|  | 
|  | 1 | +# Data resolvers | 
|  | 2 | + | 
|  | 3 | +Data resolvers allow you to fetch data before navigating to a route, ensuring that your components receive the data they need before rendering. This can help prevent the need for loading states and improve the user experience by pre-loading essential data. | 
|  | 4 | + | 
|  | 5 | +## What are data resolvers? | 
|  | 6 | + | 
|  | 7 | +A data resolver is a service that implements the [`ResolveFn`](api/router/ResolveFn) function. It runs before a route activates and can fetch data from APIs, databases, or other sources. The resolved data becomes available to the component through the [`ActivatedRoute`](api/router/ActivatedRoute). | 
|  | 8 | + | 
|  | 9 | +## Why use data resolvers? | 
|  | 10 | + | 
|  | 11 | +Data resolvers solve common routing challenges: | 
|  | 12 | + | 
|  | 13 | +- **Prevent empty states**: Components receive data immediately upon loading | 
|  | 14 | +- **Better user experience**: No loading spinners for critical data | 
|  | 15 | +- **Error handling**: Handle data fetching errors before navigation | 
|  | 16 | +- **Data consistency**: Ensure required data is available before rendering which is important for SSR | 
|  | 17 | + | 
|  | 18 | +## Creating a resolver | 
|  | 19 | + | 
|  | 20 | +You create a resolver by writing a function with the [`ResolveFn`](api/router/ResolveFn) type. | 
|  | 21 | + | 
|  | 22 | +It receives the [`ActivatedRouteSnapshot`](api/router/ActivatedRouteSnapshot) and [`RouterStateSnapshot`](api/router/RouterStateSnapshot) as parameters. | 
|  | 23 | + | 
|  | 24 | +Here is a resolver that gets the user information before rendering a route using the [`inject`](api/core/inject) function: | 
|  | 25 | + | 
|  | 26 | +```ts | 
|  | 27 | +import { inject } from '@angular/core'; | 
|  | 28 | +import { UserStore, SettingsStore } from './user-store'; | 
|  | 29 | +import type { ActivatedRouteSnapshot, ResolveFn, RouterStateSnapshot } from '@angular/router'; | 
|  | 30 | +import type { User, Settings } from './types'; | 
|  | 31 | + | 
|  | 32 | +export const userResolver: ResolveFn<User> = (route: ActivatedRouteSnapshot, state: RouterStateSnapshot) => { | 
|  | 33 | +  const userStore = inject(UserStore); | 
|  | 34 | +  const userId = route.paramMap.get('id')!; | 
|  | 35 | +  return userStore.getUser(userId); | 
|  | 36 | +}; | 
|  | 37 | + | 
|  | 38 | +export const settingsResolver: ResolveFn<Settings> = (route: ActivatedRouteSnapshot, state: RouterStateSnapshot) => { | 
|  | 39 | +  const settingsStore = inject(SettingsStore); | 
|  | 40 | +  const userId = route.paramMap.get('id')!; | 
|  | 41 | +  return settingsStore.getUserSettings(userId); | 
|  | 42 | +}; | 
|  | 43 | +``` | 
|  | 44 | + | 
|  | 45 | +## Configuring routes with resolvers | 
|  | 46 | + | 
|  | 47 | +When you want to add one or more data resolvers to a route, you can add it under the `resolve` key in the route configuration. The [`Routes`](api/router/Routes) type defines the structure for route configurations: | 
|  | 48 | + | 
|  | 49 | +```ts | 
|  | 50 | +import { Routes } from '@angular/router'; | 
|  | 51 | + | 
|  | 52 | +export const routes: Routes = [ | 
|  | 53 | +  { | 
|  | 54 | +    path: 'user/:id', | 
|  | 55 | +    component: UserDetail, | 
|  | 56 | +    resolve: { | 
|  | 57 | +      user: userResolver, | 
|  | 58 | +      settings: settingsResolver | 
|  | 59 | +    } | 
|  | 60 | +  } | 
|  | 61 | +]; | 
|  | 62 | +``` | 
|  | 63 | + | 
|  | 64 | +You can learn more about the [`resolve` configuration in the API docs](api/router/Route#resolve). | 
|  | 65 | + | 
|  | 66 | +## Accessing resolved data in components | 
|  | 67 | + | 
|  | 68 | +### Using ActivatedRoute | 
|  | 69 | + | 
|  | 70 | +You can access the resolved data in a component by accessing the snapshot data from the [`ActivatedRoute`](api/router/ActivatedRoute) using the [`signal`](api/core/signal) function: | 
