Build Modern Web Apps with the Composition API

Read before you buy: the PDF here is a free sample — the first 20 pages of the 525-page book (payments, sales and reviews on this demo site are sample data). Get the full e-book at thenexbooks on Gumroad.

Learn Vue the modern way, from your first component to a full-stack Nuxt application in production.

Modern web apps must load fast, react instantly, keep complex data consistent across many screens, work for every user, and stay secure. Vue makes this approachable: you describe what the screen should look like for a given state, and Vue keeps the page in sync. Its Composition API organizes logic by feature, single-file components keep markup, logic, and styles together, and Nuxt adds file-based routing, server rendering, and server API routes, so the same skills take you from a small widget to a full-stack application.

This book teaches Vue 3 and Nuxt from the very beginning and takes you all the way to production. You build one real application step by step, and each feature appears at the moment it solves a problem you actually have, so you learn how to make good decisions, not just how to call APIs.

What's inside

• Vue foundations: the toolchain, template syntax, directives and events, and how reactivity really works with ref, reactive, computed, and watchers
• Lists, conditionals, and forms with v-model, lifecycle hooks, and template refs
• Components with script setup: props, emits, defineModel, slots, provide/inject, and designing flexible, reusable components
• Composables for reusable logic, plus TypeScript with Vue: typed props, emits, refs, generic components, and composables
• Built-in components and styling: scoped CSS, transitions, Teleport, KeepAlive, and dynamic components
• Vue Router with nested routes, query parameters, lazy loading, and navigation guards
• State management with Pinia setup stores, tested and well designed
• Validated forms, data fetching with loading, empty, and error states, request cancellation, and a mock API you can run
• Vite in depth: environment variables, builds, linting, and project structure
• Testing: unit and component tests with Vitest and Vue Test Utils, stores, composables, and routing, and end-to-end tests with Playwright
• Accessibility and performance: focus management, live regions, accessible forms, measuring before optimizing, lazy loading, and bundle analysis
• Nuxt: project structure, file-based routing, layouts, auto-imports, useFetch and useAsyncData, server routes with Nitro, and SSR, static, and hybrid rendering with route rules
• Production: authentication with sessions, runtime config, route middleware, SEO and meta tags, security from the browser to the server, Docker, deployment, and CI/CD

One running example, start to finish. You build Gatherly, a fictional event-management platform with events, sessions, speakers, ticket types, early-bird pricing, a promo code, capacity limits, registrations, and a live check-in dashboard for staff at the door. It starts as a Vue single-page app with Vue Router and Pinia, talking to a small mock API, and becomes a full-stack Nuxt application with server routes, server rendering, authentication, and a tested deployment pipeline. All prices are stored in whole cents, so every number in the book can be checked by hand.

Current and honest. The book targets recent Vue 3.x versions with the Composition API and recent versions of Nuxt, Vue Router, Pinia, Vite, Vitest, and Playwright, and it notes where defaults changed between major versions. Experimental features are labeled as experimental. It contains no invented benchmarks or statistics. Every chapter includes step-by-step code, Tips, Notes, Warnings, exercises, and Key Takeaways, and the appendices give you a cheat sheet, templates and reference tables, a production checklist, and a glossary.

Format: PDF, 525 pages (A4), linked table of contents and bookmarks. English. First Edition, 2026. Published by thenexbooks. This book is independent and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the Vue.js or Nuxt projects.

Table of Contents

Part I — Vue Foundations

• Ch 1 · Why Vue: The Progressive Framework, Your Toolchain, and Your First App
• Ch 2 · Template Syntax: Interpolation, Bindings, Directives, and Events
• Ch 3 · Reactivity Fundamentals: ref, reactive, computed, and How Vue Tracks Changes
• Ch 4 · Lists, Conditionals, and Forms with v-model
• Ch 5 · Watchers, Lifecycle Hooks, and Template Refs

Part II — Components and Composition

• Ch 6 · Components: Single-File Components, Props, and Emits
• Ch 7 · Slots, Provide/Inject, and Flexible Component Design
• Ch 8 · Composables: Reusable Logic with the Composition API
• Ch 9 · TypeScript with Vue: Typed Props, Emits, Refs, and Composables
• Ch 10 · Built-In Components and Styling: Transitions, Teleport, KeepAlive, and Scoped CSS

Part III — Building the App

• Ch 11 · Vue Router: Routes, Params, Nested Views, and Navigation Guards
• Ch 12 · State Management with Pinia
• Ch 13 · Forms and Validation: Registration and Checkout
• Ch 14 · Fetching Data: APIs, Loading States, Errors, and the Mock Server
• Ch 15 · Vite in Depth: Environment Variables, Builds, Linting, and Project Structure

Part IV — Quality

• Ch 16 · Unit and Component Testing with Vitest and Vue Test Utils
• Ch 17 · Testing Stores, Composables, Routing, and Async Code
• Ch 18 · End-to-End Testing with Playwright
• Ch 19 · Accessible Vue Applications
• Ch 20 · Performance: Rendering, Lazy Loading, and Bundle Size

Part V — Nuxt

• Ch 21 · Nuxt Fundamentals: Project Structure, File-Based Routing, Layouts, and Auto-Imports
• Ch 22 · Data Fetching in Nuxt: useFetch, useAsyncData, and $fetch
• Ch 23 · Server Routes with Nitro: Building the Gatherly API
• Ch 24 · Rendering Modes: SSR, SSG, Hybrid Rendering, and Route Rules

Part VI — Production

• Ch 25 · Authentication, Sessions, Runtime Config, and Route Middleware
• Ch 26 · SEO, Meta Tags, and Security
• Ch 27 · Deployment and CI/CD
• Ch 28 · Capstone: The Gatherly Check-In Dashboard, End to End

Appendices
A · Vue and Nuxt Cheat Sheet
B · Templates and Reference
C · Production Checklist
D · Glossary

Book details