agent-skills/skills/vue-best-practices/reference/async-component-hydration-strategies.md

Async Component Lazy Hydration Strategies (Vue 3.5+)

Rule

In Vue 3.5+, use hydration strategies with async components to control when SSR-rendered components become interactive. Import hydration strategies individually for tree-shaking.

Why This Matters

In SSR applications, hydrating all components immediately can block the main thread and delay interactivity. Lazy hydration allows non-critical components to become interactive only when needed, improving Time to Interactive (TTI) metrics.

Available Hydration Strategies

hydrateOnIdle

Hydrates when the browser is idle using requestIdleCallback:

<script setup>
import { defineAsyncComponent, hydrateOnIdle } from 'vue'

// Good for non-critical, below-the-fold content
const AsyncFooter = defineAsyncComponent({
  loader: () => import('./Footer.vue'),
  hydrate: hydrateOnIdle()
})

// With max timeout (in case idle never occurs)
const AsyncSidebar = defineAsyncComponent({
  loader: () => import('./Sidebar.vue'),
  hydrate: hydrateOnIdle(5000) // Max 5 seconds
})
</script>

hydrateOnVisible

Hydrates when element enters the viewport via IntersectionObserver:

<script setup>
import { defineAsyncComponent, hydrateOnVisible } from 'vue'

// Good for content below the fold
const AsyncComments = defineAsyncComponent({
  loader: () => import('./Comments.vue'),
  hydrate: hydrateOnVisible()
})

// With root margin for earlier hydration
const AsyncRelatedPosts = defineAsyncComponent({
  loader: () => import('./RelatedPosts.vue'),
  hydrate: hydrateOnVisible({ rootMargin: '100px' })
})
</script>

hydrateOnMediaQuery

Hydrates when a media query matches:

<script setup>
import { defineAsyncComponent, hydrateOnMediaQuery } from 'vue'

// Only hydrate on mobile devices
const AsyncMobileMenu = defineAsyncComponent({
  loader: () => import('./MobileMenu.vue'),
  hydrate: hydrateOnMediaQuery('(max-width: 768px)')
})

// Only hydrate on desktop
const AsyncDesktopSidebar = defineAsyncComponent({
  loader: () => import('./DesktopSidebar.vue'),
  hydrate: hydrateOnMediaQuery('(min-width: 1024px)')
})
</script>

hydrateOnInteraction

Hydrates when user interacts with the component:

<script setup>
import { defineAsyncComponent, hydrateOnInteraction } from 'vue'

// Hydrate on click
const AsyncDropdown = defineAsyncComponent({
  loader: () => import('./Dropdown.vue'),
  hydrate: hydrateOnInteraction('click')
})

// Hydrate on multiple events
const AsyncTooltip = defineAsyncComponent({
  loader: () => import('./Tooltip.vue'),
  hydrate: hydrateOnInteraction(['mouseover', 'focus'])
})
</script>

Note: The triggering event is replayed after hydration completes, so user interaction is not lost.

Custom Hydration Strategy

import { defineAsyncComponent, type HydrationStrategy } from 'vue'

const hydrateAfterAnimation: HydrationStrategy = (hydrate, forEachElement) => {
  // Wait for page load animation to complete
  const timeout = setTimeout(hydrate, 1000)

  return () => clearTimeout(timeout) // Cleanup
}

const AsyncWidget = defineAsyncComponent({
  loader: () => import('./Widget.vue'),
  hydrate: hydrateAfterAnimation
})

Key Points

1. Hydration strategies only apply to SSR - they have no effect in client-only apps
2. Import strategies individually: import { hydrateOnIdle } from 'vue'
3. hydrateOnInteraction replays the triggering event after hydration
4. Use hydrateOnVisible for below-the-fold content
5. Use hydrateOnIdle for non-critical components
6. Use hydrateOnMediaQuery for device-specific components

Strategy Selection Guide

Component Type	Recommended Strategy
Footer, related content	hydrateOnIdle
Below-the-fold sections	hydrateOnVisible
Interactive widgets	hydrateOnInteraction
Mobile-only components	hydrateOnMediaQuery
Critical above-the-fold	No strategy (immediate)

References

• Vue.js Async Components Documentation