Extending Vue

Extend with Mixins

Mixins are a flexible way to distribute reusable functionalities for Vue components. You can write a mixin just like a normal Vue component option object:

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// mixin.js
module.exports = {
  created: function () {
    this.hello()
  },
  methods: {
    hello: function () {
      console.log('hello from mixin!')
    }
  }
}

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// test.js
var myMixin = require('./mixin')
var Component = Vue.extend({
  mixins: [myMixin]
})
var component = new Component() // -> "hello from mixin!"

Extend with Plugins

Plugins usually adds global-level functionality to Vue.

Writing a Plugin

There are typically several types of plugins you can write:

1. Add one or more global methods. e.g. vue-element
2. Add one or more global assets: directives/filters/transitions etc. e.g. vue-touch
3. Add some Vue instance methods by attaching them to Vue.prototype. The convention here is Vue instance methods should be prefixed with $, so that they don’t conflict with user data and methods.

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exports.install = function (Vue, options) {
  Vue.myGlobalMethod = ...          // 1
  Vue.directive('my-directive', {}) // 2
  Vue.prototype.$myMethod = ...     // 3
}

Using a Plugin

Assuming using a CommonJS build system:

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var vueTouch = require('vue-touch')
// use the plugin globally
Vue.use(vueTouch)

You can also pass in additional options to the plugin:

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Vue.use(require('my-plugin'), {
  /* pass in additional options */
})

Existing Plugins & Tools

• vue-router: The official router for Vue.js. Deeply integrated with Vue.js core to make building Single Page Applications a breeze.
• vue-resource: A plugin that provides services for making web requests and handle responses using a XMLHttpRequest or JSONP.
• vue-async-data: Async data loading plugin.
• vue-validator: A plugin for form validations.
• vue-devtools: A Chrome devtools extension for debugging Vue.js applications.
• vue-touch: Add touch-gesture directives using Hammer.js.
• vue-element: Register Custom Elements with Vue.js.
• List of User Contributed Tools

Next: Tips & Best Practices.