agent-skills/skills/vue-best-practices/reference/ts-withdefaults-mutable-factory-function.md

title, impact, impactDescription, type, tags

title	impact	impactDescription	type	tags
Wrap Mutable Default Values in Factory Functions	HIGH	Without factory functions, all component instances share the same mutable reference causing cross-contamination bugs	gotcha	vue3 typescript props withDefaults mutable-types

Wrap Mutable Default Values in Factory Functions

Impact: HIGH - When using withDefaults() with type-based props declaration, default values for mutable types (arrays and objects) MUST be wrapped in factory functions. Without this, all component instances share the same reference, causing bugs where modifying the prop in one instance affects all others.

Task Checklist

• Always wrap array defaults in factory functions: () => []
• Always wrap object defaults in factory functions: () => ({})
• Primitive types (string, number, boolean) do NOT need factory functions
• Review existing components for this pattern

The Problem: Shared Mutable References

WRONG - Shared reference across instances:

<script setup lang="ts">
interface Props {
  items?: string[]
  config?: { theme: string }
}

const props = withDefaults(defineProps<Props>(), {
  items: ['default'],           // WRONG! All instances share this array
  config: { theme: 'light' }    // WRONG! All instances share this object
})
</script>

When you have multiple instances of this component:

<template>
  <!-- Both share the SAME items array! -->
  <MyComponent ref="comp1" />
  <MyComponent ref="comp2" />
</template>

<script setup>
// If comp1 modifies its items, comp2's items change too!
comp1.value.items.push('new item')  // comp2 also has 'new item' now
</script>

The Solution: Factory Functions

CORRECT - Unique instance per component:

<script setup lang="ts">
interface Props {
  items?: string[]
  config?: { theme: string }
  nested?: { data: { values: number[] } }
}

const props = withDefaults(defineProps<Props>(), {
  items: () => ['default'],                      // Factory function!
  config: () => ({ theme: 'light' }),            // Factory function!
  nested: () => ({ data: { values: [] } })       // Factory function!
})
</script>

When Factory Functions Are Required

Type	Factory Required	Example Default
string	No	'hello'
number	No	42
boolean	No	false
string[]	Yes	() => []
number[]	Yes	() => [1, 2, 3]
object	Yes	() => ({})
Map	Yes	() => new Map()
Set	Yes	() => new Set()
Date	Yes	() => new Date()

Complete Example

<script setup lang="ts">
interface User {
  id: string
  name: string
}

interface Props {
  // Primitives - no factory needed
  title?: string
  count?: number
  disabled?: boolean

  // Mutable types - factory required
  items?: string[]
  users?: User[]
  metadata?: Record<string, unknown>
  selectedIds?: Set<string>
}

const props = withDefaults(defineProps<Props>(), {
  // Primitives
  title: 'Default Title',
  count: 0,
  disabled: false,

  // Mutable types with factory functions
  items: () => [],
  users: () => [],
  metadata: () => ({}),
  selectedIds: () => new Set()
})
</script>

Vue 3.5+ Reactive Props Destructure

Vue 3.5 introduces reactive props destructure, which handles this automatically:

<script setup lang="ts">
interface Props {
  items?: string[]
  config?: { theme: string }
}

// Vue 3.5+ - defaults work correctly without explicit factory functions
const {
  items = ['default'],        // Each instance gets its own array
  config = { theme: 'light' } // Each instance gets its own object
} = defineProps<Props>()
</script>

Note: Under the hood, Vue 3.5 handles the instance isolation for you.

Common Bug Pattern

This bug often appears in list/table components:

<!-- ListItem.vue - BUGGY -->
<script setup lang="ts">
interface Props {
  selectedRows?: number[]
}

// All ListItems share the same selectedRows array!
const props = withDefaults(defineProps<Props>(), {
  selectedRows: []  // BUG: Missing factory function
})
</script>

Users report: "Selecting a row in one table selects it in all tables!"

Fix:

const props = withDefaults(defineProps<Props>(), {
  selectedRows: () => []  // Now each instance has its own array
})

Reference

• Vue.js TypeScript with Composition API - Default Props
• Vue RFC - Reactive Props Destructure