nuxt

# Nuxt 4+ Development

Progressive guidance for Nuxt 4+ projects (v4.3+) with latest patterns and conventions.

## When to Use

Working with:

- Server routes (API endpoints, server middleware, server utils)
- File-based routing (pages, layouts, route groups)
- Nuxt middleware (route guards, navigation)
- Nuxt plugins (app extensions)
- Nuxt-specific features (auto-imports, layers, modules)

## Available Guidance

Read specific files based on current work:

- **[references/server.md](references/server.md)** - API routes, server middleware, validation (Zod), WebSocket, SSE
- **[references/routing.md](references/routing.md)** - File-based routing, route groups, typed router, definePage
- **[references/middleware-plugins.md](references/middleware-plugins.md)** - Route middleware, plugins, app lifecycle
- **[references/nuxt-composables.md](references/nuxt-composables.md)** - Nuxt composables (useRequestURL, useFetch, navigation)
- **[references/nuxt-components.md](references/nuxt-components.md)** - NuxtLink, NuxtImg, NuxtTime (prefer over HTML elements)
- **[references/nuxt-config.md](references/nuxt-config.md)** - Configuration, modules, auto-imports, layers

**For Vue composables:** See `vue` skill composables.md (VueUse, Composition API patterns)
**For UI components:** use `nuxt-ui` skill
**For database/storage:** use `nuxthub` skill
**For content-driven sites:** use `nuxt-content` skill
**For creating modules:** use `nuxt-modules` skill
**For project scaffolding/CI:** use `ts-library` skill

## Loading Files

**Consider loading these reference files based on your task:**

- [ ] [references/server.md](references/server.md) - if creating API endpoints or server middleware
- [ ] [references/routing.md](references/routing.md) - if setting up pages, layouts, or route groups
- [ ] [references/nuxt-composables.md](references/nuxt-composables.md) - if using Nuxt composables (useFetch, useRequestURL, etc.)
- [ ] [references/middleware-plugins.md](references/middleware-plugins.md) - if working with middleware or plugins
- [ ] [references/nuxt-components.md](references/nuxt-components.md) - if using Nuxt components (NuxtLink, NuxtImg, etc.)
- [ ] [references/nuxt-config.md](references/nuxt-config.md) - if editing nuxt.config.ts
- [ ] [references/project-setup.md](references/project-setup.md) - if setting up CI/ESLint/build tools

**DO NOT load all files at once.** Load only what's relevant to your current task.

## Quick Start

```ts
// server/api/hello.get.ts
import { z } from 'zod'

export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
  const { name } = await getValidatedQuery(event, z.object({
    name: z.string().default('world'),
  }).parse)
  return { message: `Hello ${name}` }
})
```

## Nuxt 4 vs Older Versions

**You are working with Nuxt 4+.** Key differences:

| Old (Nuxt 2/3)    | New (Nuxt 4)                    |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------- |
| `<Nuxt />`        | `<NuxtPage />`                  |
| `context.params`  | `getRouterParam(event, 'name')` |
| `window.origin`   | `useRequestURL().origin`        |
| String routes     | Typed router with route names   |
| Separate layouts/ | Parent routes with `<slot>`     |

**If you're unsure about Nuxt 4 patterns, read the relevant guidance file first.**

## Latest Documentation

**When to fetch latest docs:**

- New Nuxt 4 features not covered here
- Module-specific configuration
- Breaking changes or deprecations
- Advanced use cases

**Official sources:**

- Nuxt: https://nuxt.com/docs
- h3 (server engine): https://v1.h3.dev/
- Nitro: https://nitro.build/

## Token Efficiency

Main skill: ~300 tokens. Each sub-file: ~800-1500 tokens. Only load files relevant to current task.