How to remove single cache entry? I don't find api in the docs of rtk query

[evgeniyworkbel]

I have an query endpoint which fetches user by id. after removing it, i can't use invalidateTags because it will trigger refetch on my page and it will be backend 404 error. I'm going to remove cache entry manually, but there is no api to doing that

[ArianMakiabadi]

You don’t need (and can’t really) “manually delete one cache entry” in RTK Query. There’s no supported per-cache-key delete API.

More importantly: if the user is deleted, the correct thing is that the query result for getUser(id) should no longer exist. You have a few RTKQ-native ways to handle this without getting stuck in a refetch → 404 loop.

1. Don’t invalidate the User tag for a deleted entity
   If you do invalidateTags: [{ type: 'User', id }], RTKQ will refetch any active subscriptions for that user — which will 404. So for delete flows, either:

• don’t invalidate that specific entity tag, or
• only invalidate list tags (so lists refetch, not the deleted detail page), e.g. ['UserList'] rather than {type:'User', id}.

2. Proactively update the cache to “remove” the user data
   Instead of invalidation, update the relevant cached queries so the UI stops referencing the deleted user.

For the detail query, you can set it to undefined / null (whatever your app expects) using updateQueryData:

const id = deletedUserId;

dispatch(
  api.util.updateQueryData('getUserById', id, (draft) => {
    // draft is whatever your query returns
    // if it returns `User`, you can’t literally delete the entry,
    // but you can clear it so the UI stops rendering stale data
    return undefined as any;
  })
);

In practice I usually pair that with navigation away from the detail page (or showing “User deleted”) so you’re not sitting on a route that expects the user to exist.

For any “list” queries, remove the item from arrays:

dispatch(
  api.util.updateQueryData('getUsers', undefined, (draft) => {
    const idx = draft.findIndex((u) => u.id === id);
    if (idx !== -1) draft.splice(idx, 1);
  })
);

3. If the page is still mounted, prevent the refetch that causes the 404
   If you must keep the detail page mounted briefly, avoid refetch triggers:

• don’t invalidate the entity tag
• ensure you’re not using refetchOnMountOrArgChange: true for that hook in this scenario
• and/or gate the query: don’t call it when you know the user is deleted.

Example gating:

const skip = userWasDeleted || !id;
const { data } = useGetUserByIdQuery(id, { skip });

4. Let RTKQ evict unused entries naturally
   Even if you “clear” the data, RTKQ will clean up unused cache entries after keepUnusedDataFor once there are no subscribers. If your goal is “don’t keep this around”, set keepUnusedDataFor low for that endpoint.