Vue 3

Build components around declarative rendering and reactivity, with DOM updates driven by tracked state

The official guide identifies Declarative Rendering and Reactivity as Vue's two core features. Templates describe HTML from JavaScript state, while Vue tracks state changes and efficiently updates the DOM. vuejs/core itself is primarily TypeScript and develops the runtime, compiler, and reactivity implementation in the same upstream repository.

Sources: [5][1]

Choose SFCs with either Composition API or Options API according to application complexity

For build-tool-enabled projects, Vue recommends Single-File Components that combine component logic, template, and styles in .vue files. Both Options API and Composition API are first-class styles powered by the same underlying system. The official guide generally recommends Options API for low-complexity or no-build scenarios and Composition API with SFCs for full applications.

The vue package includes @vue/compiler-sfc and @vue/server-renderer and treats TypeScript as an optional peer dependency, connecting component authoring, SFC compilation, and SSR within the same package family.

Sources: [5][3]

Scale incrementally from existing HTML to SPAs, SSR, and SSG without changing the core component model

Vue is explicitly designed to be flexible and incrementally adoptable. The documentation describes standalone script usage without a build step, Web Components, SPAs, SSR, SSG, and other deployment shapes. Teams can start by enhancing a server-rendered page and add routing, build tooling, or a full-stack framework only when the application needs them.

For SSR, Vue can render an application to HTML on the server and hydrate it on the client. This provides an alternative to pure client-side SPAs when SEO or time-to-content is important.

Sources: [6][3]

A fit for teams that need anything from progressive enhancement to TypeScript-heavy SPA and SSR applications

Vue works well when an existing web application needs reactive islands, when a team wants to adopt a component framework gradually, or when a TypeScript codebase needs SFC-based SPA and SSR development. Teams can begin with the more structured Options API and move toward Composition API as reusable logic and state complexity grow, while staying within the same framework.

vuejs/core is Vue 3, not the older vuejs/vue repository; Vue 2 reached end of support in 2023

The Vue 3 documentation states that Vue 2 support ended on December 31, 2023. The existing vuejs/vue project represents the Vue 2 line, while vuejs/core is the current Vue 3 core. Upgrading an existing Vue 2 application therefore requires migration work rather than simply changing the package version, including validation of breaking changes and ecosystem compatibility.

Sources: [5][1]

Vue core does not by itself define every part of a full application stack

Vue's progressive model covers many deployment shapes, but the core package is centered on the UI runtime, reactivity, compiler, and server renderer. The official documentation describes SPAs as combining Vue with client-side routing and build tooling, and full-stack SSR as commonly using higher-level Vue frameworks. Adoption decisions should distinguish the Vue core API from the wider application stack.

Options API and Composition API are both supported, but mixing styles without a team convention can make component structure inconsistent. Teams should standardize SFC, <script setup>, and state-composition conventions, especially during migrations where legacy and new components coexist.

Sources: [5][6][3]