tRPC

End-to-end typesafe APIs without code generation or runtime overhead.

Quick Start

Install:

npm install @trpc/server @trpc/client @trpc/react-query @tanstack/react-query zod

Project structure:

src/
  server/
    trpc.ts           # tRPC instance
    routers/
      _app.ts         # Root router
      posts.ts        # Posts router
  app/
    api/trpc/[trpc]/
      route.ts        # API handler (Next.js)
  trpc/
    client.ts         # Client setup
    Provider.tsx      # React provider

Server Setup

Initialize tRPC

// server/trpc.ts
import { initTRPC, TRPCError } from '@trpc/server';
import superjson from 'superjson';
import { ZodError } from 'zod';
import type { Context } from './context';

const t = initTRPC.context<Context>().create({
  transformer: superjson,
  errorFormatter({ shape, error }) {
    return {
      ...shape,
      data: {
        ...shape.data,
        zodError:
          error.cause instanceof ZodError ? error.cause.flatten() : null,
      },
    };
  },
});

export const router = t.router;
export const publicProcedure = t.procedure;
export const middleware = t.middleware;

Context

// server/context.ts
import type { inferAsyncReturnType } from '@trpc/server';
import type { FetchCreateContextFnOptions } from '@trpc/server/adapters/fetch';
import { prisma } from '@/lib/prisma';
import { getSession } from '@/lib/auth';

export async function createContext(opts: FetchCreateContextFnOptions) {
  const session = await getSession(opts.req);

  return {
    prisma,
    session,
    user: session?.user ?? null,
  };
}

export type Context = inferAsyncReturnType<typeof createContext>;

Protected Procedure

// server/trpc.ts
const isAuthed = middleware(({ ctx, next }) => {
  if (!ctx.user) {
    throw new TRPCError({ code: 'UNAUTHORIZED' });
  }
  return next({
    ctx: {
      user: ctx.user, // Now non-nullable
    },
  });
});

export const protectedProcedure = t.procedure.use(isAuthed);

Routers

Basic Router

// server/routers/posts.ts
import { z } from 'zod';
import { router, publicProcedure, protectedProcedure } from '../trpc';

export const postsRouter = router({
  // Query - GET operations
  list: publicProcedure.query(async ({ ctx }) => {
    return ctx.prisma.post.findMany({
      orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' },
    });
  }),

  // Query with input
  byId: publicProcedure
    .input(z.object({ id: z.string() }))
    .query(async ({ ctx, input }) => {
      return ctx.prisma.post.findUnique({
        where: { id: input.id },
      });
    }),

  // Mutation - POST/PUT/DELETE operations
  create: protectedProcedure
    .input(
      z.object({
        title: z.string().min(1).max(100),
        content: z.string().min(1),
      })
    )
    .mutation(async ({ ctx, input }) => {
      return ctx.prisma.post.create({
        data: {
          ...input,
          authorId: ctx.user.id,
        },
      });
    }),

  // Mutation with validation
  update: protectedProcedure
    .input(
      z.object({
        id: z.string(),
        title: z.string().min(1).max(100).optional(),
        content: z.string().min(1).optional(),
      })
    )
    .mutation(async ({ ctx, input }) => {
      const { id, ...data } = input;
      return ctx.prisma.post.update({
        where: { id },
        data,
      });
    }),

  delete: protectedProcedure
    .input(z.object({ id: z.string() }))
    .mutation(async ({ ctx, input }) => {
      return ctx.prisma.post.delete({
        where: { id: input.id },
      });
    }),
});

Root Router

// server/routers/_app.ts
import { router } from '../trpc';
import { postsRouter } from './posts';
import { usersRouter } from './users';

export const appRouter = router({
  posts: postsRouter,
  users: usersRouter,
});

export type AppRouter = typeof appRouter;

API Handler (Next.js)

// app/api/trpc/[trpc]/route.ts
import { fetchRequestHandler } from '@trpc/server/adapters/fetch';
import { appRouter } from '@/server/routers/_app';
import { createContext } from '@/server/context';

const handler = (req: Request) =>
  fetchRequestHandler({
    endpoint: '/api/trpc',
    req,
    router: appRouter,
    createContext,
  });

export { handler as GET, handler as POST };

