Ionic Vue

Develop Ionic apps with Vue — project structure, components, navigation, lifecycle hooks, composables, and Vue-specific patterns.

Prerequisites

1. Ionic Framework 7 or 8 with @ionic/vue.
2. Vue 3.
3. Node.js and npm installed.
4. For iOS: Xcode installed.
5. For Android: Android Studio installed.

Agent Behavior

• Auto-detect before asking. Check the project for package.json dependencies (@ionic/vue, vue, @capacitor/core), platforms (android/, ios/), build tools (vite.config.ts), and TypeScript usage. Only ask the user when something cannot be detected.
• Guide step-by-step. Walk the user through the process one step at a time. Never present multiple unrelated questions at once.
• Adapt to the project. Detect whether the project uses <script setup> (Composition API) or Options API and generate code that matches the existing style. Default to <script setup lang="ts"> for new files unless the project uses a different pattern.

Procedures

Step 1: Analyze the Project

Auto-detect the following by reading project files:

1. Ionic version: Read @ionic/vue version from package.json.
2. Vue version: Read vue version from package.json.
3. Capacitor version: Read @capacitor/core version from package.json (if present).
4. TypeScript: Check if tsconfig.json exists and if .vue files use <script setup lang="ts">.
5. Platforms: Check which directories exist (android/, ios/).
6. Router config: Locate the router file (typically src/router/index.ts).
7. Project template: Determine if the project uses tabs, side-menu, or blank template by examining the router configuration and App.vue.

Step 2: Project Structure

A standard Ionic Vue project follows this structure:

project-root/
├── android/                  # Android native project (generated by Capacitor)
├── ios/                      # iOS native project (generated by Capacitor)
├── public/
├── src/
│   ├── components/           # Reusable Vue components
│   ├── composables/          # Custom composables
│   ├── router/
│   │   └── index.ts          # Vue Router configuration (uses @ionic/vue-router)
│   ├── theme/
│   │   └── variables.css     # Ionic CSS custom properties
│   ├── views/                # Page components (routed views)
│   ├── App.vue               # Root component (contains IonApp + IonRouterOutlet)
│   └── main.ts               # Entry point (installs IonicVue plugin)
├── capacitor.config.ts       # Capacitor configuration
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── vite.config.ts

If the project does not follow this structure, adapt all guidance to the project's actual directory layout. Do not restructure the project unless the user explicitly asks.

Step 3: App Entry Point and Root Component

The entry point src/main.ts installs the IonicVue plugin and mounts the app:

import { createApp } from 'vue';
import { IonicVue } from '@ionic/vue';
import App from './App.vue';
import router from './router';

/* Ionic CSS */
import '@ionic/vue/css/core.css';
import '@ionic/vue/css/normalize.css';
import '@ionic/vue/css/structure.css';
import '@ionic/vue/css/typography.css';
import '@ionic/vue/css/padding.css';
import '@ionic/vue/css/float-elements.css';
import '@ionic/vue/css/text-alignment.css';
import '@ionic/vue/css/text-transformation.css';
import '@ionic/vue/css/flex-utils.css';
import '@ionic/vue/css/display.css';

/* Theme */
import './theme/variables.css';

const app = createApp(App).use(IonicVue).use(router);

router.isReady().then(() => {
  app.mount('#app');
});

The root App.vue contains IonApp and IonRouterOutlet:

<template>
  <ion-app>
    <ion-router-outlet />
  </ion-app>
</template>

<script setup lang="ts">
import { IonApp, IonRouterOutlet } from '@ionic/vue';
</script>

Step 4: Components and IonPage

Read references/components.md for detailed component patterns.

Key rules:

1. Import all Ionic components from @ionic/vue — e.g., import { IonButton, IonContent, IonPage } from '@ionic/vue'.
2. Every routed page must use IonPage as its root template element. Without it, page transitions break and Ionic lifecycle hooks do not fire.
3. Access Web Component methods via $el — e.g., contentRef.value.$el.scrollToBottom(300).
4. Import icons as SVG references from ionicons/icons — never pass icon names as strings.
5. Use v-model on Ionic form components (IonInput, IonToggle, IonSelect, IonCheckbox, IonRange).
6. Use kebab-case for Ionic event names in templates — e.g., @ion-change, @ion-infinite.

Step 5: Navigation and Routing

Read references/navigation.md for detailed routing patterns.

