Most of the TanStack Router documentation is written for file-based routing and is intended to help you understand in more detail how to configure file-based routing and the technical details behind how it works. While file-based routing is the preferred and recommended way to configure TanStack Router, you can also use code-based routing if you prefer.
File-based routing is a way to configure your routes using the filesystem. Instead of defining your route structure via code, you can define your routes using a series of files and directories that represent the route hierarchy of your application. This brings a number of benefits:
While directories have long been used to represent route hierarchy, file-based routing introduces an additional concept of using the . character in the file-name to denote a route nesting. This allows you to avoid creating directories for few deeply nested routes and continue to use directories for wider route hierarchies. Let's take a look at some examples!
Directories can be used to denote route hierarchy, which can be useful for organizing multiple routes into logical groups and also cutting down on the filename length for large groups of deeply nested routes:
Filename | Route Path | Component Output |
---|---|---|
ʦ __root.tsx | <Root> | |
ʦ index.tsx | / (exact) | <Root><RootIndex> |
ʦ about.tsx | /about | <Root><About> |
ʦ posts.tsx | /posts | <Root><Posts> |
📂 posts | ||
┄ ʦ index.tsx | /posts (exact) | <Root><Posts><PostsIndex> |
┄ ʦ $postId.tsx | /posts/$postId | <Root><Posts><Post> |
📂 posts_ | ||
┄ 📂 $postId | ||
┄ ┄ ʦ edit.tsx | /posts/$postId/edit | <Root><EditPost> |
ʦ settings.tsx | /settings | <Root><Settings> |
📂 settings | <Root><Settings> | |
┄ ʦ profile.tsx | /settings/profile | <Root><Settings><Profile> |
┄ ʦ notifications.tsx | /settings/notifications | <Root><Settings><Notifications> |
ʦ _layout.tsx | <Root><Layout> | |
📂 _layout | ||
┄ ʦ layout-a.tsx | /layout-a | <Root><Layout><LayoutA> |
┄ ʦ layout-b.tsx | /layout-b | <Root><Layout><LayoutB> |
📂 files | ||
┄ ʦ $.tsx | /files/$ | <Root><Files> |
Flat routing gives you the ability to use .s to denote route nesting levels. This can be useful when you have a large number of uniquely deeply nested routes and want to avoid creating directories for each one:
Filename | Route Path | Component Output |
---|---|---|
ʦ __root.tsx | <Root> | |
ʦ index.tsx | / (exact) | <Root><RootIndex> |
ʦ about.tsx | /about | <Root><About> |
ʦ posts.tsx | /posts | <Root><Posts> |
ʦ posts.index.tsx | /posts (exact) | <Root><Posts><PostsIndex> |
ʦ posts.$postId.tsx | /posts/$postId | <Root><Posts><Post> |
ʦ posts_.$postId.edit.tsx | /posts/$postId/edit | <Root><EditPost> |
ʦ settings.tsx | /settings | <Root><Settings> |
ʦ settings.profile.tsx | /settings/profile | <Root><Settings><Profile> |
ʦ settings.notifications.tsx | /settings/notifications | <Root><Settings><Notifications> |
ʦ _layout.tsx | <Root><Layout> | |
ʦ _layout.layout-a.tsx | /layout-a | <Root><Layout><LayoutA> |
ʦ _layout.layout-b.tsx | /layout-b | <Root><Layout><LayoutB> |
ʦ files.$.tsx | /files/$ | <Root><Files> |
It's extremely likely that a 100% directory or flat route structure won't be the best fit for your project, which is why TanStack Router allows you to mix both flat and directory routes together to create a route tree that uses the best of both worlds where it makes sense:
Filename | Route Path | Component Output |
---|---|---|
ʦ __root.tsx | <Root> | |
ʦ index.tsx | / (exact) | <Root><RootIndex> |
ʦ about.tsx | /about | <Root><About> |
ʦ posts.tsx | /posts | <Root><Posts> |
📂 posts | ||
┄ ʦ index.tsx | /posts (exact) | <Root><Posts><PostsIndex> |
┄ ʦ $postId.tsx | /posts/$postId | <Root><Posts><Post> |
┄ ʦ $postId.edit.tsx | /posts/$postId/edit | <Root><Posts><Post><EditPost> |
ʦ settings.tsx | /settings | <Root><Settings> |
ʦ settings.profile.tsx | /settings/profile | <Root><Settings><Profile> |
ʦ settings.notifications.tsx | /settings/notifications | <Root><Settings><Notifications> |
Both flat and directory routes can be mixed together to create a route tree that uses the best of both worlds where it makes sense.