Client Setup

React Query Client

// trpc/client.ts
import { createTRPCReact } from '@trpc/react-query';
import type { AppRouter } from '@/server/routers/_app';

export const trpc = createTRPCReact<AppRouter>();

Provider

// trpc/Provider.tsx
'use client';

import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from '@tanstack/react-query';
import { httpBatchLink } from '@trpc/client';
import { useState } from 'react';
import superjson from 'superjson';
import { trpc } from './client';

function getBaseUrl() {
  if (typeof window !== 'undefined') return '';
  if (process.env.VERCEL_URL) return `https://${process.env.VERCEL_URL}`;
  return 'http://localhost:3000';
}

export function TRPCProvider({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const [queryClient] = useState(() => new QueryClient());
  const [trpcClient] = useState(() =>
    trpc.createClient({
      links: [
        httpBatchLink({
          url: `${getBaseUrl()}/api/trpc`,
          transformer: superjson,
        }),
      ],
    })
  );

  return (
    <trpc.Provider client={trpcClient} queryClient={queryClient}>
      <QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>
        {children}
      </QueryClientProvider>
    </trpc.Provider>
  );
}

Using tRPC in Components

Queries

'use client';

import { trpc } from '@/trpc/client';

function PostList() {
  const { data: posts, isLoading, error } = trpc.posts.list.useQuery();

  if (isLoading) return <div>Loading...</div>;
  if (error) return <div>Error: {error.message}</div>;

  return (
    <ul>
      {posts?.map((post) => (
        <li key={post.id}>{post.title}</li>
      ))}
    </ul>
  );
}

// With input
function Post({ id }: { id: string }) {
  const { data: post } = trpc.posts.byId.useQuery({ id });
  return <h1>{post?.title}</h1>;
}

// With options
function RecentPosts() {
  const { data } = trpc.posts.list.useQuery(undefined, {
    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000,
    refetchOnWindowFocus: false,
  });
  // ...
}

Mutations

'use client';

import { trpc } from '@/trpc/client';

function CreatePostForm() {
  const utils = trpc.useUtils();

  const mutation = trpc.posts.create.useMutation({
    onSuccess: () => {
      utils.posts.list.invalidate();
    },
  });

  const handleSubmit = (e: React.FormEvent<HTMLFormElement>) => {
    e.preventDefault();
    const formData = new FormData(e.currentTarget);

    mutation.mutate({
      title: formData.get('title') as string,
      content: formData.get('content') as string,
    });
  };

  return (
    <form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
      <input name="title" required />
      <textarea name="content" required />
      <button disabled={mutation.isPending}>
        {mutation.isPending ? 'Creating...' : 'Create'}
      </button>
      {mutation.error && <p>{mutation.error.message}</p>}
    </form>
  );
}

Optimistic Updates

function TodoItem({ todo }: { todo: Todo }) {
  const utils = trpc.useUtils();

  const toggleMutation = trpc.todos.toggle.useMutation({
    onMutate: async ({ id, completed }) => {
      await utils.todos.list.cancel();

      const previousTodos = utils.todos.list.getData();

      utils.todos.list.setData(undefined, (old) =>
        old?.map((t) => (t.id === id ? { ...t, completed } : t))
      );

      return { previousTodos };
    },
    onError: (err, variables, context) => {
      utils.todos.list.setData(undefined, context?.previousTodos);
    },
    onSettled: () => {
      utils.todos.list.invalidate();
    },
  });

  return (
    <input
      type="checkbox"
      checked={todo.completed}
      onChange={(e) =>
        toggleMutation.mutate({ id: todo.id, completed: e.target.checked })
      }
    />
  );
}

Infinite Queries

function InfinitePosts() {
  const { data, fetchNextPage, hasNextPage, isFetchingNextPage } =
    trpc.posts.infinite.useInfiniteQuery(
      { limit: 10 },
      {
        getNextPageParam: (lastPage) => lastPage.nextCursor,
      }
    );

  return (
    <div>
      {data?.pages.map((page) =>
        page.posts.map((post) => <PostCard key={post.id} post={post} />)
      )}

