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staleTime controls how long query data is considered fresh; gcTime controls how long unused data remains in the cache. They are not competing cache timers: stale data can still be served from cache, while inactive data can be removed after its garbage-collection timer expires.
What is the difference between staleTime and gcTime?
| Question | staleTime |
gcTime |
|---|---|---|
| What it controls | How long data is treated as fresh. | How long a query with no active observers is retained before garbage collection. |
| Does it remove cached data? | No. Becoming stale does not delete the cache entry. | Yes. Once the query is inactive and its retention timer expires, its cache entry is removed. |
| What a shorter value changes | When data becomes eligible for stale-triggered refetching. | How soon inactive data may be removed. |
| Current documented default | 0, so data is stale immediately unless configured otherwise. |
Five minutes in the browser; Infinity during SSR. |
TanStack’s Important Defaults guide describes cached data as stale by default. That does not mean the data disappears: staleness makes it eligible for background refetching at configured triggers. The QueryOptions reference documents gcTime as the retention setting for inactive queries.
Does stale mean deleted?
No. If a query’s staleTime elapses while it is active, its data becomes stale but remains available in the cache. It may continue to be shown while a background refetch runs. Deletion is a separate event: after a query has no active observers, it is inactive, and gcTime determines how long it remains cached.
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This distinction explains why stale data can appear immediately when a component mounts, then update after a refetch. If the inactive query was garbage-collected before it was needed again, there is no retained cache entry to show and the data must be fetched again.
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Why is my query refetching?
staleTime does not schedule a refetch by itself. It determines when data is considered stale; configured events can then trigger a refetch. TanStack’s defaults guide lists a new query instance mounting, the window regaining focus, and network connectivity returning as common background-refetch triggers for stale queries. gcTime does not control these triggers.
Polling is separate as well: a refetchInterval can trigger refetches independently of staleTime. A longer freshness window should not be treated as a way to disable polling.
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How should you choose the values?
Set staleTime to match how quickly the data can change
Choose a freshness window based on the data’s update rate and how long the product can reasonably show cached results. For example, TanStack’s defaults guide uses 2 * 60 * 1000—two minutes—as an example freshness window. It is an illustration, not a universal recommendation. A value of 0 makes data stale immediately; it does not prevent cached data from being displayed.
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Choose retention based on whether users are likely to revisit a query and whether keeping its inactive data in memory is worthwhile. The current React documentation describes a five-minute browser default, expressed in the API reference as 5 * 60 * 1000. Shortening gcTime removes inactive entries sooner; it does not make active data stale sooner.
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Check each observer and the installed version
If multiple observers or options specify different gcTime values for a query, the API reference says the longest value is used. The current option is named gcTime; older React Query versions used cacheTime. The v3-to-v4 migration guide documents that naming transition. When debugging an older project, check its installed @tanstack/react-query version and use the matching documentation rather than assuming current option names apply.
What do Infinity and ‘static’ mean for staleTime?
staleTime: Infinity prevents data from becoming stale simply because time passes, but manual invalidation can still make it stale. By contrast, staleTime: 'static' is stricter: according to TanStack’s defaults guide, manual invalidation does not affect that query’s staleness, and refetch-on-mount, refetch-on-focus, or refetch-on-reconnect settings set to "always" are blocked. The guide positions 'static' for data that cannot change during the app session, so use it only when that behavior is intended.
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What changes during server-side rendering?
The current Server Rendering & Hydration guide documents gcTime: Infinity as the SSR default. Server-side cache cleanup therefore needs attention in the request lifecycle. The guide warns that setting gcTime to zero can cause hydration errors; it suggests allowing time for hydration or clearing the query client after the request is handled and the dehydrated state has been sent.
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A practical way to diagnose the wrong timer
- If data is present but being refetched, check whether its
staleTimehas elapsed and whether a mount, focus, reconnect, or polling trigger is configured. - If data is missing after a query was unused, check whether its inactive period exceeded
gcTime. - If the behavior differs between server rendering and the browser, check the SSR cache lifecycle as well as the documented SSR default.
- If an option seems ignored, verify the installed package version and whether the setting was applied to prefetching, the query observer, or both.
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