web-forms-tanstack-form

TanStack Form Patterns

Quick Guide: Use useForm with defaultValues and typed generics. Render fields with form.Field using the render-prop children pattern. Validation lives in the validators prop on both form and field level — use onChange, onBlur, onSubmit (sync) and their Async variants. Use mode="array" for dynamic field lists with pushValue/removeValue. Use onChangeListenTo for cross-field validation. For app-wide consistency, create a shared useAppForm via createFormHook. Always provide defaultValues — TanStack Form infers types from them.

---

<critical_requirements>

CRITICAL: Before Using This Skill

All code must follow project conventions in CLAUDE.md (kebab-case, named exports, import ordering, import type, named constants)

(You MUST provide defaultValues to useForm — TanStack Form infers field types from them)

(You MUST use form.Field with the children render prop — TanStack Form does not use register or Controller)

(You MUST use the validators prop for validation — NOT inline rules or external resolver wrappers)

(You MUST handle field.state.meta.errors as an array — always .map() over errors)

(You MUST call form.handleSubmit() inside the form's onSubmit handler with e.preventDefault())

</critical_requirements>

---

Auto-detection: TanStack Form, @tanstack/react-form, @tanstack/vue-form, @tanstack/solid-form, @tanstack/angular-form, @tanstack/lit-form, useForm from tanstack, form.Field, createFormHook, createFormHookContexts, useAppForm, fieldContext, formContext, handleSubmit tanstack, pushValue, removeValue, onChangeListenTo, field.handleChange, field.handleBlur, field.state, formDevtoolsPlugin

When to use:

• Building type-safe forms where field types are inferred from defaultValues
• Managing complex validation with sync, async, and cross-field rules
• Dynamic forms with add/remove field groups (array fields)
• Multi-framework projects (React, Vue, Solid, Angular, Lit)
• Projects already using the TanStack ecosystem

When NOT to use:

• Single input without validation (use native state)
• Server-only forms with server actions (use native form + action)
• Read-only data display (not a form scenario)

---

Table of Contents

Detailed Resources:

• examples/core.md - Basic form, Field component, TypeScript, form submission
• examples/validation.md - Sync/async validation, validator adapters, form-level validation
• examples/arrays.md - Dynamic array fields with pushValue/removeValue
• examples/composition.md - createFormHook, useAppForm, listeners, side effects
• reference.md - API tables, validator events, decision frameworks

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Philosophy

TanStack Form is headless and type-safe by design. It owns zero UI — you render every input yourself. The library provides form state, validation orchestration, and field management. Types flow from defaultValues through every field name, value, and error — no manual generics required (though you can provide them).

Core Principles:

1. Type inference from defaults - defaultValues defines the form shape; field names and values are fully typed
2. Headless - Zero UI opinions; works with any component library or native inputs
3. Validation-event-driven - Validators attach to specific events (onChange, onBlur, onSubmit) per field or per form
4. Framework-agnostic core - Same mental model across React, Vue, Solid, Angular, and Lit
5. Composition via factory - createFormHook shares field/form components across an app

---

Core Patterns

Pattern 1: Basic useForm + form.Field

Every form starts with useForm and renders fields via form.Field. The children render prop receives the field API with state, handleChange, and handleBlur.

import { useForm } from "@tanstack/react-form";

const form = useForm({
  defaultValues: { name: "", email: "" },
  onSubmit: async ({ value }) => {
    await submitToApi(value);
  },
});

return (
  <form
    onSubmit={(e) => {
      e.preventDefault();
      form.handleSubmit();
    }}
  >
    <form.Field
      name="email"
      children={(field) => (
        <input
          value={field.state.value}
          onBlur={field.handleBlur}
          onChange={(e) => field.handleChange(e.target.value)}
        />
      )}
    />
  </form>
);

Key difference from other form libraries: No register, no Controller, no ref forwarding. You always use field.handleChange and field.state.value explicitly.

See examples/core.md for complete form with error display and accessibility.

---

Pattern 2: Field-Level Validation

Validators are functions on the validators prop. Sync validators return a string (error) or undefined (valid). Async validators use onChangeAsync, onBlurAsync, onSubmitAsync.

<form.Field
  name="age"
  validators={{
    onChange: ({ value }) => (value < 13 ? "Must be 13 or older" : undefined),
    onBlurAsync: async ({ value }) => {
      const exists = await checkAge(value);
      return exists ? undefined : "Age not valid on server";
    },
  }}
  children={(field) => (
    <div>
      <input
        type="number"
        value={field.state.value}
        onBlur={field.handleBlur}
        onChange={(e) => field.handleChange(e.target.valueAsNumber)}
      />
      {field.state.meta.errors.map((err) => (
        <em key={err} role="alert">
          {err}
        </em>
      ))}
    </div>
  )}
/>

Sync-first gating: When both onBlur and onBlurAsync exist, the async validator only runs if the sync validator passes. Same for onChange/onChangeAsync.

See examples/validation.md for all validation patterns and adapter integration.

---

Pattern 3: Linked Fields (Cross-Field Validation)

Use onChangeListenTo to re-run a field's validator when another field changes. This solves the stale-validation problem (e.g., confirm password).

<form.Field
  name="confirm_password"
  validators={{
    onChangeListenTo: ["password"],
    onChange: ({ value, fieldApi }) => {
      if (value !== fieldApi.form.getFieldValue("password")) {
        return "Passwords do not match";
      }
      return undefined;
    },
  }}
  children={(field) => (/* ... */)}
/>

Why this matters: Without onChangeListenTo, changing the password field does not re-validate confirm_password. The error stays stale until the user interacts with the confirm field again.

See examples/validation.md Pattern 4 for a complete linked fields example.

