agent-skills/skills/vue-best-practices/reference/watcheffect-async-dependency-tracking.md

title, impact, impactDescription, type, tags

title	impact	impactDescription	type	tags
watchEffect Only Tracks Dependencies Before First Await	HIGH	Dependencies accessed after await are not tracked, causing watchers to miss reactive changes	capability	vue3 watchEffect watchers async await dependency-tracking

watchEffect Only Tracks Dependencies Before First Await

Impact: HIGH - watchEffect automatically tracks reactive dependencies, but only during synchronous execution. Any reactive properties accessed after the first await statement will NOT be tracked, and changes to them won't trigger the watcher.

For async operations, either access all dependencies before the await, or use watch with explicit dependencies.

Task Checklist

• Access all reactive dependencies BEFORE the first await in watchEffect
• Use watch with explicit source when async tracking is needed
• Store reactive values in local variables before await
• Be aware that dependencies after await are invisible to Vue

Incorrect:

<script setup>
import { ref, watchEffect } from 'vue'

const userId = ref(1)
const includeDetails = ref(true)
const userData = ref(null)

// BAD: includeDetails is accessed after await - NOT TRACKED!
watchEffect(async () => {
  const response = await fetch(`/api/users/${userId.value}`)
  const data = await response.json()

  // This dependency is NOT tracked - changes won't trigger re-run
  if (includeDetails.value) {
    userData.value = { ...data, details: await fetchDetails(data.id) }
  } else {
    userData.value = data
  }
})

// BAD: Multiple dependencies after await
watchEffect(async () => {
  await someAsyncSetup()

  // None of these are tracked!
  console.log(optionA.value)  // Not tracked
  console.log(optionB.value)  // Not tracked
  doSomething(optionC.value)  // Not tracked
})
</script>

Correct:

<script setup>
import { ref, watchEffect, watch } from 'vue'

const userId = ref(1)
const includeDetails = ref(true)
const userData = ref(null)

// CORRECT: Access all dependencies before await
watchEffect(async () => {
  // Capture reactive values synchronously
  const id = userId.value
  const withDetails = includeDetails.value

  // Now these are tracked
  const response = await fetch(`/api/users/${id}`)
  const data = await response.json()

  if (withDetails) {
    userData.value = { ...data, details: await fetchDetails(data.id) }
  } else {
    userData.value = data
  }
})

// ALTERNATIVE: Use watch with explicit dependencies
watch(
  [userId, includeDetails],
  async ([id, withDetails]) => {
    const response = await fetch(`/api/users/${id}`)
    const data = await response.json()

    if (withDetails) {
      userData.value = { ...data, details: await fetchDetails(data.id) }
    } else {
      userData.value = data
    }
  },
  { immediate: true }
)
</script>

Pattern: Extract Dependencies First

<script setup>
import { ref, watchEffect } from 'vue'

const filters = ref({ status: 'active', sortBy: 'name' })
const page = ref(1)
const results = ref([])

// CORRECT: Extract all needed values synchronously
watchEffect(async () => {
  // All dependencies accessed before await - all tracked!
  const { status, sortBy } = filters.value
  const currentPage = page.value

  // Now safe to do async work
  const response = await fetch(
    `/api/items?status=${status}&sort=${sortBy}&page=${currentPage}`
  )
  results.value = await response.json()
})
</script>

When to Use watch Instead

<script setup>
import { ref, watch } from 'vue'

const source = ref('initial')
const option = ref('default')
const result = ref(null)

// BEST for complex async: Use watch with explicit sources
// All dependencies are explicitly declared and always tracked
watch(
  [source, option],
  async ([sourceVal, optionVal]) => {
    const data = await processAsync(sourceVal)
    result.value = applyOption(data, optionVal)
  },
  { immediate: true }
)
</script>

Debugging Untracked Dependencies

<script setup>
import { ref, watchEffect } from 'vue'

const a = ref(1)
const b = ref(2)

watchEffect(async () => {
  console.log('Tracked dependency a:', a.value)  // Tracked

  await someAsyncOperation()

  console.log('Untracked dependency b:', b.value)  // NOT tracked!
  // Changing b.value won't re-run this watchEffect
})

// Test: Change a.value -> watchEffect re-runs
// Test: Change b.value -> watchEffect does NOT re-run
</script>

Reference

• Vue.js Watchers - watchEffect
• Vue.js API - watchEffect