Vue Composition API
Master the Vue 3 Composition API for building scalable, maintainable Vue applications with better code organization and reusability.
Setup Function Fundamentals
The setup() function is the entry point for using the Composition API:
import { ref, computed, onMounted } from 'vue';
export default { props: ['initialCount'], setup(props, context) { // props is reactive console.log(props.initialCount);
// context provides attrs, slots, emit, expose
const { attrs, slots, emit, expose } = context;
const count = ref(0);
const doubled = computed(() => count.value * 2);
function increment() {
count.value++;
emit('update', count.value);
}
onMounted(() => {
console.log('Component mounted');
});
// Expose public methods
expose({ increment });
// Return values to template
return {
count,
doubled,
increment
};
} };
Script Setup Syntax
Modern Vue 3 uses <script setup> for cleaner syntax:
<script setup lang="ts"> import { ref, computed } from 'vue'; // Top-level bindings automatically exposed to template const count = ref(0); const doubled = computed(() => count.value * 2); function increment() { count.value++; } // Props and emits use compiler macros interface Props { initialCount?: number; } const props = withDefaults(defineProps
Count: {{ count }} Doubled: {{ doubled }}
Ref vs Reactive - When to Use Each Use Ref For import { ref } from 'vue';
// Primitives const count = ref(0); const name = ref('John'); const isActive = ref(true);
// Single object that needs replacement const user = ref({ name: 'John', age: 30 }); user.value = { name: 'Jane', age: 25 }; // Works
// Arrays that need replacement const items = ref([1, 2, 3]); items.value = [4, 5, 6]; // Works
Use Reactive For import { reactive, toRefs } from 'vue';
// Complex nested objects const state = reactive({ user: { name: 'John', age: 30 }, settings: { theme: 'dark', notifications: true }, posts: [] });
// Group related state const formState = reactive({ name: '', email: '', password: '', errors: {} });
// Convert to refs for destructuring const { name, email } = toRefs(formState);
Avoid Reactive For // DON'T: Replacing entire reactive object loses reactivity let state = reactive({ count: 0 }); state = reactive({ count: 1 }); // Breaks reactivity!
// DO: Use ref instead const state = ref({ count: 0 }); state.value = { count: 1 }; // Works
Computed Properties Patterns Basic Computed import { ref, computed } from 'vue';
const firstName = ref('John'); const lastName = ref('Doe');
const fullName = computed(() => {
return ${firstName.value} ${lastName.value};
});
Writable Computed
const fullName = computed({
get() {
return ${firstName.value} ${lastName.value};
},
set(value) {
const names = value.split(' ');
firstName.value = names[0] || '';
lastName.value = names[1] || '';
}
});
// Can now set fullName.value = 'Jane Smith';
Computed with Complex Logic interface Product { id: number; name: string; price: number; quantity: number; }
const cart = ref
const cartSummary = computed(() => { const total = cart.value.reduce((sum, item) => sum + (item.price * item.quantity), 0 );
const itemCount = cart.value.reduce((sum, item) => sum + item.quantity, 0 );
const tax = total * 0.08; const grandTotal = total + tax;
return { total, itemCount, tax, grandTotal }; });
Watch and WatchEffect Watch - Explicit Dependencies import { ref, watch } from 'vue';
const count = ref(0); const name = ref('');
// Watch single source
watch(count, (newValue, oldValue) => {
console.log(Count changed from ${oldValue} to ${newValue});
});
// Watch multiple sources watch( [count, name], ([newCount, newName], [oldCount, oldName]) => { console.log('Multiple values changed'); } );
// Watch reactive object property const user = reactive({ name: 'John', age: 30 });
watch(
() => user.name,
(newName) => {
console.log(Name changed to ${newName});
}
);
// Deep watch watch( user, (newUser) => { console.log('User changed:', newUser); }, { deep: true } );
WatchEffect - Auto Tracking import { ref, watchEffect } from 'vue';
const count = ref(0); const multiplier = ref(2);
// Automatically tracks dependencies
watchEffect(() => {
console.log(Result: ${count.value * multiplier.value});
});
// Runs immediately and whenever dependencies change
Advanced Watch Options const data = ref(null);