Tip
If you find the need to customize the location of your route files or completely override the discovery of routes, you can use Virtual File Routes to programmatically build your route tree while still getting the awesome benefits of file-based routing.
Dynamic path params can be used in both flat and directory routes to create routes that can match a dynamic segment of the URL path. Dynamic path params are denoted by the $ character in the filename:
Filename | Route Path | Component Output |
---|---|---|
... | ... | ... |
ʦ posts.$postId.tsx | /posts/$postId | <Root><Posts><Post><Post> |
We'll learn more about dynamic path params in the Path Params guide.
Pathless routes wrap child routes with either logic or a component without requiring a URL path. Non-path routes are denoted by the _ character in the filename:
Filename | Route Path | Component Output |
---|---|---|
ʦ _app.tsx | ||
ʦ _app.a.tsx | /a | <Root><App><A> |
ʦ _app.b.tsx | /b | <Root><App><B> |
To learn more about pathless routes, see the Routing Concepts - Pathless Routes guide.
File-based routing requires that you follow a few simple file naming conventions to ensure that your routes are generated correctly. The concepts these conventions enable are covered in detail in the Route Trees & Nesting guide.
Important
Routes starting with /api are reserved and cannot not be used for file-based routing. These routes are reserved for future use by the TanStack Start for API routes. If you need to use routes starting with /api when using TanStack Router with file-based routing, then you'll need to configure the apiBase option to a different value.
💡 Remember: The file-naming conventions for your project could be affected by what options are configured in your tsr.config.json. By default, the routeFileIgnorePrefix option is set to -, as such files and directories starting with - will not be considered for routing.
To enable file-based routing, you'll need to be using React with a supported bundler. TanStack Router currently has support for the following bundlers:
If your bundler is not yet supported, you can reach out to us on Discord or GitHub to let us know. Till then, fear not! You can still use the @tanstack/router-cli package to generate your route tree file.
To get started with file-based routing, you'll need to configure your project's bundler to use the TanStack Router Plugin or the TanStack Router CLI.
If you are using TanStack Router's file-based routing through a bundler, the plugin will automatically generate your route configuration through your bundler's dev and build processes. It is the easiest way to use TanStack Router's route generation features.
To use file-based routing with Vite, you'll need to install the @tanstack/router-plugin package.
npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin
npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin
Once installed, you'll need to add the plugin to your Vite configuration.
// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import viteReact from '@vitejs/plugin-react'
import { TanStackRouterVite } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/vite'
// https://vitejs.dev/config/
export default defineConfig({
plugins: [
TanStackRouterVite(),
viteReact(),
// ...
],
})
// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import viteReact from '@vitejs/plugin-react'
import { TanStackRouterVite } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/vite'
// https://vitejs.dev/config/
export default defineConfig({
plugins: [
TanStackRouterVite(),
viteReact(),
// ...
],
})
Or, you can clone our Quickstart Vite example and get started.
Warning
If you are using the older @tanstack/router-vite-plugin package, you can still continue to use it, as it will be aliased to the @tanstack/router-plugin/vite package. However, we would recommend using the @tanstack/router-plugin package directly.
To use file-based routing with Rspack or Rsbuild, you'll need to install the @tanstack/router-plugin package.
npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin
npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin
Once installed, you'll need to add the plugin to your configuration.
// rsbuild.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from '@rsbuild/core'
import { pluginReact } from '@rsbuild/plugin-react'
import { TanStackRouterRspack } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/rspack'
export default defineConfig({
plugins: [pluginReact()],
tools: {
rspack: {
plugins: [TanStackRouterRspack()],
},
},
})
// rsbuild.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from '@rsbuild/core'
import { pluginReact } from '@rsbuild/plugin-react'
import { TanStackRouterRspack } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/rspack'
export default defineConfig({
plugins: [pluginReact()],
tools: {
rspack: {
plugins: [TanStackRouterRspack()],
},
},
})
Or, you can clone our Quickstart Rspack/Rsbuild example and get started.
