TanStack Query

Overview

TanStack Query is an async state manager, not a data fetching library. You provide a queryFn that returns a Promise; React Query handles caching, deduplication, background updates, and stale data management.

When to use: Infinite scrolling, offline-first apps, auto-refetching on focus/reconnect, complex cache invalidation, React Native, hybrid server/client apps.

When NOT to use: Purely synchronous state (useState/Zustand), normalized GraphQL caching (Apollo/urql), server-components-only apps (native fetch), simple fetch-and-display (server components).

Quick Reference