useFetch

Source
Fetch data from an API endpoint with an SSR-friendly composable.

This composable provides a convenient wrapper around useAsyncData and $fetch. It automatically generates a key based on URL and fetch options, provides type hints for request url based on server routes, and infers API response type.

useFetch is a composable meant to be called directly in a setup function, plugin, or route middleware. It returns reactive composables and handles adding responses to the Nuxt payload so they can be passed from server to client without re-fetching the data on client side when the page hydrates.

Usage

pages/modules.vue
<script setup lang="ts">
const { data, status, error, refresh, clear } = await useFetch('/api/modules', {
  pick: ['title']
})
</script>
If you're using a custom useFetch wrapper, do not await it in the composable, as that can cause unexpected behavior. Please follow this recipe for more information on how to make a custom async data fetcher.
data, status, and error are Vue refs, and they should be accessed with .value when used within the <script setup>, while refresh/execute and clear are plain functions.

Using the query option, you can add search parameters to your query. This option is extended from unjs/ofetch and is using unjs/ufo to create the URL. Objects are automatically stringified.

const param1 = ref('value1')
const { data, status, error, refresh } = await useFetch('/api/modules', {
  query: { param1, param2: 'value2' }
})

The above example results in https://api.nuxt.com/modules?param1=value1&param2=value2.

You can also use interceptors:

const { data, status, error, refresh, clear } = await useFetch('/api/auth/login', {
  onRequest({ request, options }) {
    // Set the request headers
    // note that this relies on ofetch >= 1.4.0 - you may need to refresh your lockfile
    options.headers.set('Authorization', '...')
  },
  onRequestError({ request, options, error }) {
    // Handle the request errors
  },
  onResponse({ request, response, options }) {
    // Process the response data
    localStorage.setItem('token', response._data.token)
  },
  onResponseError({ request, response, options }) {
    // Handle the response errors
  }
})

Reactive Keys and Shared State

You can use a computed ref or a plain ref as the URL, allowing for dynamic data fetching that automatically updates when the URL changes:

pages/[id].vue
<script setup lang="ts">
const route = useRoute()
const id = computed(() => route.params.id)

// When the route changes and id updates, the data will be automatically refetched
const { data: post } = await useFetch(() => `/api/posts/${id.value}`)
</script>

When using useFetch with the same URL and options in multiple components, they will share the same data, error and status refs. This ensures consistency across components.

Keyed state created using useFetch can be retrieved across your Nuxt application using useNuxtData.
useFetch is a reserved function name transformed by the compiler, so you should not name your own function useFetch.
If you encounter the data variable destructured from a useFetch returns a string and not a JSON parsed object then make sure your component doesn't include an import statement like import { useFetch } from '@vueuse/core.
Read more in Docs > Getting Started > Data Fetching.

Type

Signature
function useFetch<DataT, ErrorT>(
  url: string | Request | Ref<string | Request> | (() => string | Request),
  options?: UseFetchOptions<DataT>
): Promise<AsyncData<DataT, ErrorT>>

type UseFetchOptions<DataT> = {
  key?: MaybeRefOrGetter<string>
  method?: string
  query?: SearchParams
  params?: SearchParams
  body?: RequestInit['body'] | Record<string, any>
  headers?: Record<string, string> | [key: string, value: string][] | Headers
  baseURL?: string
  server?: boolean
  lazy?: boolean
  immediate?: boolean
  getCachedData?: (key: string, nuxtApp: NuxtApp, ctx: AsyncDataRequestContext) => DataT | undefined
  deep?: boolean
  dedupe?: 'cancel' | 'defer'
  default?: () => DataT
  transform?: (input: DataT) => DataT | Promise<DataT>
  pick?: string[]
  $fetch?: typeof globalThis.$fetch
  watch?: MultiWatchSources | false
}

type AsyncDataRequestContext = {
  /** The reason for this data request */
  cause: 'initial' | 'refresh:manual' | 'refresh:hook' | 'watch'
}

type AsyncData<DataT, ErrorT> = {
  data: Ref<DataT | undefined>
  refresh: (opts?: AsyncDataExecuteOptions) => Promise<void>
  execute: (opts?: AsyncDataExecuteOptions) => Promise<void>
  clear: () => void
  error: Ref<ErrorT | undefined>
  status: Ref<AsyncDataRequestStatus>
}

interface AsyncDataExecuteOptions {
  dedupe?: 'cancel' | 'defer'
}

type AsyncDataRequestStatus = 'idle' | 'pending' | 'success' | 'error'