To use file-based routing with Webpack, you'll need to install the @tanstack/router-plugin package.
npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin
npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin
Once installed, you'll need to add the plugin to your configuration.
// webpack.config.ts
import { TanStackRouterWebpack } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/webpack'
export default {
plugins: [TanStackRouterWebpack()],
}
// webpack.config.ts
import { TanStackRouterWebpack } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/webpack'
export default {
plugins: [TanStackRouterWebpack()],
}
Or, you can clone our Quickstart Webpack example and get started.
To use file-based routing with Esbuild, you'll need to install the @tanstack/router-plugin package.
npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin
npm install -D @tanstack/router-plugin
Once installed, you'll need to add the plugin to your configuration.
// esbuild.config.js
import { TanStackRouterEsbuild } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/esbuild'
export default {
// ...
plugins: [TanStackRouterEsbuild()],
}
// esbuild.config.js
import { TanStackRouterEsbuild } from '@tanstack/router-plugin/esbuild'
export default {
// ...
plugins: [TanStackRouterEsbuild()],
}
Or, you can clone our Quickstart Esbuild example and get started.
To use file-based routing with the TanStack Router CLI, you'll need to install the @tanstack/router-cli package.
npm install -D @tanstack/router-cli
npm install -D @tanstack/router-cli
Once installed, you'll need to amend your your scripts in your package.json for the CLI to watch and generate files.
{
"scripts": {
"generate-routes": "tsr generate",
"watch-routes": "tsr watch",
"build": "npm run generate-routes && ...",
"dev": "npm run watch-routes && ..."
}
}
{
"scripts": {
"generate-routes": "tsr generate",
"watch-routes": "tsr watch",
"build": "npm run generate-routes && ...",
"dev": "npm run watch-routes && ..."
}
}
With the CLI installed, the following commands are made available via the tsr command
Generates the routes for a project based on the provided configuration.
tsr generate
tsr generate
Continuously watches the specified directories and regenerates routes as needed.
Usage:
tsr watch
tsr watch
With file-based routing enabled, whenever you start your application in development mode, TanStack Router will watch your configured routesDirectory and generate your route tree whenever a file is added, removed, or changed.
⚠️ Note: To disable the plugin when running tests via vitest, you can conditionally add it based on the current NODE_ENV:
// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import viteReact from '@vitejs/plugin-react'
import { TanStackRouterVite } from '@tanstack/router-vite-plugin'
// vitest automatically sets NODE_ENV to 'test' when running tests
const isTest = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'test'
// https://vitejs.dev/config/
export default defineConfig({
plugins: [
!isTest && TanStackRouterVite(),
viteReact(),
// ...
],
})
// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import viteReact from '@vitejs/plugin-react'
import { TanStackRouterVite } from '@tanstack/router-vite-plugin'
// vitest automatically sets NODE_ENV to 'test' when running tests
const isTest = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'test'
// https://vitejs.dev/config/
export default defineConfig({
plugins: [
!isTest && TanStackRouterVite(),
viteReact(),
// ...
],
})
File-based routing comes with some sane defaults that should work for most projects:
{
"routesDirectory": "./src/routes",
"generatedRouteTree": "./src/routeTree.gen.ts",
"routeFileIgnorePrefix": "-",
"quoteStyle": "single"
}
{
"routesDirectory": "./src/routes",
"generatedRouteTree": "./src/routeTree.gen.ts",
"routeFileIgnorePrefix": "-",
"quoteStyle": "single"
}
If these defaults work for your project, you don't need to configure anything at all! However, if you need to customize the configuration, you can do so by creating a tsr.config.json file in the root of your project directory.
