[Stackblitz reproduction] Authenticated route, beforeLoad has expired `context` on preload (intent)

[gsouf]

Which project does this relate to?

Router

Context:
I implemented an authenticated route following this guide:
https://tanstack.com/router/latest/docs/framework/react/how-to/setup-authentication#1-set-up-router-context

My setup includes:

• _authenticated.tsx — defines a beforeLoad that checks whether the user is authenticated.

• _authenticated/foo.tsx — a nested route that performs additional logic.

Issue Description:
In _authenticated.tsx, I log the context inside beforeLoad like this:

beforeLoad(ctx) {
  console.log(ctx);
}

When beforeLoad is triggered from a preload (e.g., when hovering over a link), the ctx value is undefined.

Additionally, once a navigation actually occurs (after clicking a link), the issue disappears — from that point onward, ctx always contains the correct data.

Note that after implementing in stackblitz, I realized it's not necessarly "undefined", instead it's just using an expired value

Summary of Behavior:

Scenario	Route	Trigger	ctx value
Preload (hover intent)	_authenticated.tsx	beforeLoad	no correct
After first navigation	any	beforeLoad	✅ Correct

Expected Behavior:
ctx should be populated correctly in beforeLoad during preloads, even before any navigation has occurred.

Your Example Website or App

https://stackblitz.com/edit/github-f1nanrq2?file=src%2Fmain.tsx

Steps to Reproduce the Bug or Issue

• Open console
• See expected value for context: "baz"
• Mouse hover "Foo" at the top
• See the preload logs containing old value "foo"
• Click "Foo"
• Mouse hover "Foo" again
• • See the preload logs containing new value "baz"

Expected behavior

first time preload occurs, it should contain the expected value "baz" before navigation.

Screenshots or Videos

Platform

• Router / Start Version: [e.g. 1.121.0]
• OS: [e.g. macOS, Windows, Linux]
• Browser: [e.g. Chrome, Safari, Firefox]
• Browser Version: [e.g. 91.1]
• Bundler: [e.g. vite]
• Bundler Version: [e.g. 7.0.0]

Additional context

No response

[gsouf]

Note that it works if I set a new router instance whenever the context updates. See const router = useMemo

function InnerApp() {
  const [foo, setFoo] = useState('foo');
  const ctx = useMemo(() => ({ foo }), [foo]);

  useEffect(() => {
    setTimeout(() => setFoo('baz'), 500);
  }, []);

  const router = useMemo(() => {
    const r = createRouter({
      routeTree,
      defaultPreload: 'intent',
      scrollRestoration: true,
      context: { foo: null! },
    });

    return r;
  }, [ctx])

  console.log('expected ctx:', ctx);
  return <RouterProvider router={router} context={ctx} />;
}

Calling router.clearCache or router.invalidate did not work