State Management · Middle · Question 61 of 75

How does `initialData` differ from `placeholderData` in TanStack Query?

✓Correct answer: initialData is treated as real cached data; placeholderData is shown temporarily and never persisted to the cache
2They are identical
3placeholderData is fetched from the server

Explanation

Use initialData when you truly have the data (e.g. from a list); use placeholderData for previews or keeping previous data while fetching.

Further reading

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