paralect/ship/server-functions

Server functions (web-only data layer)

In the web-only Ship shape there is no apps/api and no oRPC client. Backend logic lives in server functions: typed async functions you write once and call from the client, while the body only ever runs on the server.

createServerFn(...).handler(...), then call it. No routes to register, no client to generate.

Quick Reference

• Import createServerFn from `@tanstack/react-start` — the framework package, NOT @tanstack/react-router.
• Shape: createServerFn({ method: 'GET' | 'POST' }).handler(async (ctx) => ...).
• Validate inputs with .inputValidator(zodSchema) before .handler(...); read the parsed value as ctx.data.
• Consume from a route loader: () => fn(), then read it with Route.useLoaderData().
• SPA mode does not disable the server — handlers run on the TanStack Start (Nitro) server.
• Shipped example: apps/web/src/server/greeting.ts (getGreeting → { message }).

When to Use This Skill

• Adding backend logic to a web-only Ship app (no apps/api).
• Fetching data for a route in a loader.
• An agent imports createServerFn — verify it comes from @tanstack/react-start.
• Deciding between a server function and the oRPC client.

The footgun: import from @tanstack/react-start

createServerFn comes from `@tanstack/react-start`. @tanstack/react-router is the package you import createFileRoute, Link and useNavigate from — it does not export createServerFn. Reach for the router package out of habit and you get an undefined import that fails at runtime.

// ✅ server functions — the framework package
import { createServerFn } from '@tanstack/react-start';
// ✅ routes, links, navigation — a different package
import { createFileRoute, Link, useNavigate } from '@tanstack/react-router';

SPA mode still has a server

Ship runs apps/web in SPA mode — see vite.config.ts:

tanstackStart({
  spa: {
    enabled: true,
    prerender: { outputPath: 'index.html' },
  },
}),

SPA mode only turns off server-rendering your routes — they ship as a static SPA. The Start (Nitro) server is still there, and it is exactly where your server function handlers execute. Web-only means no separate API app, not no server. That is why you can reach for secrets, a database, or any server-only dependency inside .handler(...) — none of it ships to the browser.

Workflow

1. Write the server function

Put it under apps/web/src/server/. The shipped example is the pattern to copy:

import { createServerFn } from '@tanstack/react-start';
 
export const getGreeting = createServerFn({ method: 'GET' }).handler(async () => {
  return { message: 'Hello from the Start server' };
});

Three things define it:

• `createServerFn({ method })` — 'GET' for reads, 'POST' for writes. The method is how the client transports the call to the server.
• `.handler(async (ctx) => ...)` — the body. It runs only on the server. Server-only deps go here.
• The return value is sent back to the caller, fully typed end to end. The client sees the handler's return type with no codegen.

2. Validate inputs (when the function takes data)

Pass .inputValidator() a Zod schema. It parses the input on the server before the handler runs, and the handler receives a validated, typed ctx.data:

import { createServerFn } from '@tanstack/react-start';
import { z } from 'zod';
 
export const createNote = createServerFn({ method: 'POST' })
  .inputValidator(z.object({ text: z.string().min(1) }))
  .handler(async ({ data }) => {
    // data.text is validated and typed
    return { id: crypto.randomUUID(), text: data.text };
  });

Call it with the argument the validator expects:

const note = await createNote({ data: { text: 'first note' } });

For reads that take parameters, do the same with method: 'GET' and read data in the handler.

3. Consume it from a route loader

A server function is just an async function, so you can call it anywhere. The idiomatic place is a route `loader`: TanStack Router runs it before the route renders, and the component reads the result with Route.useLoaderData().

import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router';
 
import { getGreeting } from '@/server/greeting';
 
export const Route = createFileRoute('/')({
  loader: () => getGreeting(),
  component: Home,
});
 
function Home() {
  const { message } = Route.useLoaderData();
 
  return <h1>{message}</h1>;
}

The loader calls the server function; from the browser that is a request to the Start server, which runs the handler and returns the value. Route.useLoaderData() reads it back, typed.

Do not fetch in a useEffect — that is exactly the pattern the loader replaces (see the no-use-effect skill). The loader is the data-fetching boundary.

4. Verify

pnpm --filter web tsc --noEmit

Server functions vs the oRPC client

The choice is determined by which shape you scaffolded — not a per-feature decision.

• Web-only → there is no apps/api. Backend logic runs on the Start server as createServerFn handlers, called from loaders and components. Reach for server-only deps directly in the handler.
• Full-stack → there is an apps/api. The web app talks to it through a fully typed oRPC client and the useApiQuery / useApiMutation / useApiForm hooks the Auth plugin adds. In that shape, do not introduce server functions — use the client.

Both shapes start from the same apps/web base: a landing page plus the getGreeting example. The difference is where data comes from. If you later add an API, you move data fetching from server functions to the oRPC client; the routing, components and TanStack Query setup are unchanged.