Keyboard activation causes full page reload instead of SPA navigation when using custom link with React Aria

[lyhoang-web-dev]

Which project does this relate to?

Router

Describe the bug

When using a custom link component that wraps TanStack Router's Link with React Aria's Link — via either the
createLink() approach or the internal _asChild prop — keyboard activation (pressing Enter) triggers a full
page reload instead of client-side SPA navigation.

Mouse click works correctly (client-side navigation). The issue is keyboard-only.

Both approaches are affected:

// Approach 1 — createLink()
// https://tanstack.com/router/latest/docs/guide/custom-link
const CustomLink = createLink(AriaLink);
<CustomLink to="/development">Development</CustomLink>

// Approach 2 — _asChild
<RouterLink to="/development" _asChild={AriaLink}>
  Development
</RouterLink>

The root cause is likely a mismatch between event models:

• TanStack Router intercepts onClick and calls e.preventDefault() to prevent native navigation
• React Aria uses onPress as its primary activation model and dispatches a synthetic click on keyboard
  activation (Enter)
• This synthetic click may bypass TSR's onClick handler, causing the browser to fall back to native href
  navigation → full page reload

Your Example Website or App

https://stackblitz.com/edit/vitejs-vite-2xxlupse

Steps to Reproduce the Bug or Issue

1. Create a custom link component using React Aria's Link with either createLink() or _asChild
2. Render two routes (e.g. / and /development)
3. Click a link with the mouse → observe client-side navigation ✅
4. Focus the same link and press Enter → observe full page reload ❌

Expected behavior

Pressing Enter on a custom link should trigger client-side SPA navigation, identical to mouse click behavior.
e.preventDefault() should be called to prevent the browser from following the href natively.

Screenshots or Videos

No response

Platform

• Router Version: 1.168.10
• OS: macOS, Windows, Linux
• Browser: Chrome, Safari, Firefox
• Bundler: Vite
• Bundler Version: 8.0.3

Additional context

No response