This skill builds on core and table-features. Sizing is numeric state; translating it to layout is a renderer decision.

Setup

import { columnSizingFeature, tableFeatures } from '@tanstack/table-core'

export const features = tableFeatures({ columnSizingFeature })
export const defaultColumn = { size: 180, minSize: 80, maxSize: 480 }

Core Patterns

cell.style.width = `${cell.column.getSize()}px`
tableElement.style.width = `${table.getTotalSize()}px`

Apply the same model sizes consistently to headers, cells, and pinned offsets.

Common Mistakes

[HIGH] Expecting state to style DOM

Wrong: const options = { defaultColumn: { size: 180 } }

Correct: cell.style.width = ${cell.column.getSize()}px``

Numeric state does not apply CSS to headless markup.

Source: docs/framework/react/guide/column-sizing.md#column-size-apis

[HIGH] Passing CSS sizes into numeric APIs

Wrong: const column = { size: '25%' }

Correct: const column = { size: 240 }

Table sizing state is numeric; percentages and auto layout belong in renderer CSS.

Source: packages/table-core/src/features/column-sizing/columnSizingFeature.types.ts

[HIGH] Letting content override offsets

Wrong: cell.style.minWidth = 'max-content'

Correct: cell.style.width = ${column.getSize()}px; cell.style.overflow = 'hidden'

If rendered width differs from the model, totals and pinning offsets no longer match geometry.

Source: examples/react/column-sizing/src/main.tsx

API Discovery

Inspect node_modules/@tanstack/table-core/dist/features/column-sizing/ for defaults and region-aware offset signatures.