Difference between queryCache.clear() vs queryCache.refetchQueries()

[transmissions11]

When should I be using queryCache.clear() vs queryCache.refetchQueries()?

Does queryCache.clear() just clear the cache or refetch as well?

If I have a user switch accounts, should I run both queryCache.refetchQueries() and queryCache.clear() or just one or the other?

[TkDodo]

Hm, I haven't used either. I mostly do invalidateQueries.

Tanner answered the question regarding the difference between refetchQueries and invalidateQueries like this:

If I have a user switch accounts, should I run both queryCache.refetchQueries() and queryCache.clear() or just one or the other?

I'm pretty sure that queryCache.clear() just removes the value from the cache, which I think is what you want when a user switches accounts. Once the user visits a page again where the query is observed, it will fetch again because it has no data. If you are certain that the data will be needed immediately, you could refetch it right away.

Alternatively, you could also put the accountId into the query key. That way, you would automatically re-fetch if the account changes, and the unused queries would be garbage collected after cacheTime has passed, which defaults to 5 minutes.

[transmissions11]

Thank you for your thorough answer!

I actually lied a tiny bit (for simplicity) when I said I was wondering for when a user logs out, the use case I'm actually thinking about right now is when a user deposits and then their account balance increases, I didn't know what method to use. I think I'll go with invalidateQueries or refetchQueries. I might end up going with refetchQueries because the account balance data is needed throughout almost the entire app and effects multiple queries so I don't want any stale data showing up to the user or queries refetching as they open a modal or something and they see $0 for a second.

Thank you again!

[weyert]

The image says:

Tanner Linsley: invalidateQueries is a bit smarter (with some different defaults) to avoid overmatching e.g. not refetching inactive queries and only marking them as stale
Tanner Linsley: refetchQueries has none of that, so it will for sure refetch the query if it matches, even if it's inactive