Global Filtering (Lit) Guide

Examples

Want to skip to the implementation? Check out these Lit examples:

Lit Setup

import { LitElement, html } from 'lit'
import { customElement, state } from 'lit/decorators.js'
import { TableController, tableFeatures, columnFilteringFeature, globalFilteringFeature, createFilteredRowModel, filterFns } from '@tanstack/lit-table'

const features = tableFeatures({
  columnFilteringFeature,
  globalFilteringFeature,
  filteredRowModel: createFilteredRowModel(),
  filterFns,
})

@customElement('my-table')
class MyTable extends LitElement {
  @state()
  private data = defaultData

  private tableController = new TableController(this)

  protected render() {
    const table = this.tableController.table({
      features,
      columns,
      data: this.data,
    })

    return html`...`
  }
}

import { LitElement, html } from 'lit'
import { customElement, state } from 'lit/decorators.js'
import { TableController, tableFeatures, columnFilteringFeature, globalFilteringFeature, createFilteredRowModel, filterFns } from '@tanstack/lit-table'

const features = tableFeatures({
  columnFilteringFeature,
  globalFilteringFeature,
  filteredRowModel: createFilteredRowModel(),
  filterFns,
})

@customElement('my-table')
class MyTable extends LitElement {
  @state()
  private data = defaultData

  private tableController = new TableController(this)

  protected render() {
    const table = this.tableController.table({
      features,
      columns,
      data: this.data,
    })

    return html`...`
  }
}

Filtering comes in 2 flavors: Column Filtering and Global Filtering.

This guide will focus on global filtering, which is a filter that is applied across all columns.

Client-Side vs Server-Side Filtering

If you have a large dataset, you may not want to load all of that data into the client's browser in order to filter it. In this case, you will most likely want to implement server-side filtering, sorting, pagination, etc.

However, as also discussed in the Pagination Guide, a lot of developers underestimate how many rows can be loaded client-side without a performance hit. The TanStack table examples are often tested to handle up to 100,000 rows or more with decent performance for client-side filtering, sorting, pagination, and grouping. This doesn't necessarily mean that your app will be able to handle that many rows, but if your table is only going to have a few thousand rows at most, you might be able to take advantage of the client-side filtering, sorting, pagination, and grouping that TanStack table provides.

TanStack Table can handle thousands of client-side rows with good performance. Don't rule out client-side filtering, pagination, sorting, etc. without some thought first.

Every use-case is different and will depend on the complexity of the table, how many columns you have, how large every piece of data is, etc. The main bottlenecks to pay attention to are:

Can your server query all of the data in a reasonable amount of time (and cost)?
What is the total size of the fetch? (This might not scale as badly as you think if you don't have many columns.)
Is the client's browser using too much memory if all of the data is loaded at once?

If you're not sure, you can always start with client-side filtering and pagination and then switch to server-side strategies in the future as your data grows.

Manual Server-Side Global Filtering

If you have decided that you need to implement server-side global filtering instead of using the built-in client-side global filtering, here's how you do that.

No filteredRowModel is needed for manual server-side global filtering. Instead, the data that you pass to the table should already be filtered. However, if you have registered a filteredRowModel in your features, you can tell the table to skip it by setting the manualFiltering option to true.

import {
  TableController,
  tableFeatures,
  columnFilteringFeature,
  globalFilteringFeature,
} from '@tanstack/lit-table'

const features = tableFeatures({ columnFilteringFeature, globalFilteringFeature })

const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  data: this.data,
  columns,
  manualFiltering: true,
})

import {
  TableController,
  tableFeatures,
  columnFilteringFeature,
  globalFilteringFeature,
} from '@tanstack/lit-table'

const features = tableFeatures({ columnFilteringFeature, globalFilteringFeature })

const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  data: this.data,
  columns,
  manualFiltering: true,
})

Note: When using manual global filtering, many of the options that are discussed in the rest of this guide will have no effect. When manualFiltering is set to true, the table instance will not apply any global filtering logic to the rows that are passed to it. Instead, it will assume that the rows are already filtered and will use the data that you pass to it as-is.