Parameters

  • URL (string | Request | Ref<string | Request> | () => string | Request): The URL or request to fetch. Can be a string, a Request object, a Vue ref, or a function returning a string/Request. Supports reactivity for dynamic endpoints.
  • options (object): Configuration for the fetch request. Extends unjs/ofetch options and AsyncDataOptions. All options can be a static value, a ref, or a computed value.
OptionTypeDefaultDescription
keyMaybeRefOrGetter<string>auto-genUnique key for de-duplication. If not provided, generated from URL and options.
methodstring'GET'HTTP request method.
queryobject-Query/search params to append to the URL. Alias: params. Supports refs/computed.
paramsobject-Alias for query.
bodyRequestInit['body'] | Record<string, any>-Request body. Objects are automatically stringified. Supports refs/computed.
headersRecord<string, string> | [key, value][] | Headers-Request headers.
baseURLstring-Base URL for the request.
timeoutnumber-Timeout in milliseconds to abort the request.
cacheboolean | string-Cache control. Boolean disables cache, or use Fetch API values: default, no-store, etc.
serverbooleantrueWhether to fetch on the server.
lazybooleanfalseIf true, resolves after route loads (does not block navigation).
immediatebooleantrueIf false, prevents request from firing immediately.
default() => DataT-Factory for default value of data before async resolves.
transform(input: DataT) => DataT | Promise<DataT>-Function to transform the result after resolving.
getCachedData(key, nuxtApp, ctx) => DataT | undefined-Function to return cached data. See below for default.
pickstring[]-Only pick specified keys from the result.
watchMultiWatchSources | false-Array of reactive sources to watch and auto-refresh. false disables watching.
deepbooleanfalseReturn data in a deep ref object.
dedupe'cancel' | 'defer''cancel'Avoid fetching same key more than once at a time.
$fetchtypeof globalThis.$fetch-Custom $fetch implementation.
All fetch options can be given a computed or ref value. These will be watched and new requests made automatically with any new values if they are updated.

getCachedData default:

const getDefaultCachedData = (key, nuxtApp, ctx) => nuxtApp.isHydrating 
 ? nuxtApp.payload.data[key] 
 : nuxtApp.static.data[key]

This only caches data when experimental.payloadExtraction in nuxt.config is enabled.

Return Values

NameTypeDescription
dataRef<DataT | undefined>The result of the asynchronous fetch.
refresh(opts?: AsyncDataExecuteOptions) => Promise<void>Function to manually refresh the data. By default, Nuxt waits until a refresh is finished before it can be executed again.
execute(opts?: AsyncDataExecuteOptions) => Promise<void>Alias for refresh.
errorRef<ErrorT | undefined>Error object if the data fetching failed.
statusRef<'idle' | 'pending' | 'success' | 'error'>Status of the data request. See below for possible values.
clear() => voidResets data to undefined (or the value of options.default() if provided), error to undefined, set status to idle, and cancels any pending requests.

Status values

  • idle: Request has not started (e.g. { immediate: false } or { server: false } on server render)
  • pending: Request is in progress
  • success: Request completed successfully
  • error: Request failed
If you have not fetched data on the server (for example, with server: false), then the data will not be fetched until hydration completes. This means even if you await useFetch on client-side, data will remain null within <script setup>.

Examples

Read and edit a live example in Docs > Examples > Features > Data Fetching.