watch( source, (newValue, oldValue) => { // Callback logic }, { immediate: true, // Run immediately deep: true, // Deep watch objects flush: 'post', // Timing: 'pre' | 'post' | 'sync' onTrack(e) { // Debug console.log('tracked', e); }, onTrigger(e) { // Debug console.log('triggered', e); } } );
// Stop watching const stop = watch(source, callback); stop(); // Cleanup
Lifecycle Hooks in Composition API import { onBeforeMount, onMounted, onBeforeUpdate, onUpdated, onBeforeUnmount, onUnmounted, onErrorCaptured, onActivated, onDeactivated } from 'vue';
export default { setup() { onBeforeMount(() => { console.log('Before mount'); });
onMounted(() => {
console.log('Mounted');
// DOM is available
// Setup event listeners, fetch data
});
onBeforeUpdate(() => {
console.log('Before update');
});
onUpdated(() => {
console.log('Updated');
// DOM has been updated
});
onBeforeUnmount(() => {
console.log('Before unmount');
// Cleanup before unmount
});
onUnmounted(() => {
console.log('Unmounted');
// Final cleanup
});
onErrorCaptured((err, instance, info) => {
console.error('Error captured:', err, info);
return false; // Stop propagation
});
// For components wrapped in <KeepAlive>
onActivated(() => {
console.log('Component activated');
});
onDeactivated(() => {
console.log('Component deactivated');
});
} };
Composables - Reusable Composition Functions Simple Composable // composables/useCounter.ts import { ref, computed } from 'vue';
export function useCounter(initialValue = 0) { const count = ref(initialValue); const doubled = computed(() => count.value * 2);
function increment() { count.value++; }
function decrement() { count.value--; }
function reset() { count.value = initialValue; }
return { count: readonly(count), doubled, increment, decrement, reset }; }
// Usage
<script setup lang="ts"> import { useCounter } from '@/composables/useCounter'; const { count, doubled, increment, decrement } = useCounter(10); </script>Advanced Composable with Side Effects // composables/useFetch.ts import { ref, unref, watchEffect } from 'vue'; import type { Ref } from 'vue';
export function useFetch
async function fetchData() { loading.value = true; error.value = null;
try {
const response = await fetch(unref(url));
if (!response.ok) throw new Error('Fetch failed');
data.value = await response.json();
} catch (e) {
error.value = e as Error;
} finally {
loading.value = false;
}
}
watchEffect(() => { fetchData(); });
return { data: readonly(data), error: readonly(error), loading: readonly(loading), refetch: fetchData }; }
// Usage
<script setup lang="ts"> import { ref } from 'vue'; import { useFetch } from '@/composables/useFetch'; const userId = ref('1'); const url = computed(() => `/api/users/${userId.value}`); const { data, error, loading, refetch } = useFetch(url); </script>Composable with Cleanup // composables/useEventListener.ts import { onMounted, onUnmounted } from 'vue';
export function useEventListener( target: EventTarget, event: string, handler: (e: Event) => void ) { onMounted(() => { target.addEventListener(event, handler); });
onUnmounted(() => { target.removeEventListener(event, handler); }); }
// Usage
<script setup lang="ts"> import { useEventListener } from '@/composables/useEventListener'; useEventListener(window, 'resize', () => { console.log('Window resized'); }); </script>Props and Emits in Composition API TypeScript Props
<script setup lang="ts"> interface Props { title: string; count?: number; items: string[]; user: { name: string; email: string; }; } const props = withDefaults(definePropsTypeScript Emits
<script setup lang="ts"> // Type-safe emits const emit = defineEmits<{ update: [value: number]; delete: []; change: [id: string, value: string]; }>(); function handleUpdate() { emit('update', 42); } function handleChange(id: string, value: string) { emit('change', id, value); } </script>Runtime Props Validation
<script setup lang="ts"> const props = defineProps({ title: { type: String, required: true }, count: { type: Number, default: 0, validator: (value: number) => value >= 0 }, status: { type: String as PropType<'active' | 'inactive'>, default: 'active' } }); </script>Provide and Inject Patterns Basic Provide/Inject