Key principles:

1. Import createRouter from @ionic/vue-router, not from vue-router. The Ionic version wraps Vue Router to enable page transitions.
2. Declarative navigation: Use router-link attribute on Ionic components with optional router-direction and router-animation.
3. Programmatic navigation: Use the useIonRouter composable for Ionic-specific transitions, or useRouter from vue-router for standard navigation.
4. Lazy load routes with component: () => import('@/views/DetailPage.vue').
5. Tab routing: Use nested routes with IonTabs and IonRouterOutlet. Each tab maintains its own navigation stack.
6. Never cross-route between tabs — only tab bar buttons should switch tabs. Use IonModal for views shared across tabs.

Step 6: Lifecycle Hooks

Read references/lifecycle.md for detailed lifecycle patterns.

Key principles:

1. IonRouterOutlet keeps pages in the DOM. Vue's onMounted fires only once per page, not on every visit.
2. Use Ionic lifecycle hooks to run logic on every page visit:

- onIonViewWillEnter — Refresh data every time the page appears. - onIonViewDidEnter — Start animations or focus inputs after the page transition finishes. - onIonViewWillLeave — Save state or unsubscribe. - onIonViewDidLeave — Clean up off-screen resources.

1. Ionic lifecycle hooks require IonPage as the root element.
2. Only router-mapped components receive lifecycle hooks — child components do not.

Step 7: Composables and Utilities

Read references/composables.md for detailed composable documentation.

Available composables and utilities from @ionic/vue:

Step 8: Platform Detection

Use isPlatform from @ionic/vue to conditionally execute platform-specific logic:

<script setup lang="ts">
import { isPlatform } from '@ionic/vue';

const isIOS = isPlatform('ios');
const isAndroid = isPlatform('android');
const isNative = isPlatform('hybrid');
const isMobileWeb = isPlatform('mobileweb');
</script>

<template>
  <div>
    <p v-if="isNative">Running as a native app</p>
    <p v-else>Running in a browser</p>
  </div>
</template>

Supported identifiers: android, capacitor, cordova, desktop, electron, hybrid, ios, ipad, iphone, mobile, mobileweb, phablet, pwa, tablet.

Step 9: Build and Run

After implementing changes:

npm run build
npx cap sync
npx cap run android
npx cap run ios

For development with live reload:

ionic serve

For native live reload:

ionic cap run android --livereload --external
ionic cap run ios --livereload --external

Error Handling

• **Failed to resolve component: ion-***: The Ionic component is not imported. Add the missing import from @ionic/vue in the <script> section (e.g., import { IonButton } from '@ionic/vue').
• Page transitions not working: Verify that the page component uses IonPage as its root template element. Without IonPage, transitions and lifecycle hooks silently fail.
• Ionic lifecycle hooks not firing: Ensure IonPage is the root element and the component is directly mapped to a route in the router configuration. Lifecycle hooks do not fire on child components.
• Method on component is not a function: Access the underlying Web Component via $el — e.g., ref.value.$el.scrollToBottom(), not ref.value.scrollToBottom().
• Slot attribute deprecation warning: Ionic uses Web Component slots, which linters misidentify as deprecated Vue 2 slots. Disable the ESLint rule: 'vue/no-deprecated-slot-attribute': 'off'.
• Event listeners not firing: Use kebab-case event names in templates (ion-modal-did-present) and in addEventListener calls. Do not use camelCase.
• useIonRouter or useBackButton fails: These composables use Vue's inject() internally and must be called inside setup() or <script setup>, not in standalone functions or callbacks.
• Tab navigation loses state: Each tab maintains its own stack. Do not use router.go() with non-linear (tab-based) routing. Use useIonRouter().push() or router-link instead.
• Vue onMounted fires only once: IonRouterOutlet caches pages in the DOM. Use onIonViewWillEnter instead of onMounted for logic that must run every time the page is shown.
• Content overlaps tab bar or header: The page component is missing IonPage as the root element. IonPage sets up the proper flexbox layout.

Related Skills

• ionic-app-development — General Ionic development guidance: components, theming, CLI usage.
• ionic-app-creation — Create a new Ionic app from scratch.
• capacitor-vue — Capacitor-specific Vue patterns (plugins, hooks, services) without Ionic Framework.
• ionic-app-upgrades — Upgrade Ionic Framework to a newer version.