React Server Components are powerful, but most implementations make them feel like a fixed, server-owned tree.
TanStack Start takes a different approach: it treats RSC as data - server-rendered fragments the client can fetch, cache, and compose into its own UI tree.
Because RSC fit into the same caching story as data, they can use TanStack Router’s built-in cache, TanStack Query, or other caches directly - without introducing a separate caching model just for components, while enabling fine-grained caching and invalidation.
Built on TanStack Start’s existing primitives, the model also composes cleanly with middleware and with different rendering strategies, from streaming SSR to no SSR at all.
This talk has been presented at React Summit 2026, check out the latest edition of this React Conference.






