The following options are available for configuration via the tsr.config.json file:
Important
Do not set the routeFilePrefix, routeFileIgnorePrefix, or routeFileIgnorePattern options, to match any of the tokens used in the file-naming conventions section.
routeFilePrefix
routeFileIgnorePrefix
routeFileIgnorePattern
indexToken
routeToken
routesDirectory
generatedRouteTree
autoCodeSplitting
quoteStyle
semicolons
apiBase
disableTypes
addExtensions
disableLogging
routeTreeFileHeader
[
'/* prettier-ignore-start */',
'/* eslint-disable */',
'// @ts-nocheck',
'// noinspection JSUnusedGlobalSymbols'
]
[
'/* prettier-ignore-start */',
'/* eslint-disable */',
'// @ts-nocheck',
'// noinspection JSUnusedGlobalSymbols'
]
routeTreeFileFooter
[
'/* prettier-ignore-end */'
]
[
'/* prettier-ignore-end */'
]
`disableManifestGeneration
Via the routeFilePrefix and routeFileIgnorePrefix options, the CLI can be configured to only include files and directories that start with a specific prefix, or to ignore files and directories that start with a specific prefix. This is especially useful when mixing non-route files with route files in the same directory, or when using a flat structure and wanting to exclude certain files from routing.
To only consider files and directories that start with ~ for routing, the following configuration can be used:
🧠 A prefix of ~ is generally recommended when using this option. Not only is this symbol typically associated with the home-folder navigation in unix-based systems, but it is also a valid character for use in filenames and urls that will typically force the file to the top of a directory for easier visual indication of routes.
{
"routeFilePrefix": "~",
"routesDirectory": "./src/routes",
"generatedRouteTree": "./src/routeTree.gen.ts"
}
{
"routeFilePrefix": "~",
"routesDirectory": "./src/routes",
"generatedRouteTree": "./src/routeTree.gen.ts"
}
With this configuration, the Posts.tsx, Post.tsx, and PostEditor.tsx files will be ignored during route generation.
~__root.tsx
~posts.tsx
~posts
~index.tsx
~$postId.tsx
~$postId
~edit.tsx
PostEditor.tsx
Post.tsx
Posts.tsx
~__root.tsx
~posts.tsx
~posts
~index.tsx
~$postId.tsx
~$postId
~edit.tsx
PostEditor.tsx
Post.tsx
Posts.tsx
It's also common to use directories to house related files that do not contain any route files:
~__root.tsx
~posts.tsx
~posts
~index.tsx
~$postId.tsx
~$postId
~edit.tsx
components
PostEditor.tsx
components
Post.tsx
components
Posts.tsx
utils
Posts.tsx
~__root.tsx
~posts.tsx
~posts
~index.tsx
~$postId.tsx
~$postId
~edit.tsx
components
PostEditor.tsx
components
Post.tsx
components
Posts.tsx
utils
Posts.tsx
To ignore files and directories that start with - for routing, the following configuration can be used:
🧠 A prefix of - is generally recommended when using this option since the minus symbol is typically associated with removal or exclusion.
{
"routeFileIgnorePrefix": "-",
"routesDirectory": "./src/routes",
"generatedRouteTree": "./src/routeTree.gen.ts"
}
{
"routeFileIgnorePrefix": "-",
"routesDirectory": "./src/routes",
"generatedRouteTree": "./src/routeTree.gen.ts"
}
With this configuration, the Posts.tsx, Post.tsx, and PostEditor.tsx files will be ignored during route generation.
__root.tsx
posts.tsx
posts
index.tsx
$postId.tsx
$postId
edit.tsx
-PostEditor.tsx
-Post.tsx
-Posts.tsx
__root.tsx
posts.tsx
posts
index.tsx
$postId.tsx
$postId
edit.tsx
-PostEditor.tsx
-Post.tsx
-Posts.tsx
It's also common to use ignored directories to house related files that do not contain any route files:
__root.tsx
posts.tsx
posts
index.tsx
$postId.tsx
$postId
edit.tsx
-components
PostEditor.tsx
-components
Post.tsx
-components
Posts.tsx
-utils
Posts.tsx
__root.tsx
posts.tsx
posts
index.tsx
$postId.tsx
$postId
edit.tsx
-components
PostEditor.tsx
-components
Post.tsx
-components
Posts.tsx
-utils
Posts.tsx
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