vuejs/vitepress vitepress@1.6.4
Tags: latest: 1.6.4, next: 2.0.0-alpha.17
References: Docs
API Changes
This section documents version-specific API changes — prioritize recent major/minor releases.
-
BREAKING:
pathname://— protocol dropped in v1.0.0-rc.9, usetarget="_self"ortarget="_blank"instead source -
BREAKING:
shikiSetup— renamed fromshikijiSetupin v1.0.0-rc.41 following the migration fromshikijiback toshikisource -
BREAKING:
sidebaritems —childrenkey was renamed toitemsin v1.0.0, and top-level items no longer supportlinksource -
BREAKING:
collapsed— replacedcollapsiblesidebar option in v1.0.0-alpha.44;collapsed: trueimplies collapsible source -
BREAKING:
markdown.headers— disabled by default since v1.0.0-alpha.57;PageDatano longer includes headers unless explicitly enabled source -
NEW:
onAfterPageLoad— router hook added in v1.4.0, triggered after the page is loaded and before it is rendered source -
NEW:
onBeforePageLoad— router hook added in v1.0.0-beta.4, allows executing logic before a page load starts source -
NEW:
useData().hash— new property in v1.1.0 that provides a reactive reference to the current URL hash source -
NEW:
useSidebar()— exposed in v1.0.0-beta.4, provides access to sidebar state and logic in custom themes source -
NEW:
defineClientComponent()— helper added in v1.0.0-alpha.59 for creating components that only render on the client source -
NEW:
onContentUpdated— hook now triggers on frontmatter-only changes as of v1.4.0 source -
NEW:
createContentLoader()— helper added in v1.0.0-alpha.53 to load content from markdown files with glob support source -
NEW:
mergeConfig()— utility exported in v1.0.0-rc.25 to assist in merging VitePress configurations source -
NEW:
appearance: 'force-auto'— new option added in v1.3.0 to force color scheme based on user system preference source
Also changed: PageData.filePath new alpha.75 · Theme.extends new alpha.50 · Theme.setup deprecated alpha.50 · Theme.NotFound deprecated alpha.50 · on-demand social icons experimental v1.5.0 · externalLinkIcon option new beta.4 · cleanUrls stable alpha.41 · metaChunk experimental beta.6 · rewrites experimental alpha.41 · sitemap experimental beta.7
Best Practices
- Use
createContentLoaderfor archives and indexes over manual data loading — automatically handles caching and minimizes client-side JSON weight source
tsimport { createContentLoader } from 'vitepress' export default createContentLoader('posts/*.md', { excerpt: true })
- Wrap browser-only components with
defineClientComponent— prevents SSR/SSG build failures when libraries accesswindowordocumenton import source
vue<script setup> import { defineClientComponent } from 'vitepress' const ClientOnlyComp = defineClientComponent(() => import('./BrowserComponent.vue')) </script>
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Prefer relative URLs for images and assets in Markdown — enables Vite's hashing pipeline and automatic base64 inlining for small files source
-
Use the
withBase()helper for dynamic paths in theme components — ensures assets resolve correctly regardless of the site's deploymentbaseURL source -
Enable
cleanUrls: trueonly when server-side support is confirmed — prevents broken direct links on platforms that do not automatically map/footo/foo.htmlsource -
Target rewritten paths for relative links when using
rewrites— links must resolve against the final URL structure, not the source directory structure source -
Pass large Markdown or HTML blocks via the
contentproperty in dynamic route loaders — prevents bloating the client-side JavaScript payload with serialized params source
js// [pkg].paths.js export default { async paths() { return [{ params: { id: '1' }, content: '## Large Content' }] } }
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Use
<script client>for minimal interactivity in MPA mode — standard<script setup>in MPA mode is used for server-side templating only and lacks reactivity source -
Programmatically exclude pages from search via the
_renderhook — allows complex filtering logic based on file path or frontmatter during the indexing phase source
ts// .vitepress/config.ts themeConfig: { search: { provider: 'local', options: { _render(src, env, md) { if (env.frontmatter?.search === false) return '' return md.render(src, env) } } } }
- Employ
defineConfigWithTheme<DefaultTheme.Config>for site configuration — provides full TypeScript inference and validation for both core and default theme settings source

