Using React Query hooks for data from Convex

TanStack Start apps can use React Query (TanStack Query for React) hooks to take advantage of React Query's excellent Start integration. Convex queries are exposed through query options factories like convexQuery().

Instead of React Query's standard interval and activity-based polling and manual invalidation, updates are streamed down WebSocket to update the Query Cache directly for live, always-up-to-date results.

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7
User 7923/24/26, 1:31 AM

hey James; Could you let the customer know we've fixed their issue?

7
User 703/24/26, 1:31 AM

Hi James- I'll be late to make the meeting tomorrow morning

6
User 6443/24/26, 1:31 AM

hey Emma- Could you let the customer know we've fixed their issue?

7
User 7923/24/26, 1:31 AM

hi Emma; how was your weekend?

9
User 9903/24/26, 1:31 AM

hey James... how's the weather in SF?

8
User 8563/24/26, 1:31 AM

hello Jamie, I'll be late to make the meeting tomorrow morning

2
User 2793/24/26, 1:31 AM

hi Nipunn- Could you let the customer know we've fixed their issue?

7
User 7943/24/26, 1:31 AM

hello James... what's your favorite ice cream place?

7
User 7453/24/26, 1:31 AM

hey Jamie- what's your favorite ice cream place?

9
User 9563/24/26, 1:31 AM

hi Emma- what's your favorite ice cream place?

9
User 96163/22/26, 4:54 AM

Hi Nipunn; Could you let the customer know we've fixed their issue?

8
User 83403/20/26, 11:39 AM

hi Jamie, I'll be late to make the meeting tomorrow morning

4
User 45283/16/26, 7:28 AM

hello Nipunn- I'll be late to make the meeting tomorrow morning

4
User 45283/16/26, 7:28 AM

hi Jamie; I'll be late to make the meeting tomorrow morning

7
User 77943/16/26, 7:28 AM

hey James; what's your favorite ice cream place?

7
User 77943/16/26, 7:28 AM

hey Emma... how was your weekend?

5
User 50553/14/26, 8:33 PM

hello Nipunn, I'll be late to make the meeting tomorrow morning

5
User 50553/14/26, 8:33 PM

hey Nipunn! what's your favorite ice cream place?

5
User 50553/14/26, 8:33 PM

hello James! Could you let the customer know we've fixed their issue?

7
User 7113/14/26, 8:31 PM

hello James; how's the weather in SF?

1import { useQuery } from "@tanstack/react-query";
2import { convexQuery } from "@convex-dev/react-query";
3import { api } from "../convex/_generated/api";
4
5const messagesQuery = convexQuery(
6 api.messages.listMessages,
7 { channel: "chatty" }
8)
9
10// inside a React component
11const { data, isPending } = useQuery(messagesQuery);
12
13// in an event handler, useEffect, or loader
14queryClient.prefetchQuery(messagesQuery);
15
16// adding more query options to convexQuery()
17const { data } = useQuery({
18 ...convexQuery(api.messages.listMessages, {}),
19 initialData: [],
20 gcTime: 10000,
21});

Already used Convex React hooks?

If you've used Convex React hooks React Query hooks are going to familiar. Instead of returning the data directly, this useQuery() returns an object with a .data property along with other metadata. The hook accepts a single object, which you'll mostly populate with the return value of the convexQuery() hook.

The same React Query hooks can be used for fetch endpoints and Convex actions for standard interval or activity-based polling while Convex queries benefit from the live update behavior.

What does this give you? It's not just the often-asked-for isLoading and error properties or simple interop with other server endpoints or introspection from the TanStack Query devtools. It's React Query's Router integration with the TanStack Start providing things like server-side rendering and live updating queries in a single hook.

Learn More

TanStack Query (AKA React Query) docs

Using TanStack Query with Convex

The @convex-dev/react-query library links the TanStack Query Client with the Convex client