      <button
        onClick={() => fetchNextPage()}
        disabled={!hasNextPage || isFetchingNextPage}
      >
        {isFetchingNextPage ? 'Loading...' : 'Load More'}
      </button>
    </div>
  );
}

// Router procedure
infinitePosts: publicProcedure
  .input(
    z.object({
      limit: z.number().min(1).max(100).default(10),
      cursor: z.string().optional(),
    })
  )
  .query(async ({ ctx, input }) => {
    const posts = await ctx.prisma.post.findMany({
      take: input.limit + 1,
      cursor: input.cursor ? { id: input.cursor } : undefined,
      orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' },
    });

    let nextCursor: string | undefined;
    if (posts.length > input.limit) {
      const nextItem = posts.pop();
      nextCursor = nextItem?.id;
    }

    return { posts, nextCursor };
  }),

Server-Side Calls

Server Components (Next.js)

// lib/trpc-server.ts
import { appRouter } from '@/server/routers/_app';
import { createContext } from '@/server/context';

export const serverClient = appRouter.createCaller(await createContext());

// Usage in Server Component
async function PostsPage() {
  const posts = await serverClient.posts.list();

  return (
    <ul>
      {posts.map((post) => (
        <li key={post.id}>{post.title}</li>
      ))}
    </ul>
  );
}

Server Actions

// app/actions.ts
'use server';

import { serverClient } from '@/lib/trpc-server';

export async function createPost(formData: FormData) {
  const result = await serverClient.posts.create({
    title: formData.get('title') as string,
    content: formData.get('content') as string,
  });

  return result;
}

Error Handling

Throwing Errors

import { TRPCError } from '@trpc/server';

delete: protectedProcedure
  .input(z.object({ id: z.string() }))
  .mutation(async ({ ctx, input }) => {
    const post = await ctx.prisma.post.findUnique({
      where: { id: input.id },
    });

    if (!post) {
      throw new TRPCError({
        code: 'NOT_FOUND',
        message: 'Post not found',
      });
    }

    if (post.authorId !== ctx.user.id) {
      throw new TRPCError({
        code: 'FORBIDDEN',
        message: 'You can only delete your own posts',
      });
    }

    return ctx.prisma.post.delete({ where: { id: input.id } });
  }),

Error Codes

Code	HTTP Status	Description
PARSE_ERROR	400	Invalid JSON
BAD_REQUEST	400	Invalid input
UNAUTHORIZED	401	Not authenticated
FORBIDDEN	403	Not authorized
NOT_FOUND	404	Resource not found
CONFLICT	409	Resource conflict
TOO_MANY_REQUESTS	429	Rate limit exceeded
INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR	500	Server error

Middleware

Logging Middleware

const loggerMiddleware = middleware(async ({ path, type, next }) => {
  const start = Date.now();
  const result = await next();
  const duration = Date.now() - start;

  console.log(`[${type}] ${path} - ${duration}ms`);

  return result;
});

export const loggedProcedure = t.procedure.use(loggerMiddleware);

Rate Limiting

import { Ratelimit } from '@upstash/ratelimit';
import { Redis } from '@upstash/redis';

const ratelimit = new Ratelimit({
  redis: Redis.fromEnv(),
  limiter: Ratelimit.slidingWindow(10, '10 s'),
});

const rateLimitMiddleware = middleware(async ({ ctx, next }) => {
  const identifier = ctx.user?.id ?? 'anonymous';
  const { success } = await ratelimit.limit(identifier);

  if (!success) {
    throw new TRPCError({ code: 'TOO_MANY_REQUESTS' });
  }

  return next();
});

export const rateLimitedProcedure = t.procedure.use(rateLimitMiddleware);

Best Practices

1. Organize routers by feature - One router per domain
2. Use input validation - Always validate with Zod
3. Create procedure variants - publicProcedure, protectedProcedure
4. Leverage useUtils - For cache manipulation
5. Handle errors properly - Use TRPCError with codes

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Not typing context	Create typed context properly
Missing transformer	Add superjson for Date, Map, Set
Inline mutations	Use useMutation for all mutations
Not invalidating cache	Call utils.x.invalidate()
Over-fetching	Use select in queries

Reference Files

• references/patterns.md - Advanced patterns
• references/testing.md - Testing tRPC
• references/deployment.md - Production setup