|  | 71 | + | 
|  | 72 | +```angular-ts | 
|  | 73 | +import { Component, inject, computed } from '@angular/core'; | 
|  | 74 | +import { ActivatedRoute } from '@angular/router'; | 
|  | 75 | +import { toSignal } from '@angular/core/rxjs-interop'; | 
|  | 76 | +import type { User, Settings } from './types'; | 
|  | 77 | +
 | 
|  | 78 | +@Component({ | 
|  | 79 | +  template: ` | 
|  | 80 | +    <h1>{{ user().name }}</h1> | 
|  | 81 | +    <p>{{ user().email }}</p> | 
|  | 82 | +    <div>Theme: {{ settings().theme }}</div> | 
|  | 83 | +  ` | 
|  | 84 | +}) | 
|  | 85 | +export class UserDetail { | 
|  | 86 | +  private route = inject(ActivatedRoute); | 
|  | 87 | +  private data = toSignal(this.route.data); | 
|  | 88 | +  user = computed(() => this.data().user as User); | 
|  | 89 | +  settings = computed(() => this.data().settings as Settings); | 
|  | 90 | +} | 
|  | 91 | +``` | 
|  | 92 | + | 
|  | 93 | +### Using withComponentInputBinding | 
|  | 94 | + | 
|  | 95 | +A different approach to accessing the resolved data is to use [`withComponentInputBinding()`](api/router/withComponentInputBinding) when configuring your router with [`provideRouter`](api/router/provideRouter). This allows resolved data to be passed directly as component inputs: | 
|  | 96 | + | 
|  | 97 | +```ts | 
|  | 98 | +import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser'; | 
|  | 99 | +import { provideRouter, withComponentInputBinding } from '@angular/router'; | 
|  | 100 | +import { routes } from './app.routes'; | 
|  | 101 | + | 
|  | 102 | +bootstrapApplication(App, { | 
|  | 103 | +  providers: [ | 
|  | 104 | +    provideRouter(routes, withComponentInputBinding()) | 
|  | 105 | +  ] | 
|  | 106 | +}); | 
|  | 107 | +``` | 
|  | 108 | + | 
|  | 109 | +With this configuration, you can define inputs in your component that match the resolver keys using the [`input`](api/core/input) function and [`input.required`](api/core/input#required) for required inputs: | 
|  | 110 | + | 
|  | 111 | +```angular-ts | 
|  | 112 | +import { Component, input } from '@angular/core'; | 
|  | 113 | +import type { User, Settings } from './types'; | 
|  | 114 | +
 | 
|  | 115 | +@Component({ | 
|  | 116 | +  template: ` | 
|  | 117 | +    <h1>{{ user().name }}</h1> | 
|  | 118 | +    <p>{{ user().email }}</p> | 
|  | 119 | +    <div>Theme: {{ settings().theme }}</div> | 
|  | 120 | +  ` | 
|  | 121 | +}) | 
|  | 122 | +export class UserDetail { | 
|  | 123 | +  user = input.required<User>(); | 
|  | 124 | +  settings = input.required<Settings>(); | 
|  | 125 | +} | 
|  | 126 | +``` | 
|  | 127 | + | 
|  | 128 | +This approach provides better type safety and eliminates the need to inject `ActivatedRoute` just to access resolved data. | 
|  | 129 | + | 
|  | 130 | +## Error handling in resolvers | 
|  | 131 | + | 
|  | 132 | +In the event of navigation failures, it is important to handle errors gracefully in your data resolvers. Otherwise, a `NavigationError` will occur and the navigation to the current route will fail which will lead to a poor experience for your users. | 
|  | 133 | + | 
|  | 134 | +There are three primary ways to handle errors with data resolvers: | 
|  | 135 | + | 
|  | 136 | +1. [Centralizing error handling in `withNavigationErrorHandler`](#centralize-error-handling-in-withnavigationerrorhandler) | 
|  | 137 | +2. [Managing errors through a subscription to router events](#managing-errors-through-a-subscription-to-router-events) | 
|  | 138 | +3. [Handling errors directly in the resolver](#handling-errors-directly-in-the-resolver) | 
|  | 139 | + | 
|  | 140 | +### Centralize error handling in `withNavigationErrorHandler` | 
|  | 141 | + | 
