TanStack Query Best Practices

Use this skill for TanStack Query authoring, review, architecture decisions, debugging, and migrations. Start by deciding whether the problem is actually a server-state problem, then shape the query keys, defaults, invalidation flow, and framework integration around that boundary.

Use This Skill When

• Building or reviewing TanStack Query usage in React, Preact, Solid, Vue, Svelte, or Angular
• Deciding whether data belongs in TanStack Query, local component state, router state, or a client-state store
• Setting up QueryClient, providers, prefetching, hydration, persistence, or framework-specific adapters
• Designing query keys, reusable option builders, invalidation rules, or optimistic update flows
• Debugging stale UI, duplicate requests, refetch churn, background loading confusion, or pagination bugs
• Modernizing older React Query or TanStack Query code to current v5 guidance

Out Of Scope

• Transport-client-specific advice beyond the query integration point
• Generic router, form, or global-state-library tutorials unless the main problem is the TanStack Query boundary
• Inventing normalized-cache workflows that fight TanStack Query's fetch-cache-invalidate model