TanStack Start: A New Meta Framework Powered by React or SolidJS

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TanStack Start, the full-stack framework built on top of TanStack Router and Vite for React and Solid, has launched in release candidate, introducing production-ready capabilities including server-side rendering, streaming hydration, server functions, and type-safe APIs. The release marks TanStack’s entry into full meta-framework territory, offering an alternative to existing stacks, including Next.js and Remix.

The release candidate emphasizes three major areas: type-safe routing & APIs, streaming-enabled server-side rendering, and deployment flexibility. At its core, TanStack Start inherits the router’s fully inferred typing system, extending it into server routes and loader functions so that navigation and data loading share the same type definitions. The streaming SSR model lets applications send HTML to the client as soon as it’s ready, then hydrate and continue interactive loading, blurring the line between client and server rendering.

Deployment is designed to be universal, with examples including Cloudflare Workers, Netlify, Vercel, or any Node/Bun target, thanks to the custom Vite plug-in and modern bundling strategy.

To illustrate the routing and data-loading model:

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
import { createServerFn } from '@tanstack/react-start'
export const getTodos = createServerFn({ method: 'GET' }).handler(async () => {
 return fetch('/api/todos').then(r => r.json())
})
export const Route = createFileRoute('/task-list')({
 loader: getTodos,
 component: TaskList,
})
function TaskList() {
 // ... Example Component
}

This snippet demonstrates how server functions (createServerFn) and file-based route definitions combine into one unified API. Developers can find richer examples over on the GitHub repo for TanStack Start.

Community reaction has been optimistic, with a lot of comparisons made to other frameworks. An in-depth comparison between 10 different frameworks for mobile performance showed that TanStack Start performed much better than alternatives such as Next.js in terms of bundle size and various performance metrics.

The creator of jQuery, John Resig, also weighed in on the discussion on X with the following:

I've been using Tanstack Start for a new project and it's super good. The server functions completely replace the need for TRPC/GraphQL/REST, the middleware is composable and fully typed, and having TSRouter's nice typing and stateful search params is icing on the cake. A+!

The excitement for the project is also evident in other forums, such as this Reddit thread, where some developers are considering it as a replacement for Next.js, and one user has even mentioned that they are using it in production for a complex project already.

In terms of migration and tooling alignment, TanStack Start supports incremental integration: existing TanStack Router or TanStack Query applications can adopt Start’s server-function and SSR features gradually, with minimal disruption. The maintainers emphasise that Start augments the Router rather than replacing it outright, making it easier for teams to adopt.

For developers considering migrating from Next.js, a specific migration guide is available.

TanStack Start is an open-source full-stack framework powered by TanStack Router and Vite, designed for React and Solid applications that need SSR, streaming, type-safe routing, and universal deployment. With the release candidate, TanStack expands its ecosystem from client routing to full application stacks, offering teams a compelling alternative to more opinionated meta-frameworks, particularly those seeking type safety and fine-grained control.

Related Topics:

• Development
• React
• Web Deploy
• Web Frameworks
• Routing
• Bundlers
• Web Development
• TypeScript
• Node.js

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