|  | 142 | +The [`withNavigationErrorHandler`](api/router/withNavigationErrorHandler) feature provides a centralized way to handle all navigation errors, including those from failed data resolvers. This approach keeps error handling logic in one place and prevents duplicate error handling code across resolvers. | 
|  | 143 | + | 
|  | 144 | +```ts | 
|  | 145 | +import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser'; | 
|  | 146 | +import { provideRouter, withNavigationErrorHandler } from '@angular/router'; | 
|  | 147 | +import { inject } from '@angular/core'; | 
|  | 148 | +import { Router } from '@angular/router'; | 
|  | 149 | +import { routes } from './app.routes'; | 
|  | 150 | + | 
|  | 151 | +bootstrapApplication(App, { | 
|  | 152 | +  providers: [ | 
|  | 153 | +    provideRouter(routes, withNavigationErrorHandler((error) => { | 
|  | 154 | +      const router = inject(Router); | 
|  | 155 | + | 
|  | 156 | +      if (error?.message) { | 
|  | 157 | +        console.error('Navigation error occurred:', error.message) | 
|  | 158 | +      } | 
|  | 159 | + | 
|  | 160 | +      router.navigate(['/error']); | 
|  | 161 | +    })) | 
|  | 162 | +  ] | 
|  | 163 | +}); | 
|  | 164 | +``` | 
|  | 165 | + | 
|  | 166 | +With this configuration, your resolvers can focus on data fetching while letting the centralized handler manage error scenarios: | 
|  | 167 | + | 
|  | 168 | +```ts | 
|  | 169 | +export const userResolver: ResolveFn<User> = (route) => { | 
|  | 170 | +  const userStore = inject(UserStore); | 
|  | 171 | +  const userId = route.paramMap.get('id')!; | 
|  | 172 | +  // No need for explicit error handling - let it bubble up | 
|  | 173 | +  return userStore.getUser(userId); | 
|  | 174 | +}; | 
|  | 175 | +``` | 
|  | 176 | + | 
|  | 177 | +### Managing errors through a subscription to router events | 
|  | 178 | + | 
|  | 179 | +You can also handle resolver errors by subscribing to router events and listening for [`NavigationError`](api/router/NavigationError) events. This approach gives you more granular control over error handling and allows you to implement custom error recovery logic. | 
|  | 180 | + | 
|  | 181 | +```angular-ts | 
|  | 182 | +import { Component, inject, signal } from '@angular/core'; | 
|  | 183 | +import { Router, NavigationError } from '@angular/router'; | 
|  | 184 | +import { toSignal } from '@angular/core/rxjs-interop'; | 
|  | 185 | +import { filter, map } from 'rxjs'; | 
|  | 186 | +
 | 
|  | 187 | +@Component({ | 
|  | 188 | +  selector: 'app-root', | 
|  | 189 | +  template: ` | 
|  | 190 | +    @if (errorMessage()) { | 
|  | 191 | +      <div class="error-banner"> | 
|  | 192 | +        {{ errorMessage() }} | 
|  | 193 | +        <button (click)="retryNavigation()">Retry</button> | 
|  | 194 | +      </div> | 
|  | 195 | +    } | 
|  | 196 | +    <router-outlet /> | 
|  | 197 | +  ` | 
|  | 198 | +}) | 
|  | 199 | +export class App { | 
|  | 200 | +  private router = inject(Router); | 
|  | 201 | +  private lastFailedUrl = signal(''); | 
|  | 202 | +
 | 
|  | 203 | +  private navigationErrors = toSignal( | 
|  | 204 | +    this.router.events.pipe( | 
|  | 205 | +      filter((event): event is NavigationError => event instanceof NavigationError), | 
|  | 206 | +      map(event => { | 
|  | 207 | +        this.lastFailedUrl.set(event.url); | 
|  | 208 | +
 | 
|  | 209 | +        if (event.error) { | 
|  | 210 | +          console.error('Navigation error', event.error) | 
|  | 211 | +        } | 
|  | 212 | +
 | 
|  | 213 | +        return 'Navigation failed. Please try again.'; | 
|  | 214 | +      }) | 
|  | 215 | +    ), | 
|  | 216 | +    { initialValue: '' } | 
|  | 217 | +  ); | 
|  | 218 | +
 | 
|  | 219 | +  errorMessage = this.navigationErrors; | 
|  | 220 | +
 | 
|  | 221 | +  retryNavigation() { | 
|  | 222 | +    if (this.lastFailedUrl()) { | 
|  | 223 | +      this.router.navigateByUrl(this.lastFailedUrl()); | 
|  | 224 | +    } | 
|  | 225 | +  } | 
|  | 226 | +} | 