<script setup lang="ts"> import { provide, ref } from 'vue'; const theme = ref('dark'); const updateTheme = (newTheme: string) => { theme.value = newTheme; }; provide('theme', { theme, updateTheme }); </script> <script setup lang="ts"> import { inject } from 'vue'; const themeContext = inject('theme'); // themeContext.theme // themeContext.updateTheme('light') </script>Type-Safe Provide/Inject // keys.ts import type { InjectionKey, Ref } from 'vue';
export interface ThemeContext {
theme: Ref
export const ThemeKey: InjectionKey
// Provider
<script setup lang="ts"> import { provide, ref } from 'vue'; import { ThemeKey } from './keys'; const theme = ref('dark'); const updateTheme = (newTheme: string) => { theme.value = newTheme; }; provide(ThemeKey, { theme, updateTheme }); </script>// Consumer
<script setup lang="ts"> import { inject } from 'vue'; import { ThemeKey } from './keys'; const theme = inject(ThemeKey); // Fully typed! </script>Provide with Default Values
<script setup lang="ts"> import { inject } from 'vue'; const theme = inject('theme', { theme: ref('light'), updateTheme: () => {} }); // Or use factory function for reactive defaults const config = inject('config', () => reactive({ locale: 'en', timezone: 'UTC' }), true); // true = treat as factory </script>TypeScript with Composition API Component with Full Types
<script setup lang="ts"> import { ref, computed, type Ref, type ComputedRef } from 'vue'; interface User { id: number; name: string; email: string; } interface Props { userId: number; } interface Emits { (e: 'update', user: User): void; (e: 'delete', id: number): void; } const props = definePropsGeneric Composables // composables/useLocalStorage.ts import { ref, watch, type Ref } from 'vue';
export function useLocalStorage
// Load from localStorage const stored = localStorage.getItem(key); if (stored) { try { data.value = JSON.parse(stored); } catch (e) { console.error('Failed to parse localStorage', e); } }
// Save to localStorage on change watch( data, (newValue) => { localStorage.setItem(key, JSON.stringify(newValue)); }, { deep: true } );
return data; }
// Usage
const user = useLocalStorage
When to Use This Skill
Use vue-composition-api when building modern, production-ready applications that require:
Complex component logic that benefits from better organization Reusable logic across multiple components (composables) Better TypeScript integration and type inference Fine-grained reactivity control Large-scale applications requiring maintainability Migration from Vue 2 Options API to Vue 3 Sharing stateful logic without mixins Vue-Specific Best Practices Prefer <script setup> syntax - Cleaner, better performance, better types Use composables for reusable logic - Extract to composables/ directory Use ref for primitives, reactive for objects - Unless you need to replace objects Always use TypeScript - Better DX and fewer runtime errors Destructure reactive objects with toRefs - Preserve reactivity Use computed for derived state - Not methods in templates Cleanup side effects - Use onUnmounted for event listeners, timers Keep components focused - Extract complex logic to composables Use provide/inject for deep prop passing - Avoid prop drilling Name composables with use prefix - Follow convention (useCounter, useFetch) Vue-Specific Pitfalls Destructuring props directly - Loses reactivity, use toRefs(props) Forgetting .value on refs - Common source of bugs Mutating props - Props are readonly, emit events instead Using reactive() for entire state - Can't replace, use ref for root Not cleaning up watchers - Memory leaks, store stop handle Accessing refs before mount - DOM refs are null in setup Overusing reactive() - Use ref for simple values Not using computed for derived state - Recalculates on every render Forgetting to return from setup() - Without <script setup> Mixing Options API and Composition API - Confusing, pick one Common Patterns Form Handling
<script setup lang="ts"> import { reactive, computed } from 'vue'; interface FormData { name: string; email: string; password: string; } interface FormErrors { name?: string; email?: string; password?: string; } const form = reactiveAsync Data Loading
<script setup lang="ts"> import { ref, onMounted } from 'vue'; interface Data { id: number; title: string; } const data = ref([]); const loading = ref(false); const error = ref
Resources Vue 3 Composition API Documentation Composition API RFC VueUse - Collection of Composables Vue 3 TypeScript Guide Composables Best Practices