Global Filtering (Alpine) Guide

Examples

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

Read your reactive inputs such as data through a getter (for example backing them with Alpine.reactive) when creating the table, so the table sees updates.

Global Filtering Setup

Here's how you set up your table to use global filtering features. Global filtering depends on column filtering, so add columnFilteringFeature before globalFilteringFeature. Adding the global filtering feature enables the related APIs. Additionally, if using client-side filtering, you also need to set up filteredRowModel after its associated feature because row model slots are type-checked.

import {
  columnFilteringFeature,
  createFilteredRowModel,
  createTable,
  filterFn_includesString,
  globalFilteringFeature,
  tableFeatures,
} from '@tanstack/alpine-table'

const features = tableFeatures({
  columnFilteringFeature,
  globalFilteringFeature,
  filteredRowModel: createFilteredRowModel(), // if using client-side filtering
  filterFns: { includesString: filterFn_includesString },
})

const table = createTable({
  features,
  columns,
  get data() {
    return local.data
  },
})

Note: The filterFns registry above lists only the built-in filter function this table uses. Spreading the entire built-in filterFns registry (filterFns: { ...filterFns }) still works, but it puts every built-in filter function in your bundle. Register just the functions you use, or pass a function directly to the globalFilterFn option with no registration at all.

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

Filtering should operate over the same dataset as sorting and pagination. Use client-side filtering when the browser has the complete dataset; use server-side filtering when it has only a page or another subset, unless filtering just the loaded rows is intentional.

See the Client-Side vs Server-Side Guide for the full decision framework, performance factors, and guidance for combining data operations.

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 added a filteredRowModel to tableFeatures, you can tell the table to skip it by setting the manualFiltering option to true.

import {
  columnFilteringFeature,
  createTable,
  globalFilteringFeature,
  tableFeatures,
} from '@tanstack/alpine-table'

const features = tableFeatures({
  columnFilteringFeature,
  globalFilteringFeature,
})

const table = createTable({
  features,
  columns,
  get data() {
    return local.data
  },
  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) and the filteredRowModel factory to your features:

import {
  columnFilteringFeature,
  createFilteredRowModel,
  createTable,
  filterFn_includesString,
  globalFilteringFeature,
  tableFeatures,
} from '@tanstack/alpine-table'

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

const table = createTable({
  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 filter function (built-in or custom) registered in the filterFns slot on tableFeatures, or a filter function passed directly.

const table = createTable({
  features,
  columns,
  get data() {
    return local.data
  },
  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). The table's state atoms are reactive in Alpine. table.atoms.globalFilter.get() is a reactive read when used inside an Alpine binding (x-text, x-html, :value, x-if, x-for, x-effect, or a getter/method on your Alpine.data object); in event handlers and other untracked code, the same call simply returns the current value.

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. @tanstack/store is already a dependency of @tanstack/alpine-table, so createAtom is available. The filter value can be read, written, or subscribed to elsewhere (such as in a query key for server-side filtering) without making the table depend on component-local state.

import { createAtom } from '@tanstack/store'

const globalFilterAtom = createAtom<string>('')

// subscribe to the atom wherever you need the value (e.g. for a query key)
globalFilterAtom.subscribe(() => {
  // react to global filter changes
})

const table = createTable({
  features,
  // other options...
  atoms: {
    globalFilter: globalFilterAtom, // table.setGlobalFilter now updates globalFilterAtom
  },
})

Alternatively, the v8-style state.globalFilter plus onGlobalFilterChange pattern is still supported by owning the slice in Alpine.reactive. 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.

const local = Alpine.reactive({ globalFilter: '' })

const table = createTable({
  features,
  // other options...
  state: {
    get globalFilter() {
      return local.globalFilter // connect the reactive slice back down to the table
    },
  },
  onGlobalFilterChange: (updater) => {
    local.globalFilter =
      typeof updater === 'function' ? updater(local.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. Bind the input's :value to table.atoms.globalFilter.get() (a reactive read inside the binding) and update it from @input with table.setGlobalFilter. Put interactivity on real elements, not inside x-html.

html

<input
  type="text"
  placeholder="Search all columns..."
  :value="table.atoms.globalFilter.get() ?? ''"
  @input="table.setGlobalFilter($event.target.value)"
/>

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 = createTable({
  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 state instead.

const table = createTable({
  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 = createTable({
  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.