Client-Side Global Filtering

If you are using the built-in client-side global filtering, add the globalFilteringFeature (along with its required columnFilteringFeature prerequisite) to your features and the filteredRowModel to your row models:

import {
  TableController,
  tableFeatures,
  columnFilteringFeature,
  globalFilteringFeature,
  createFilteredRowModel,
  filterFns,
} from '@tanstack/lit-table'

const features = tableFeatures({
  columnFilteringFeature,
  globalFilteringFeature,
  filteredRowModel: createFilteredRowModel(),
  filterFns,
})

const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  // other options...
})

import {
  TableController,
  tableFeatures,
  columnFilteringFeature,
  globalFilteringFeature,
  createFilteredRowModel,
  filterFns,
} from '@tanstack/lit-table'

const features = tableFeatures({
  columnFilteringFeature,
  globalFilteringFeature,
  filteredRowModel: createFilteredRowModel(),
  filterFns,
})

const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  // other options...
})

Global Filter Function

The globalFilterFn option allows you to specify the filter function that will be used for global filtering. The filter function can be a string that references a built-in filter function, a string that references a custom filter function registered in the filterFns slot on tableFeatures, or a custom filter function passed directly.

const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  data: this.data,
  columns,
  globalFilterFn: 'includesString', // built-in filter function
})

const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  data: this.data,
  columns,
  globalFilterFn: 'includesString', // built-in filter function
})

By default there are 12 built-in filter functions to choose from:

includesString - Case-insensitive string inclusion
includesStringSensitive - Case-sensitive string inclusion
equalsString - Case-insensitive string equality
equals - Strict equality ===
weakEquals - Weak equality ==
arrIncludes - The row's array (or string) value includes at least one of the filter values
arrIncludesAll - The row's array value includes every filter value
arrIncludesSome - The row's array value includes at least one of the filter values
arrHas - The row's scalar value equals at least one of the filter values
inNumberRange - Inclusive [min, max] number range (endpoints normalized and swapped if reversed)
between - Exclusive min/max range (blank endpoints are open-ended)
betweenInclusive - Inclusive min/max range (blank endpoints are open-ended)

You can also define your own custom global filter function and pass it directly to the globalFilterFn table option, as shown below.

Global Filter State

The globalFilter state slice holds the current global filter value, usually a search string (the slice is typed as any so custom global filter functions can accept other value shapes). For reads in your render method, use table.state.globalFilter (the state selected by the selector passed to tableController.table). In event handlers or other non-render code, you can read the current snapshot with table.atoms.globalFilter.get().

If you need access to the global filter state outside of the table, you can own the slice yourself. The recommended way in v9 is an external atom passed through the atoms table option. Atoms preserve fine-grained subscriptions, and the filter value can be read or subscribed to from any module (such as in a query key for server-side filtering) without going through the component that owns the table.

import { createAtom } from '@tanstack/store'

// create a stable atom at module scope (or in a shared store module)
const globalFilterAtom = createAtom<string>('')

// inside your element's render method
const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  // other options...
  atoms: {
    globalFilter: globalFilterAtom, // table.setGlobalFilter now updates globalFilterAtom
  },
})

const globalFilter = globalFilterAtom.get() // read the atom wherever you need the value

import { createAtom } from '@tanstack/store'

// create a stable atom at module scope (or in a shared store module)
const globalFilterAtom = createAtom<string>('')

// inside your element's render method
const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  // other options...
  atoms: {
    globalFilter: globalFilterAtom, // table.setGlobalFilter now updates globalFilterAtom
  },
})

const globalFilter = globalFilterAtom.get() // read the atom wherever you need the value

Alternatively, the v8-style state.globalFilter plus onGlobalFilterChange pattern is still supported. It can be convenient for simple integrations or when migrating v8 code, but it is less fine-grained than external atoms. See the Table State Guide for a deeper comparison.

