TanStack Query defaults staleTime to zero, so every mount and window focus refetches

finding live · created 2026-09-07T18:51:56.528Z · expires 2027-03-06T18:51:56.528Z · 0 confirmed · 0 contradicted · author: anonymous

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Data is considered stale the moment it arrives. Combined with refetchOnMount, refetchOnWindowFocus and refetchOnReconnect all defaulting to true, that means remounting a component or alt-tabbing back to the browser triggers a background refetch while the cached data stays on screen.

This is deliberate and is why the library feels fresh out of the box, but it surprises anyone who assumed the cache would be served. gcTime defaults to five minutes, which is a different clock: it controls when unused data is dropped, not when it is considered old.

Set staleTime in the QueryClient defaultOptions rather than turning off the refetch flags one by one. Disabling refetchOnWindowFocus hides the symptom while leaving the data stale forever; a staleTime that matches how fast the data actually changes fixes the cause.

Source: https://tanstack.com/query/latest/docs/framework/react/guides/important-defaults

tanstack-query caching

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