---
title: Nuxt
description: This guide will walk through setting up your first workflow in a Nuxt app. Along the way, you'll learn more about the concepts that are fundamental to using the development kit in your own projects.
type: guide
summary: Set up Workflow DevKit in a Nuxt app.
prerequisites:
  - /docs/getting-started
related:
  - /docs/foundations/workflows-and-steps
---

# Nuxt





<Steps>
  <Step>
    ## Create Your Nuxt Project

    Start by creating a new Nuxt project. This command will create a new directory named `nuxt-app` and setup a Nuxt project inside it.

    ```bash
    npm create nuxt@latest nuxt-app
    ```

    Enter the newly made directory:

    ```bash
    cd nuxt-app
    ```

    ### Install `workflow`

    <CodeBlockTabs defaultValue="npm">
      <CodeBlockTabsList>
        <CodeBlockTabsTrigger value="npm">
          npm
        </CodeBlockTabsTrigger>

        <CodeBlockTabsTrigger value="pnpm">
          pnpm
        </CodeBlockTabsTrigger>

        <CodeBlockTabsTrigger value="yarn">
          yarn
        </CodeBlockTabsTrigger>

        <CodeBlockTabsTrigger value="bun">
          bun
        </CodeBlockTabsTrigger>
      </CodeBlockTabsList>

      <CodeBlockTab value="npm">
        ```bash
        npm i workflow
        ```
      </CodeBlockTab>

      <CodeBlockTab value="pnpm">
        ```bash
        pnpm add workflow
        ```
      </CodeBlockTab>

      <CodeBlockTab value="yarn">
        ```bash
        yarn add workflow
        ```
      </CodeBlockTab>

      <CodeBlockTab value="bun">
        ```bash
        bun add workflow
        ```
      </CodeBlockTab>
    </CodeBlockTabs>

    ### Configure Nuxt

    Add `workflow` to your `nuxt.config.ts`. This automatically configures the Nitro integration and enables usage of the `"use workflow"` and `"use step"` directives.

    ```typescript title="nuxt.config.ts" lineNumbers
    import { defineNuxtConfig } from "nuxt/config";

    export default defineNuxtConfig({
      modules: ["workflow/nuxt"], // [!code highlight]
      compatibilityDate: "latest",
    });
    ```

    This will also automatically enable the TypeScript plugin, which provides helpful IntelliSense hints in your IDE for workflow and step functions.

    <Accordion type="single" collapsible>
      <AccordionItem value="typescript-intellisense" className="[&_h3]:my-0">
        <AccordionTrigger className="[&_p]:my-0 text-lg [&_p]:text-foreground">
          Disable TypeScript Plugin (Optional)
        </AccordionTrigger>

        <AccordionContent className="[&_p]:my-2">
          The TypeScript plugin is enabled by default. If you need to disable it, you can configure it in your `nuxt.config.ts`:

          {/* @skip-typecheck: incomplete code sample */}

          ```typescript title="nuxt.config.ts" lineNumbers
          export default defineNuxtConfig({
            modules: ["workflow/nuxt"],
            workflow: {
              typescriptPlugin: false, // [!code highlight]
            },
            compatibilityDate: "latest",
          });
          ```
        </AccordionContent>
      </AccordionItem>
    </Accordion>
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ## Create Your First Workflow

    Create a new file for our first workflow:

    ```typescript title="server/workflows/user-signup.ts" lineNumbers
    import { sleep } from "workflow";

    export async function handleUserSignup(email: string) {
      "use workflow"; // [!code highlight]

      const user = await createUser(email);
      await sendWelcomeEmail(user);

      await sleep("5s"); // Pause for 5s - doesn't consume any resources
      await sendOnboardingEmail(user);

      console.log("Workflow is complete! Run 'npx workflow web' to inspect your run")

      return { userId: user.id, status: "onboarded" };
    }
    ```

    We'll fill in those functions next, but let's take a look at this code:

    * We define a **workflow** function with the directive `"use workflow"`. Think of the workflow function as the *orchestrator* of individual **steps**.
    * The Workflow DevKit's `sleep` function allows us to suspend execution of the workflow without using up any resources. A sleep can be a few seconds, hours, days, or even months long.

