tRPC Full-Stack

Overview

tRPC lets you build fully type-safe APIs without writing a schema or code-generation step. Your TypeScript types flow from the server router directly to the client — so every API call is autocompleted, validated at compile time, and refactoring-safe. Use this skill when building TypeScript monorepos, Next.js apps, or any project where the server and client share a codebase.

When to Use This Skill

• Use when building a TypeScript full-stack app (Next.js, Remix, Express + React) where the client and server share a single repo
• Use when you want end-to-end type safety on API calls without REST/GraphQL schema overhead
• Use when adding real-time features (subscriptions) to an existing tRPC setup
• Use when designing multi-step middleware (auth, rate limiting, tenant scoping) on tRPC procedures
• Use when migrating an existing REST/GraphQL API to tRPC incrementally

Core Concepts

Routers and Procedures

A router groups related procedures (think: endpoints). Procedures are typed functions — query for reads, mutation for writes, subscription for real-time streams.

Input Validation with Zod

All procedure inputs are validated with Zod schemas. The validated, typed input is available in the procedure handler — no manual parsing.

Context

context is shared state passed to every procedure — auth session, database client, request headers, etc. It is built once per request in a context factory. Important: Next.js App Router and Pages Router require separate context factories because App Router handlers receive a fetch Request, not a Node.js NextApiRequest.

Middleware

Middleware chains run before a procedure. Use them for authentication, logging, and request enrichment. They can extend the context for downstream procedures.

How It Works

Step 1: Install and Initialize

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

Create the tRPC instance and reusable builders:

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

const t = initTRPC.context<Context>().create({
  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;

Step 2: Define Two Context Factories

Next.js App Router handlers receive a fetch Request (not a Node.js NextApiRequest), so the context must be built differently depending on the call site. Define one factory per surface:

// src/server/context.ts
import { type FetchCreateContextFnOptions } from '@trpc/server/adapters/fetch';
import { auth } from '@/server/auth'; // Next-Auth v5 / your auth helper
import { db } from './db';

/**
 * Context for the HTTP handler (App Router Route Handler).
 * `opts.req` is the fetch Request — auth is resolved server-side via `auth()`.
 */
export async function createTRPCContext(opts: FetchCreateContextFnOptions) {
  const session = await auth(); // server-side auth — no req/res needed
  return { session, db, headers: opts.req.headers };
}

/**
 * Context for direct server-side callers (Server Components, RSC, cron jobs).
 * No HTTP request is involved, so we call auth() directly from the server.
 */
export async function createServerContext() {
  const session = await auth();
  return { session, db };
}

export type Context = Awaited<ReturnType<typeof createTRPCContext>>;

Step 3: Build an Auth Middleware and Protected Procedure

// src/server/trpc.ts (continued)
const enforceAuth = middleware(({ ctx, next }) => {
  if (!ctx.session?.user) {
    throw new TRPCError({ code: 'UNAUTHORIZED' });
  }
  return next({
    ctx: {
      // Narrows type: session is non-null from here
      session: { ...ctx.session, user: ctx.session.user },
    },
  });
});

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

Step 4: Create Routers

// src/server/routers/post.ts
import { z } from 'zod';
import { router, publicProcedure, protectedProcedure } from '../trpc';
import { TRPCError } from '@trpc/server';

export const postRouter = router({
  list: publicProcedure
    .input(
      z.object({
        limit: z.number().min(1).max(100).default(20),
        cursor: z.string().optional(),
      })
    )
    .query(async ({ ctx, input }) => {
      const posts = await ctx.db.post.findMany({
        take: input.limit + 1,
        cursor: input.cursor ? { id: input.cursor } : undefined,
        orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' },
      });
      const nextCursor =
        posts.length > input.limit ? posts.pop()!.id : undefined;
      return { posts, nextCursor };
    }),

  byId: publicProcedure
    .input(z.object({ id: z.string() }))
    .query(async ({ ctx, input }) => {
      const post = await ctx.db.post.findUnique({ where: { id: input.id } });
      if (!post) throw new TRPCError({ code: 'NOT_FOUND' });
      return post;
    }),

  create: protectedProcedure
    .input(
      z.object({
        title: z.string().min(1).max(200),
        body: z.string().min(1),
      })
    )
    .mutation(async ({ ctx, input }) => {
      return ctx.db.post.create({
        data: { ...input, authorId: ctx.session.user.id },
      });
    }),

  delete: protectedProcedure
    .input(z.object({ id: z.string() }))
    .mutation(async ({ ctx, input }) => {
      const post = await ctx.db.post.findUnique({ where: { id: input.id } });
      if (!post) throw new TRPCError({ code: 'NOT_FOUND' });
      if (post.authorId !== ctx.session.user.id)
        throw new TRPCError({ code: 'FORBIDDEN' });
      return ctx.db.post.delete({ where: { id: input.id } });
    }),
});

Step 5: Compose the Root Router and Export Types

// src/server/root.ts
import { router } from './trpc';
import { postRouter } from './routers/post';
import { userRouter } from './routers/user';

export const appRouter = router({
  post: postRouter,
  user: userRouter,
});

// Export the type for the client — never import the appRouter itself on the client
export type AppRouter = typeof appRouter;

Step 6: Mount the API Handler (Next.js App Router)

The App Router handler must use fetchRequestHandler and the fetch-based context factory. createTRPCContext receives FetchCreateContextFnOptions (with a fetch Request), not a Pages Router req/res pair.

// src/app/api/trpc/[trpc]/route.ts
import { fetchRequestHandler } from '@trpc/server/adapters/fetch';
import { type FetchCreateContextFnOptions } from '@trpc/server/adapters/fetch';
import { appRouter } from '@/server/root';
import { createTRPCContext } from '@/server/context';

const handler = (req: Request) =>
  fetchRequestHandler({
    endpoint: '/api/trpc',
    req,
    router: appRouter,
    // opts is FetchCreateContextFnOptions — req is the fetch Request
    createContext: (opts: FetchCreateContextFnOptions) => createTRPCContext(opts),
  });

export { handler as GET, handler as POST };

Step 7: Set Up the Client (React Query)

// src/utils/trpc.ts
import { createTRPCReact } from '@trpc/react-query';
import type { AppRouter } from '@/server/root';

export const trpc = createTRPCReact<AppRouter>();

// src/app/providers.tsx
'use client';
import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from '@tanstack/react-query';
import { httpBatchLink } from '@trpc/client';
import { useState } from 'react';
import { trpc } from '@/utils/trpc';

export function TRPCProvider({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const [queryClient] = useState(() => new QueryClient());
  const [trpcClient] = useState(() =>
    trpc.createClient({
      links: [