Resolving react-query and react-router-dom Navigation Issues: Avoiding Blank Pages

Discover how to prevent blank pages when navigating between routes in your React app that uses react-query and react-router-dom.
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Troubleshooting Blank Pages in React Navigation with React-query

Navigating between screens in a React application can sometimes lead to frustrating issues, particularly when using tools like react-query and react-router-dom. A common problem developers face is ending up with blank pages when switching routes. In this post, we'll explore a typical scenario where this occurs and how to effectively solve it.

The Problem: Blank Pages During Navigation

Imagine you have a React application with two routes: Home and List. When navigating from Home to List, you might notice that the page goes blank or, upon reloading, you encounter errors like Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'length'). The root cause of this issue is typically related to how react-query handles querying data when using the same query key for multiple endpoints.

The Scenario: Home and List Components

In a standard setup, the Home component fetches a list of items using react-query like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

The problem arises when navigating from this component to the List component. Once on the List component, you attempt to fetch a single item from the list with the following code:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

The Consequence: Overlapping Caches

The issue manifests because both queries (to fetch all lists and to fetch a single list) share the same query key: "lists". This overlap causes the caches to override each other, leading to undefined data and subsequent errors.

The Solution: Unique Query Keys

To resolve the problem, you need to ensure that each query has a unique key. This can be easily done by including all relevant parameters into the query key. Here's how:

Step 1: Modify the Query Keys

Update your List component to include the listId in the query key:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

By doing this, you create a distinct cache for fetching all lists and for fetching a single list, eliminating the conflicts that lead to blank pages.

Step 2: Disable Queries Based on Parameters

If listId is potentially undefined during the first render, it’s wise to disable the query until it's available. You can accomplish this via the enabled option in the query hook:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This code ensures that the query only runs when there is a valid listId, preventing unnecessary errors and blank screens while the data is still being loaded.

Conclusion

Navigating between components in React using react-query and react-router-dom doesn't have to result in blank pages. By following the steps outlined above—ensuring unique query keys and properly managing query execution—you can create a seamless user experience without encountering those pesky navigation issues.

Give it a try and enhance your app's reliability during navigation. Happy coding!