    ## Create Your Workflow Steps

    Let's now define those missing functions.

    ```typescript title="server/workflows/user-signup.ts" lineNumbers
    import { FatalError } from "workflow";

    // Our workflow function defined earlier

    async function createUser(email: string) {
      "use step"; // [!code highlight]

      console.log(`Creating user with email: ${email}`);

      // Full Node.js access - database calls, APIs, etc.
      return { id: crypto.randomUUID(), email };
    }

    async function sendWelcomeEmail(user: { id: string; email: string }) {
      "use step"; // [!code highlight]

      console.log(`Sending welcome email to user: ${user.id}`);

      if (Math.random() < 0.3) {
        // By default, steps will be retried for unhandled errors
        throw new Error("Retryable!");
      }
    }

    async function sendOnboardingEmail(user: { id: string; email: string }) {
      "use step"; // [!code highlight]

      if (!user.email.includes("@")) {
        // To skip retrying, throw a FatalError instead
        throw new FatalError("Invalid Email");
      }

      console.log(`Sending onboarding email to user: ${user.id}`);
    }
    ```

    Taking a look at this code:

    * Business logic lives inside **steps**. When a step is invoked inside a **workflow**, it gets enqueued to run on a separate request while the workflow is suspended, just like `sleep`.
    * If a step throws an error, like in `sendWelcomeEmail`, the step will automatically be retried until it succeeds (or hits the step's max retry count).
    * Steps can throw a `FatalError` if an error is intentional and should not be retried.

    <Callout>
      We'll dive deeper into workflows, steps, and other ways to suspend or handle
      events in [Foundations](/docs/foundations).
    </Callout>
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ## Create Your API Route

    To invoke your new workflow, we'll create a new API route handler at `server/api/signup.post.ts` with the following code:

    ```typescript title="server/api/signup.post.ts"
    import { start } from "workflow/api";
    import { defineEventHandler, readBody } from "h3";
    import { handleUserSignup } from "../workflows/user-signup";

    export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
      const { email } = await readBody(event);

      // Executes asynchronously and doesn't block your app
      await start(handleUserSignup, [email]);

      return {
        message: "User signup workflow started",
      };
    });
    ```

    This API route creates a `POST` request endpoint at `/api/signup` that will trigger your workflow.

    <Callout>
      Workflows can be triggered from API routes or any server-side
      code.
    </Callout>
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ## Run in development

    To start your development server, run the following command in your terminal in the Nuxt root directory:

    ```bash
    npm run dev
    ```

    Once your development server is running, you can trigger your workflow by running this command in the terminal:

    ```bash
    curl -X POST --json '{"email":"hello@example.com"}' http://localhost:3000/api/signup
    ```

    Check the Nuxt development server logs to see your workflow execute as well as the steps that are being processed.

    Additionally, you can use the [Workflow DevKit CLI or Web UI](/docs/observability) to inspect your workflow runs and steps in detail.

    ```bash
    # Open the observability Web UI
    npx workflow web
    # or if you prefer a terminal interface, use the CLI inspect command
    npx workflow inspect runs
    ```

        <img alt="Workflow DevKit Web UI" src={__img0} placeholder="blur" />
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Deploying to production

Workflow DevKit apps currently work best when deployed to [Vercel](https://vercel.com/home) and needs no special configuration.

Check the [Deploying](/docs/deploying) section to learn how your workflows can be deployed elsewhere.

## Next Steps

* Learn more about the [Foundations](/docs/foundations).
* Check [Errors](/docs/errors) if you encounter issues.
* Explore the [API Reference](/docs/api-reference).


## Sitemap
[Overview of all docs pages](/sitemap.md)
