Nuxt Configuration

When to Use

Configuring nuxt.config.ts, modules, auto-imports, runtime config, layers.

Basic Structure

// nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  devtools: { enabled: true },

  modules: [
    '@nuxtjs/tailwindcss',
    '@pinia/nuxt'
  ],

  runtimeConfig: {
    // Private (server-only)
    apiSecret: process.env.API_SECRET,

    public: {
      // Public (client + server)
      apiBase: process.env.API_BASE || 'http://localhost:3000'
    }
  },

  app: {
    head: {
      title: 'My App',
      meta: [
        { charset: 'utf-8' },
        { name: 'viewport', content: 'width=device-width, initial-scale=1' }
      ]
    }
  }
})

Runtime Config

Access runtime config in app:

// Server-side
const config = useRuntimeConfig()
console.log(config.apiSecret) // Available

// Client-side
const config = useRuntimeConfig()
console.log(config.public.apiBase) // Available
console.log(config.apiSecret) // undefined (private)

Runtime Config Validation (Recommended)

Use nuxt-safe-runtime-config for type-safe runtime config with build-time validation:

npx nuxi module add nuxt-safe-runtime-config

Benefits:

• Build-time validation (catches missing env vars early)
• Optional runtime validation (validates when server starts)
• Auto-generated types (no manual type definitions needed)
• No manual env var checks required (schema handles validation)

Example with Valibot:

import { number, object, optional, string } from 'valibot'

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  modules: ['nuxt-safe-runtime-config'],

  runtimeConfig: {
    databaseUrl: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
    secretKey: process.env.SECRET_KEY,
    port: Number.parseInt(process.env.PORT || '3000'),
    public: {
      apiBase: process.env.PUBLIC_API_BASE,
      appName: 'My App',
    },
  },

  safeRuntimeConfig: {
    $schema: object({
      public: object({
        apiBase: string(),
        appName: optional(string()),
      }),
      databaseUrl: string(),
      secretKey: string(),
      port: optional(number()),
    }),
    validateAtRuntime: true, // Optional: validate when server starts
  },
})

Usage:

// Auto-typed from schema - no generics needed
const config = useSafeRuntimeConfig()
// config.public.apiBase is string
// config.databaseUrl is string

No manual env checks needed:

// ❌ Don't do this with nuxt-safe-runtime-config
if (!config.databaseUrl) throw new Error('Missing DATABASE_URL')

// ✅ Schema validation handles it automatically
// If env var is missing, build fails with detailed error

Works with Zod, ArkType, or any Standard Schema library. See: https://github.com/onmax/nuxt-safe-runtime-config

Auto-Imports

Nuxt auto-imports from these directories:

• components/ - Vue components
• composables/ - Composition functions
• utils/ - Utility functions
• server/utils/ - Server utilities (server-only)

Custom Auto-Imports

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  imports: {
    dirs: [
      'stores',
      'types'
    ]
  }
})

Disable Auto-Import

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  imports: {
    autoImport: false
  }
})

Modules

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  modules: [
    '@nuxtjs/tailwindcss',
    '@pinia/nuxt',
    '@vueuse/nuxt',
    ['@nuxtjs/google-fonts', {
      families: {
        Inter: [400, 700]
      }
    }]
  ]
})

App Config

For non-sensitive config exposed to client:

// app.config.ts
export default defineAppConfig({
  theme: {
    primaryColor: '#3b82f6',
    borderRadius: '0.5rem'
  }
})

Access in app:

const appConfig = useAppConfig()
console.log(appConfig.theme.primaryColor)

TypeScript

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  typescript: {
    strict: true,
    typeCheck: true,
    shim: false
  }
})

Build Configuration

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  build: {
    transpile: ['some-package']
  },

  vite: {
    css: {
      preprocessorOptions: {
        scss: {
          additionalData: '@use "@/assets/styles/variables" as *;'
        }
      }
    }
  }
})

Route Rules

Pre-render, cache, or customize routes:

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  routeRules: {
    '/': { prerender: true },
    '/api/**': { cors: true },
    '/admin/**': { ssr: false },
    '/blog/**': { swr: 3600 } // Cache for 1 hour
  }
})

ISR Route Rules

Use isr for incremental static regeneration:

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  routeRules: {
    '/': { prerender: true },        // Static at build time
    '/**': { isr: 60 },              // Regenerate every 60s
    '/package/**': { isr: 60 },      // ISR for dynamic routes
    '/search': { isr: false, cache: false },  // No cache
  }
})

Route Rule Layouts (Nuxt 4.3+)

Apply layouts via route rules for centralized layout management:

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  routeRules: {
    '/admin/**': { appLayout: 'admin' },
    '/docs/**': { appLayout: 'docs' },
    '/': { appLayout: 'default' }
  }
})

Benefits: Centralized layout control, no need for setPageLayout() in every page.

Inline Modules

Add conditional logic during nuxt prepare:

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  modules: [
    // Inline function module
    function (_, nuxt) {
      if (nuxt.options._prepare) {
        // Disable expensive operations during prepare
        nuxt.options.pwa ||= {}
        nuxt.options.pwa.pwaAssets ||= { disabled: true }
      }
    },
    '@nuxtjs/tailwindcss',
  ]
})

Provider-Specific Modules

Use std-env to detect platform and configure accordingly:

// modules/vercel-cache.ts
import { defineNuxtModule } from 'nuxt/kit'
import { provider } from 'std-env'

export default defineNuxtModule({
  meta: { name: 'vercel-cache' },
  setup(_, nuxt) {
    if (provider !== 'vercel') return

    nuxt.hook('nitro:config', (nitroConfig) => {
      nitroConfig.storage ||= {}
      nitroConfig.storage.cache = {
        driver: 'vercel-runtime-cache',
        ...nitroConfig.storage.cache,
      }
    })
  }
})

Then register in nuxt.config.ts:

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  modules: ['~/modules/vercel-cache']
})

Experimental Features

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  future: {
    compatibilityVersion: 4
  },

  experimental: {
    typedPages: true,
    viewTransition: true,
    payloadExtraction: true // Enable ISR/SWR payload extraction (Nuxt 4.3+)
  }
})

Payload extraction (Nuxt 4.3+): Enables cached payloads during client navigation for ISR/SWR routes, improving performance.

Nitro Config

Server engine configuration:

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  nitro: {
    preset: 'vercel',
    compressPublicAssets: true,
    routeRules: {
      '/api/**': { cors: true }
    }
  }
})

Layers

Extend or share configuration:

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  extends: [
    './base-layer'
  ]
})

Environment Variables

Use .env file:

API_SECRET=secret123
API_BASE=https://api.example.com

Access via runtimeConfig:

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  runtimeConfig: {
    apiSecret: process.env.API_SECRET,
    public: {
      apiBase: process.env.API_BASE
    }
  }
})

Best Practices

• Use nuxt-safe-runtime-config for runtime config with validation
• Public vs private - keep secrets in private runtimeConfig
• App config for non-sensitive client config
• Route rules for performance (prerender, cache, SWR)
• Auto-imports for cleaner code
• TypeScript strict mode for better DX

Common Mistakes

Resources

• Nuxt config: https://nuxt.com/docs/api/nuxt-config
• Runtime config: https://nuxt.com/docs/guide/going-further/runtime-config
• App config: https://nuxt.com/docs/guide/directory-structure/app-config
• Modules: https://nuxt.com/modules