Vue Start

Build full-stack Vue applications with TanStack Start

TanStack Vue Start provides SSR, streaming, server functions, API routes, and bundling powered by TanStack Router and Vite, ready to deploy to your favorite hosting provider.

Installation

Install the Vue Start package:

npm install @tanstack/vue-start

Vite Plugin Setup

Configure the TanStack Start Vite plugin in your vite.config.ts:

import { tanstackStart } from '@tanstack/vue-start/plugin/vite'
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import vue from '@vitejs/plugin-vue'

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [
    tanstackStart({
      srcDirectory: 'src',
    }),
    vue(),
  ],
})

Router Setup

Create your router instance in src/router.ts:

import { createRouter } from '@tanstack/vue-router'
import { routeTree } from './routeTree.gen'

export function getRouter() {
  const router = createRouter({
    routeTree,
    defaultPreload: 'intent',
  })
  return router
}

Server Functions

TanStack Vue Start provides server functions for executing code on the server with full type safety.

Creating Server Functions

Use createServerFn to define server-side logic:

import { createServerFn } from '@tanstack/vue-start'

const getUser = createServerFn()
  .handler(async () => {
    // This code runs only on the server
    const user = await db.user.findFirst()
    return user
  })

Using Server Functions in Components

Call server functions using the useServerFn composable:

<script setup>
import { useServerFn } from '@tanstack/vue-start'

const fetchUser = useServerFn(getUser)

const handleClick = async () => {
  const user = await fetchUser()
  console.log(user)
}
</script>

<template>
  <button @click="handleClick">Load User</button>
</template>

The useServerFn composable automatically handles:

• Type-safe function calls
• Redirect responses from server functions
• Integration with TanStack Router navigation

Middleware

Add middleware to server functions for shared logic like authentication, logging, or data validation.

Creating Middleware

import { createMiddleware } from '@tanstack/vue-start'

const authMiddleware = createMiddleware()
  .server(async ({ next, context }) => {
    const user = await getSessionUser()
    
    if (!user) {
      throw new Error('Unauthorized')
    }
    
    return next({
      context: {
        user,
      },
    })
  })

Using Middleware in Server Functions

const protectedAction = createServerFn()
  .middleware([authMiddleware])
  .handler(async ({ context }) => {
    // context.user is typed and available
    return { userId: context.user.id }
  })

Input Validation

Validate server function inputs with validators like Zod, Valibot, or ArkType:

import { createServerFn } from '@tanstack/vue-start'
import { z } from 'zod'

const updateUser = createServerFn()
  .inputValidator(z.object({
    name: z.string(),
    email: z.string().email(),
  }))
  .handler(async ({ data }) => {
    // data is fully typed based on the validator
    await db.user.update({
      where: { id: data.id },
      data: { name: data.name, email: data.email },
    })
  })

// Call with type-safe data
await updateUser({ 
  data: { 
    name: 'John', 
    email: '[e-mail]' 
  } 
})

HTTP Methods

Server functions support both GET and POST methods:

// GET request (default)
const getData = createServerFn().handler(async () => {
  return { data: 'value' }
})

// POST request
const postData = createServerFn({ method: 'POST' })
  .handler(async ({ data }) => {
    return { success: true }
  })

Client and Server Contexts

Share context between client and server:

const contextMiddleware = createMiddleware()
  .client(async ({ next }) => {
    return next({
      sendContext: {
        clientTimestamp: Date.now(),
      },
    })
  })
  .server(async ({ context, next }) => {
    console.log('Client timestamp:', context.clientTimestamp)
    return next()
  })

Package Exports

TanStack Vue Start provides several package exports:

• @tanstack/vue-start - Main client exports
• @tanstack/vue-start/server - Server-only utilities
• @tanstack/vue-start/client - Client-only utilities
• @tanstack/vue-start/plugin/vite - Vite plugin
• @tanstack/vue-start/server-rpc - Server RPC utilities
• @tanstack/vue-start/client-rpc - Client RPC utilities
• @tanstack/vue-start/ssr-rpc - SSR RPC utilities

Vue-Specific Features

Composition API

Leverage Vue’s Composition API with server functions:

<script setup>
import { ref, onMounted } from 'vue'
import { createServerFn } from '@tanstack/vue-start'

const fetchData = createServerFn().handler(async () => {
  return await db.getData()
})

const data = ref(null)
const loading = ref(true)

onMounted(async () => {
  data.value = await fetchData()
  loading.value = false
})
</script>

<template>
  <div v-if="loading">Loading...</div>
  <div v-else>{{ data }}</div>
</template>

Suspense Support

Use Vue’s Suspense for async components:

<template>
  <Suspense>
    <template #default>
      <AsyncContent />
    </template>
    <template #fallback>
      <div>Loading...</div>
    </template>
  </Suspense>
</template>

Server-Side Rendering

Vue Start provides optimized SSR with automatic hydration:

<script setup>
import { ref, onServerPrefetch } from 'vue'

const data = ref(null)

onServerPrefetch(async () => {
  data.value = await fetchServerData()
})
</script>

<template>
  <div>
    <h1>Server Rendered Content</h1>
    <div v-if="data">{{ data }}</div>
  </div>
</template>

Reactive State

Combine reactive state with server functions:

<script setup>
import { ref, computed, watch } from 'vue'
import { useServerFn } from '@tanstack/vue-start'

const userId = ref(1)
const fetchUser = useServerFn(getUser)
const user = ref(null)

watch(userId, async (newId) => {
  user.value = await fetchUser({ data: { id: newId } })
}, { immediate: true })

const userName = computed(() => user.value?.name || 'Unknown')
</script>

TypeScript Configuration

Ensure your tsconfig.json includes:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "jsx": "preserve",
    "module": "ESNext",
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",
    "target": "ES2022",
    "lib": ["ES2022", "DOM", "DOM.Iterable"],
    "strict": true,
    "types": ["vite/client"]
  }
}

Peer Dependencies

TanStack Vue Start requires:

• Vue >= 3.3.0
• Vite >= 7.0.0

Next Steps

Server Functions

Learn more about creating and using server functions

Routing

Explore TanStack Router features

Examples

Browse Vue Start examples

API Reference

View the complete API documentation