Nuxt Built-in Components

When to Use

Working with images, links, or time display in templates. Always prefer Nuxt components over HTML elements.

Component Preferences

NuxtLink

ALWAYS use <NuxtLink> instead of <a> for internal links:

<template>
  <!-- Internal navigation -->
  <NuxtLink to="/about">About</NuxtLink>
  <NuxtLink :to="{ name: '/users/[userId]', params: { userId } }">Profile</NuxtLink>

  <!-- External links (uses target="_blank" automatically with external) -->
  <NuxtLink to="https://nuxt.com" external>Nuxt Docs</NuxtLink>

  <!-- Prefetch control -->
  <NuxtLink to="/dashboard" :prefetch="false">Dashboard</NuxtLink>

  <!-- Active state styling -->
  <NuxtLink to="/settings" active-class="text-primary" exact-active-class="font-bold">
    Settings
  </NuxtLink>
</template>

Props:

• to - Route path or route object
• external - Force external link behavior
• target - Link target (_blank, etc.)
• prefetch - Enable/disable prefetching (default: true)
• noPrefetch - Disable prefetching
• activeClass - Class when route matches
• exactActiveClass - Class when route exactly matches

Docs: https://nuxt.com/docs/api/components/nuxt-link

NuxtImg

ALWAYS use <NuxtImg> instead of <img> for images:

Requires @nuxt/image module (usually pre-installed).

<template>
  <!-- Basic usage -->
  <NuxtImg src="/images/hero.jpg" alt="Hero image" />

  <!-- Responsive with sizes -->
  <NuxtImg
    src="/images/banner.jpg"
    alt="Banner"
    width="1200"
    height="600"
    sizes="100vw sm:50vw md:400px"
  />

  <!-- Lazy loading (default) -->
  <NuxtImg src="/images/photo.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="Photo" />

  <!-- Eager loading for above-fold -->
  <NuxtImg src="/images/logo.svg" loading="eager" alt="Logo" />

  <!-- With placeholder blur -->
  <NuxtImg src="/images/product.jpg" placeholder alt="Product" />

  <!-- Provider-specific (Cloudinary, etc.) -->
  <NuxtImg provider="cloudinary" src="/folder/image.jpg" width="500" />

  <!-- Format conversion -->
  <NuxtImg src="/images/photo.png" format="webp" alt="Photo" />
</template>

Props:

• src - Image source path
• alt - Alt text (required for accessibility)
• width / height - Dimensions
• sizes - Responsive sizes
• loading - lazy (default) or eager
• placeholder - Show blur placeholder while loading
• format - Force output format (webp, avif, etc.)
• quality - Image quality (1-100)
• provider - Image provider (cloudinary, imgix, etc.)

For art direction, use <NuxtPicture> (different sources per breakpoint).

Docs: https://image.nuxt.com/usage/nuxt-img

NuxtTime

ALWAYS use <NuxtTime> instead of <time> or manual formatting:

<template>
  <!-- Relative time -->
  <NuxtTime :datetime="post.createdAt" relative />
  <!-- Output: "2 hours ago" -->

  <!-- Absolute with locale -->
  <NuxtTime :datetime="event.date" locale="en-US" />

  <!-- Custom format -->
  <NuxtTime :datetime="date" year="numeric" month="long" day="numeric" />
  <!-- Output: "December 6, 2025" -->

  <!-- Short format -->
  <NuxtTime :datetime="date" month="short" day="numeric" />
  <!-- Output: "Dec 6" -->

  <!-- With time -->
  <NuxtTime :datetime="date" hour="numeric" minute="2-digit" />
</template>

Props:

• datetime - Date string, Date object, or timestamp
• relative - Show relative time ("2 hours ago")
• locale - Locale for formatting
• year, month, day, hour, minute, second - Intl.DateTimeFormat options

Docs: https://nuxt.com/docs/api/components/nuxt-time

Common Mistakes

Best Practices

• NuxtLink for all internal routes - enables prefetching and client-side navigation
• NuxtImg for all images - automatic optimization, lazy loading, responsive
• NuxtTime for all dates - SSR-safe, automatic localization
• Always provide alt text for images
• Use loading="eager" for above-the-fold images
• Use sizes prop for responsive images

Resources

• NuxtLink: https://nuxt.com/docs/api/components/nuxt-link
• NuxtImg: https://image.nuxt.com/usage/nuxt-img
• NuxtPicture: https://image.nuxt.com/usage/nuxt-picture
• NuxtTime: https://nuxt.com/docs/api/components/nuxt-time