|  | 227 | +``` | 
|  | 228 | + | 
|  | 229 | +This approach is particularly useful when you need to: | 
|  | 230 | + | 
|  | 231 | +- Implement custom retry logic for failed navigation | 
|  | 232 | +- Show specific error messages based on the type of failure | 
|  | 233 | +- Track navigation failures for analytics purposes | 
|  | 234 | + | 
|  | 235 | +### Handling errors directly in the resolver | 
|  | 236 | + | 
|  | 237 | +Here's an updated example of the `userResolver` that logs the error and navigates back to the generic `/users` page using the [`Router`](api/router/Router) service: | 
|  | 238 | + | 
|  | 239 | +```ts | 
|  | 240 | +import { inject } from '@angular/core'; | 
|  | 241 | +import { ResolveFn, RedirectCommand, Router } from '@angular/router'; | 
|  | 242 | +import { catchError, of, EMPTY } from 'rxjs'; | 
|  | 243 | +import { UserStore } from './user-store'; | 
|  | 244 | +import type { User } from './types'; | 
|  | 245 | + | 
|  | 246 | +export const userResolver: ResolveFn<User | RedirectCommand> = (route) => { | 
|  | 247 | +  const userStore = inject(UserStore); | 
|  | 248 | +  const router = inject(Router); | 
|  | 249 | +  const userId = route.paramMap.get('id')!; | 
|  | 250 | + | 
|  | 251 | +  return userStore.getUser(userId).pipe( | 
|  | 252 | +    catchError(error => { | 
|  | 253 | +      console.error('Failed to load user:', error); | 
|  | 254 | +      return of(new RedirectCommand(router.parseUrl('/users'))); | 
|  | 255 | +    }) | 
|  | 256 | +  ); | 
|  | 257 | +}; | 
|  | 258 | +``` | 
|  | 259 | + | 
|  | 260 | +## Navigation loading considerations | 
|  | 261 | + | 
|  | 262 | +While data resolvers prevent loading states within components, they introduce a different UX consideration: navigation is blocked while resolvers execute. Users may experience delays between clicking a link and seeing the new route, especially with slow network requests. | 
|  | 263 | + | 
|  | 264 | +### Providing navigation feedback | 
|  | 265 | + | 
|  | 266 | +To improve user experience during resolver execution, you can listen to router events and show loading indicators: | 
|  | 267 | + | 
|  | 268 | +```angular-ts | 
|  | 269 | +import { Component, inject } from '@angular/core'; | 
|  | 270 | +import { Router } from '@angular/router'; | 
|  | 271 | +import { toSignal } from '@angular/core/rxjs-interop'; | 
|  | 272 | +import { map } from 'rxjs'; | 
|  | 273 | +
 | 
|  | 274 | +@Component({ | 
|  | 275 | +  selector: 'app-root', | 
|  | 276 | +  template: ` | 
|  | 277 | +    @if (isNavigating()) { | 
|  | 278 | +      <div class="loading-bar">Loading...</div> | 
|  | 279 | +    } | 
|  | 280 | +    <router-outlet /> | 
|  | 281 | +  ` | 
|  | 282 | +}) | 
|  | 283 | +export class App { | 
|  | 284 | +  private router = inject(Router); | 
|  | 285 | +  isNavigating = computed(() => !!this.router.currentNavigation()); | 
|  | 286 | +} | 
|  | 287 | +``` | 
|  | 288 | + | 
|  | 289 | +This approach ensures users receive visual feedback that navigation is in progress while resolvers fetch data. | 
|  | 290 | + | 
|  | 291 | +## Best practices | 
|  | 292 | + | 
|  | 293 | +- **Keep resolvers lightweight**: Resolvers should fetch essential data only and not everything the page could possibly need | 
|  | 294 | +- **Handle errors**: Always remember to handle errors gracefully to provide the best experience possible to users | 
|  | 295 | +- **Use caching**: Consider caching resolved data to improve performance | 
|  | 296 | +- **Consider navigation UX**: Implement loading indicators for resolver execution since navigation is blocked during data fetching | 
|  | 297 | +- **Set reasonable timeouts**: Avoid resolvers that could hang indefinitely and block navigation | 
|  | 298 | +- **Type safety**: Use TypeScript interfaces for resolved data | 
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