Lightning Web Components with PICKLES methodology and 165-point scoring. Use this skill when the user creates or edits LWC components, builds wire service patterns, or writes Jest tests for LWC. TRIGGER when: user creates/edits LWC components, touches lwc/**/*.js, .html, .css, .js-meta.xml files, or asks about wire service, SLDS, or Jest LWC tests. DO NOT TRIGGER when: Apex classes (use generating-apex), Aura components, or Visualforce.

Web Devscripts

tanstack-query

Included

Manage server state in React with TanStack Query v5. Set up queries with useQuery, mutations with useMutation, configure QueryClient caching strategies, implement optimistic updates, and handle infinite scroll with useInfiniteQuery. Use when: setting up data fetching in React projects, migrating from v4 to v5, or fixing object syntax required errors, query callbacks removed issues, cacheTime renamed to gcTime, isPending vs isLoading confusion, keepPreviousData removed problems.

Web Devscripts

document-processor-api

Included

Process documents with Nutrient DWS. Use when the user wants to generate PDFs from HTML or URLs, convert Office/images/PDFs, assemble or split packets, OCR scans, extract text/tables/key-value pairs, redact PII, watermark, sign, fill forms, optimize PDFs, or produce compliance outputs like PDF/A or PDF/UA. Triggers include convert to PDF, merge these PDFs, OCR this scan, extract tables, redact PII, sign this PDF, make this PDF/A, or linearize for web delivery.

Web Devscripts

nutrient-document-processing

Included

Web Devscripts

tanstack-query

Included

Manage server state in React with TanStack Query v5. Covers useMutationState, simplified optimistic updates, throwOnError, network mode (offline/PWA), and infiniteQueryOptions. Use when setting up data fetching, fixing v4→v5 migration errors (object syntax, gcTime, isPending, keepPreviousData), or debugging SSR/hydration issues with streaming server components.

Web Devscripts

accelint-nextjs-best-practices

Included

Next.js performance optimization and best practices. Use when writing Next.js code (App Router or Pages Router); implementing Server Components, Server Actions, or API routes; optimizing RSC serialization, data fetching, or server-side rendering; reviewing Next.js code for performance issues; fixing authentication in Server Actions; or implementing Suspense boundaries, parallel data fetching, or request deduplication.

Web Devscripts