Documentation

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• GitHub Repository: https://github.com/TanStack/table
• DeepWiki Repository: TanStack/table
• Context7 Library ID: /tanstack/table

TanStack Table Patterns

This skill covers TanStack Table library patterns with the meta field for passing behavior to cells.

Core Pattern: Hoisted Columns with Meta

// 1. Extend TableMeta for type safety
declare module '@tanstack/react-table' {
	interface TableMeta<TData extends RowData> {
		onEdit?: (id: string) => void;
		onDelete?: (id: string) => void;
	}
}

// 2. Hoist column definitions outside component
const columnHelper = createColumnHelper<Job>();

const columns = [
	columnHelper.accessor('name', {
		header: 'Name',
		cell: info => info.getValue(),
	}),
	columnHelper.display({
		id: 'actions',
		cell: ({ row, table }) => (
			<Button onClick={() => table.options.meta?.onEdit?.(row.original.id)}>Edit</Button>
		),
	}),
];

// 3. Pass callbacks via meta
function DataTable({ data, onEdit, onDelete }: Props) {
	const table = useReactTable({
		data,
		columns,
		getCoreRowModel: getCoreRowModel(),
		meta: { onEdit, onDelete },
	});

	return <Table>...</Table>;
}

Why Meta Over Closures?

Closures in column definitions cause re-renders:

// Bad - new column array every render
const columns = useMemo(() => [
  {
    cell: ({ row }) => (
      <Button onClick={() => onEdit(row.original.id)}>Edit</Button>
    ),
  },
], [onEdit]); // Invalidates when onEdit changes

// Good - stable columns, dynamic meta
const columns = [...]; // Hoisted, never changes

const table = useReactTable({
  meta: { onEdit }, // Only meta changes
});

References

• For column definition patterns, see column-definitions.md
• For meta field type safety, see meta-field.md