dispatcher is null error

[russyc]

Sorry if this is a silly question. I'm new to react and tanstack.

I'm following the instructions in the readme, and I'm able to start a dev server but then I see this in my browser:

Something went wrong!
dispatcher is null

I've googled around that error and tried to find where the error is generated but without success.

Here is the output from my console:

➜  myapp pnpm dev

> tanstarter@ dev [REDACTED]/myapp
> vinxi dev

vinxi v0.5.3
vinxi starting dev server

♻️  Generating routes...
✅ Processed routes in 100ms

  ➜ Local:    http://localhost:3000/
  ➜ Network:  use --host to expose


ServerFn Request: src_routes_root_tsx--getUser_createServerFn_handler

ServerFn Request: src_routes_root_tsx--getUser_createServerFn_handler
2025-05-08T14:13:01.185Z WARN [Better Auth]: Social provider github is missing clientId or clientSecret
2025-05-08T14:13:01.185Z WARN [Better Auth]: Social provider google is missing clientId or clientSecret
ServerFn Response: 200
ServerFn Response: 200
 - Payload: {"result":null,"error":{"$undefined":0},"context":{}}

 - Payload: {"result":null,"error":{"$undefined":0},"context":{}}


ServerFn Request: src_routes_root_tsx--getUser_createServerFn_handler
ServerFn Response: 200
 - Payload: {"result":null,"error":{"$undefined":0},"context":{}}

I'd be grateful for any pointers

[dotnize]

This could be an issue with node_modules. Can you try deleting your node_modules folder and reinstalling?
e.g.

rm -rf node_modules
pnpm install # assuming you use pnpm

if that doesnt work, what other changes have you made? e.g. additional libraries you may have installed or paste your package.json here

[russyc]

Hi @dotnize .

Unfortunately, deleting node_modules and reinstalling didn't help. I haven't made any changes yet - just following the instructions in the readme.

I'm using node 22 (tried 20 and 24 too)
pnpm v 10.10.0

browser-console-logs.txt

package.json is the same as the template:

{
  "name": "tanstarter",
  "private": true,
  "type": "module",
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "vinxi dev",
    "build": "vinxi build",
    "start": "vinxi start",
    "lint": "eslint .",
    "format": "prettier --write .",
    "db": "drizzle-kit",
    "deps": "pnpm dlx npm-check-updates@latest --interactive --format group",
    "ui": "pnpm dlx shadcn@latest",
    "auth": "pnpm dlx @better-auth/cli@latest",
    "auth:generate": "pnpm dlx @better-auth/cli@latest generate --y --output ./src/lib/server/schema/auth.schema.ts && prettier --write ./src/lib/server/schema/auth.schema.ts"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "@radix-ui/react-label": "^2.1.6",
    "@radix-ui/react-slot": "^1.2.2",
    "@tanstack/react-query": "^5.75.4",
    "@tanstack/react-query-devtools": "^5.75.4",
    "@tanstack/react-router": "^1.120.2",
    "@tanstack/react-router-devtools": "^1.120.2",
    "@tanstack/react-router-with-query": "^1.120.2",
    "@tanstack/react-start": "^1.120.2",
    "@vitejs/plugin-react": "^4.4.1",
    "better-auth": "^1.2.7",
    "class-variance-authority": "^0.7.1",
    "clsx": "^2.1.1",
    "drizzle-orm": "^0.43.1",
    "lucide-react": "^0.507.0",
    "postgres": "^3.4.5",
    "react": "^19.1.0",
    "react-dom": "^19.1.0",
    "tailwind-merge": "^3.2.0",
    "vinxi": "0.5.3"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@eslint-react/eslint-plugin": "^1.49.0",
    "@eslint/js": "^9.26.0",
    "@tailwindcss/vite": "^4.1.5",
    "@tanstack/eslint-plugin-query": "^5.74.7",
    "@tanstack/eslint-plugin-router": "^1.115.0",
    "@types/node": "^22.15.14",
    "@types/react": "^19.1.3",
    "@types/react-dom": "^19.1.3",
    "babel-plugin-react-compiler": "latest",
    "drizzle-kit": "^0.31.1",
    "eslint": "^9.26.0",
    "eslint-config-prettier": "^10.1.2",
    "eslint-plugin-react-hooks": "6.0.0-rc.1",
    "prettier": "^3.5.3",
    "prettier-plugin-organize-imports": "^4.1.0",
    "prettier-plugin-tailwindcss": "^0.6.11",
    "tailwindcss": "^4.1.5",
    "tw-animate-css": "^1.2.9",
    "typescript": "^5.8.3",
    "typescript-eslint": "^8.32.0",
    "vite-tsconfig-paths": "^5.1.4"
  }
}

[sd44]

I cannot reproduce your issue.

Did you create and modify your .env file according to step three in the README file:

Create a .env file based on .env.example

paying particular attention to the DATABASE_URL section，it's pgsql url！

[russyc]

yes, I created a .env, I didn't modify the existing DATABASE_URL from the example because it's set up to work with the db started by docker compose which I'm using. pnpm db push runs without issue so I think that var is correct

[dotnize]

Hmm that is weird. You could probably try again with deleting node_modules, but this time also delete the lockfile (pnpm-lock.yaml) before reinstalling.

rm -rf node_modules pnpm-lock.yaml
pnpm install

If that still doesn't work, have you tried the official examples?

• https://tanstack.com/start/latest/docs/framework/react/quick-start

Or perhaps the devinxi branch which is in alpha but will probably merge in a few days:

npx gitpick dotnize/react-tanstarter/tree/devinxi myapp
cd myapp

• Start BETA - Tracking TanStack/router#2863 (comment)

[akawahuynh]

@russyc Have you fixed it yet? If not, can you commit the source and share it?