<Link target="_blank"> broken with hash history

[dsiguero]

Which project does this relate to?

Router

Describe the bug

Hi 👋,

After upgrading to the latest TanStack Router (v1.132.2), I noticed that <Link> elements using target="_blank" no longer work correctly when using hash history.

Previously, the rendered <a> looked like this:

<a href="/#/about" target="_blank">About</a>

Now the rendered <a> looks like this:

<a href="/about" target="_blank">About</a>

This means opening the link in a new tab results in the URL:

http://localhost:5173/about

instead of the expected:

http://localhost:5173/#/about

So the hash is missing in the final URL when target="_blank" is used, breaking navigation in hash-history mode.

---

Expected behavior:

The <Link> should render with the hash prefix (/#/about) so that opening it in a new tab lands on the correct route in hash-history mode.

Actual behavior:

The <Link> renders as /about, causing the browser to open the wrong URL without the hash.

Your Example Website or App

https://stackblitz.com/edit/github-gsxsnwbi?file=src%2Froutes%2F__root.tsx

Steps to Reproduce the Bug or Issue

1. Click on About (target _blank).
2. It opens a new tab with the following URL: <baseURL>/about instead of <baseURL>/#/about

Expected behavior

The <Link> should render with the hash prefix (/#/about) so that opening it in a new tab lands on the correct route in hash-history mode.

Screenshots or Videos

No response

Platform

• Router Version: v1.131.2
• History mode: createHashHistory()
• OS: macOS/Linux
• Browser: Chrome
• Browser Version: v138
• Bundler: vite
• Bundler Version: v7.1.7

Additional context

This only happens when using target="_blank". Links without target navigate correctly within the same tab.

[leesb971204]

I think this works fine on the latest version(v1.132.6).

[SavKS]

The same issue occurs on the latest version as well. But it’s not related to the target. When using HashRouter, the Link component does not add the “#” before the path.

[dsiguero]

I think this works fine on the latest version(v1.132.6).

I've updated the reproduction link to use v1.132.6 and it's still not working as expected

https://stackblitz.com/edit/github-gsxsnwbi?file=src%2Froutes%2F__root.tsx

[dsiguero]

The same issue occurs on the latest version as well. But it’s not related to the target. When using HashRouter, the Link component does not add the “#” before the path.

Yep! that is true, but regular links work fine even without the hash symbol, as the resulting URL gets it anyway.

[leesb971204]

I think this works fine on the latest version(v1.132.6).

I've updated the reproduction link to use v1.132.6 and it's still not working as expected

https://stackblitz.com/edit/github-gsxsnwbi?file=src%2Froutes%2F__root.tsx

I realize now that I misunderstood — my apologies.
I’m not very familiar with hashHistory.
Could you try applying it with the version of the PR I opened?

[dsiguero]

I think this works fine on the latest version(v1.132.6).

I've updated the reproduction link to use v1.132.6 and it's still not working as expected
https://stackblitz.com/edit/github-gsxsnwbi?file=src%2Froutes%2F__root.tsx

I realize now that I misunderstood — my apologies. I’m not very familiar with hashHistory. Could you try applying it with the version of the PR I opened?

No worries 🙂!

Your PR seems to in fact fix the issue, now all rendered <a> elements have the hash symbol (#) on their href, and work as expected regardless of whether the target property is present or not.

Thank you for your work!
Dan