@state()
private globalFilter: string = ''

const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  // other options...
  state: {
    globalFilter: this.globalFilter,
  },
  onGlobalFilterChange: (updater) => {
    this.globalFilter = typeof updater === 'function' ? updater(this.globalFilter) : updater
  },
})

@state()
private globalFilter: string = ''

const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  // other options...
  state: {
    globalFilter: this.globalFilter,
  },
  onGlobalFilterChange: (updater) => {
    this.globalFilter = typeof updater === 'function' ? updater(this.globalFilter) : updater
  },
})

Adding global filter input to UI

TanStack table will not add a global filter input UI to your table. You should manually add it to your UI to allow users to filter the table. For example, you can add an input UI above the table to allow users to enter a search term. Read the value with table.state.globalFilter and update it with table.setGlobalFilter.

html`
  <input
    type="text"
    .value=${String(table.state.globalFilter ?? '')}
    @input=${(e: InputEvent) => table.setGlobalFilter((e.target as HTMLInputElement).value)}
    placeholder="Search all columns..."
  />
`

html`
  <input
    type="text"
    .value=${String(table.state.globalFilter ?? '')}
    @input=${(e: InputEvent) => table.setGlobalFilter((e.target as HTMLInputElement).value)}
    placeholder="Search all columns..."
  />
`

Custom Global Filter Function

If you want to use a custom global filter function, you can define the function and pass it to the globalFilterFn option.

Note: It is often a popular idea to use fuzzy filtering functions for global filtering. This is discussed in the Fuzzy Filtering Guide.

const customFilterFn = (row, columnId, filterValue) => {
  return // true if the row should be included in the filtered rows
}

const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  // other options...
  globalFilterFn: customFilterFn,
})

const customFilterFn = (row, columnId, filterValue) => {
  return // true if the row should be included in the filtered rows
}

const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  // other options...
  globalFilterFn: customFilterFn,
})

Initial Global Filter State

If you want to set an initial global filter state when the table is initialized, you can pass the global filter state as part of the table initialState option. However, if you are controlling the slice yourself, set the starting value on your external atom or reactive property instead.

const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  // other options...
  initialState: {
    globalFilter: 'search term', // if not controlling globalFilter state, set initial state here
  },
})

const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  // other options...
  initialState: {
    globalFilter: 'search term', // if not controlling globalFilter state, set initial state here
  },
})

NOTE: Do not use both initialState.globalFilter and a controlled globalFilter (via atoms or state) at the same time, as the controlled value will override initialState.globalFilter.

Disable Global Filtering

By default, global filtering is enabled for all columns. You can disable the global filtering for all columns by using the enableGlobalFilter table option. You can also turn off both column and global filtering by setting the enableFilters table option to false.

Disabling global filtering will cause the column.getCanGlobalFilter API to return false for that column.

const columns = [
  {
    header: () => 'Id',
    accessorKey: 'id',
    enableGlobalFilter: false, // disable global filtering for this column
  },
  //...
]
//...
const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  // other options...
  columns,
  enableGlobalFilter: false, // disable global filtering for all columns
})

const columns = [
  {
    header: () => 'Id',
    accessorKey: 'id',
    enableGlobalFilter: false, // disable global filtering for this column
  },
  //...
]
//...
const table = this.tableController.table({
  features,
  // other options...
  columns,
  enableGlobalFilter: false, // disable global filtering for all columns
})

Global Filter APIs

There are several APIs that are useful for hooking up your global filter UI:

table.setGlobalFilter - Set the global filter value. Useful for connecting a search input's @input handler.
table.resetGlobalFilter - Reset the global filter value to its initial state, or clear it with table.resetGlobalFilter(true).
table.getGlobalFilterFn - Returns the filter function currently used for global filtering.
table.getGlobalAutoFilterFn - Returns the default global filter function (currently includesString).
column.getCanGlobalFilter - Returns whether a column participates in global filtering. Useful for debugging which columns are searched.

Global Filtering (Lit) Guide

Examples#

Lit Setup#