Nuxt 4 Patterns

Use when building or debugging Nuxt 4 apps with SSR, hybrid rendering, route rules, or page-level data fetching.

When to Activate

Hydration mismatches between server HTML and client state
Route-level rendering decisions such as prerender, SWR, ISR, or client-only sections
Performance work around lazy loading, lazy hydration, or payload size
Page or component data fetching with
```
useFetch
```
,
```
useAsyncData
```
, or
```
$fetch
```
Nuxt routing issues tied to route params, middleware, or SSR/client differences

Hydration Safety

Keep the first render deterministic. Do not put
```
Date.now()
```
,
```
Math.random()
```
, browser-only APIs, or storage reads directly into SSR-rendered template state.
Move browser-only logic behind
```
onMounted()
```
,
```
import.meta.client
```
,
```
ClientOnly
```
, or a
```
.client.vue
```
component when the server cannot produce the same markup.
Use Nuxt's
```
useRoute()
```
composable, not the one from
```
vue-router
```
.
Do not use
```
route.fullPath
```
to drive SSR-rendered markup. URL fragments are client-only, which can create hydration mismatches.
Treat
```
ssr: false
```
as an escape hatch for truly browser-only areas, not a default fix for mismatches.

Data Fetching

Prefer
```
await useFetch()
```
for SSR-safe API reads in pages and components. It forwards server-fetched data into the Nuxt payload and avoids a second fetch on hydration.
Use
```
useAsyncData()
```
when the fetcher is not a simple
```
$fetch()
```
call, when you need a custom key, or when you are composing multiple async sources.
Give
```
useAsyncData()
```
a stable key for cache reuse and predictable refresh behavior.
Keep
```
useAsyncData()
```
handlers side-effect free. They can run during SSR and hydration.
Use
```
$fetch()
```
for user-triggered writes or client-only actions, not top-level page data that should be hydrated from SSR.
Use
```
lazy: true
```
,
```
useLazyFetch()
```
, or
```
useLazyAsyncData()
```
for non-critical data that should not block navigation. Handle
```
status === 'pending'
```
in the UI.
Use
```
server: false
```
only for data that is not needed for SEO or the first paint.
Trim payload size with
```
pick
```
and prefer shallower payloads when deep reactivity is unnecessary.

const route = useRoute()

const { data: article, status, error, refresh } = await useAsyncData(
  () => `article:${route.params.slug}`,
  () => $fetch(`/api/articles/${route.params.slug}`),
)

const { data: comments } = await useFetch(`/api/articles/${route.params.slug}/comments`, {
  lazy: true,
  server: false,
})

Route Rules

Prefer

routeRules

nuxt.config.ts

for rendering and caching strategy:

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  routeRules: {
    '/': { prerender: true },
    '/products/**': { swr: 3600 },
    '/blog/**': { isr: true },
    '/admin/**': { ssr: false },
    '/api/**': { cache: { maxAge: 60 * 60 } },
  },
})

```
prerender
```
: static HTML at build time
```
swr
```
: serve cached content and revalidate in the background
```
isr
```
: incremental static regeneration on supported platforms
```
ssr: false
```
: client-rendered route
```
cache
```
or
```
redirect
```
: Nitro-level response behavior

Pick route rules per route group, not globally. Marketing pages, catalogs, dashboards, and APIs usually need different strategies.

Lazy Loading and Performance

Nuxt already code-splits pages by route. Keep route boundaries meaningful before micro-optimizing component splits.
Use the
```
Lazy
```
prefix to dynamically import non-critical components.
Conditionally render lazy components with
```
v-if
```
so the chunk is not loaded until the UI actually needs it.
Use lazy hydration for below-the-fold or non-critical interactive UI.

vue

<template>
  <LazyRecommendations v-if="showRecommendations" />
  <LazyProductGallery hydrate-on-visible />
</template>

For custom strategies, use
```
defineLazyHydrationComponent()
```
with a visibility or idle strategy.
Nuxt lazy hydration works on single-file components. Passing new props to a lazily hydrated component will trigger hydration immediately.
Use
```
NuxtLink
```
for internal navigation so Nuxt can prefetch route components and generated payloads.

Review Checklist

First SSR render and hydrated client render produce the same markup
Page data uses
```
useFetch
```
or
```
useAsyncData
```
, not top-level
```
$fetch
```
Non-critical data is lazy and has explicit loading UI
Route rules match the page's SEO and freshness requirements
Heavy interactive islands are lazy-loaded or lazily hydrated

nuxt4-patterns

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content