tanstack query’s refetch forces a request to run

When using the useQuery hook from tanstack query (formerly react-query), the enabled: false setting is an option that prevents the initial query execution. But what happens when you use it together with refetch()?

Key Summary

• enabled: false prevents the query from running automatically.
• However, refetch() forcibly runs the query manually, so it operates independently of enabled: false.
• Therefore, even with enabled: false, calling refetch() triggers an HTTP request.

Example

const { data, refetch } = useQuery(
  ['myData'],
  fetchData,
  {
    enabled: false,
  }
);

// Manually sends a request when some button is clicked
<button onClick={() => refetch()}>Load</button>

Note: How refetch() behaves

• refetch() forces the query to run, regardless of enabled.
• Internally, it works similarly to calling queryClient.fetchQuery().

20250401