---

Pattern 4: Array Fields

Use mode="array" on form.Field to get pushValue, removeValue, swapValues, moveValue, and insertValue for dynamic field groups.

<form.Field
  name="hobbies"
  mode="array"
  children={(hobbiesField) => (
    <div>
      {hobbiesField.state.value.map((_, i) => (
        <div key={i}>
          <form.Field
            name={`hobbies[${i}].name`}
            children={(field) => (
              <input
                value={field.state.value}
                onChange={(e) => field.handleChange(e.target.value)}
              />
            )}
          />
          <button type="button" onClick={() => hobbiesField.removeValue(i)}>
            Remove
          </button>
        </div>
      ))}
      <button
        type="button"
        onClick={() => hobbiesField.pushValue({ name: "" })}
      >
        Add hobby
      </button>
    </div>
  )}
/>

Important: pushValue requires a complete object matching the array item shape. Partial objects will cause type errors.

See examples/arrays.md for a complete dynamic list form.

---

Pattern 5: Form-Level Validation

Validators on useForm apply to the entire form. Use onSubmitAsync for server-side validation that returns field-specific errors.

const form = useForm({
  defaultValues: { username: "", age: 0 },
  validators: {
    onSubmitAsync: async ({ value }) => {
      const errors = await validateOnServer(value);
      if (errors) {
        return {
          form: "Submission failed",
          fields: {
            username: errors.username,
            age: errors.age,
          },
        };
      }
      return null;
    },
  },
});

Return shape: { form?: string, fields: Record<string, string> } — the form key is optional for form-level errors, fields maps field names to their error messages. Return null when valid.

See examples/validation.md Pattern 3 for complete form-level validation.

---

Pattern 6: createFormHook (App-Wide Composition)

Use createFormHook to share custom field components and form components across the app. This eliminates boilerplate and enforces consistency.

import { createFormHookContexts, createFormHook } from "@tanstack/react-form";

export const { fieldContext, formContext, useFieldContext } =
  createFormHookContexts();

export const { useAppForm, withForm } = createFormHook({
  fieldContext,
  formContext,
  fieldComponents: {
    TextField: TextFieldComponent,
    SelectField: SelectFieldComponent,
  },
  formComponents: {
    SubmitButton: SubmitButtonComponent,
  },
});

Usage: useAppForm accepts all useForm options. Registered fieldComponents and formComponents are available on the returned form instance: form.AppField for custom field components, form.AppForm for form-level components.

See examples/composition.md for the full factory setup and custom component patterns.

---

Pattern 7: Listeners (Side Effects)

Listeners react to field events and perform side effects like resetting related fields. Use the listeners prop on form.Field.

<form.Field
  name="country"
  listeners={{
    onChange: ({ value }) => {
      form.setFieldValue("province", "");
    },
  }}
  children={(field) => (/* ... */)}
/>

Available events: onChange, onBlur, onMount, onSubmit. Listeners are for side effects only — they do not return validation errors.

See examples/composition.md Pattern 3 for a complete country/province cascade.

---

Pattern 8: form.Subscribe for Reactive UI

Use form.Subscribe to reactively render UI based on form state without re-rendering the entire form. Takes a selector to pick specific state.

<form.Subscribe
  selector={(state) => [state.canSubmit, state.isSubmitting]}
  children={([canSubmit, isSubmitting]) => (
    <button type="submit" disabled={!canSubmit || isSubmitting}>
      {isSubmitting ? "Submitting..." : "Submit"}
    </button>
  )}
/>

Why this matters: Without form.Subscribe, reading form.state directly causes the parent component to re-render on every state change. The selector narrows the subscription.

---

<red_flags>

RED FLAGS

High Priority Issues:

• Using register or Controller patterns — TanStack Form uses form.Field with children render prop, not register/Controller
• Missing defaultValues in useForm — types cannot be inferred, fields start as undefined
• Calling form.handleSubmit() without e.preventDefault() — causes page reload
• Reading form.state directly in the component body — causes full re-render on every change; use form.Subscribe or useStore

Medium Priority Issues:

• Using onChange validator for expensive checks — use onChangeAsync with debounce or onBlurAsync instead
• Providing partial objects to pushValue in array fields — must provide complete objects matching the array item type
• Not using onChangeListenTo for cross-field validation — related field errors go stale
• Wrapping form.handleSubmit() in another async function without error handling — handleSubmit does not catch errors thrown in onSubmit

Gotchas & Edge Cases:

• field.state.meta.errors is always an array — never compare with ===, always .map() or .length
• Sync validators gate async validators — if onChange fails, onChangeAsync does not run
• Form-level onSubmitAsync validator returns { fields: { fieldName: "error" } } — not the same shape as field-level validators
• field.state.meta.isTouched only becomes true after handleBlur fires — not on first handleChange
• Array field access uses bracket notation: name={items[${i}].name} — not dot notation like items.${i}.name
• form.Subscribe uses a selector prop to pick state — passing no selector subscribes to everything
• createFormHook components are available as form.AppField and form.AppForm — not on form.Field

</red_flags>

---

<critical_reminders>

CRITICAL REMINDERS

All code must follow project conventions in CLAUDE.md

(You MUST provide defaultValues to useForm — TanStack Form infers field types from them)

(You MUST use form.Field with the children render prop — TanStack Form does not use register or Controller)

(You MUST use the validators prop for validation — NOT inline rules or external resolver wrappers)

(You MUST handle field.state.meta.errors as an array — always .map() over errors)

(You MUST call form.handleSubmit() inside the form's onSubmit handler with e.preventDefault())

Failure to follow these rules will break form state, lose type safety, and produce incorrect validation behavior.

</critical_reminders>