Nuxt/docs/content/3.docs/2.directory-structure/10.plugins.md

---
icon: IconDirectory
title: 'plugins'
head.title: Plugins directory
---

# Plugins directory

Nuxt will automatically read the files in your `plugins` directory and load them. You can use `.server` or `.client` in the file name to load a plugin just on server- or client-side.

::alert{type=warning}
All plugins in your `plugins/` directory are auto-registered, so you should not add them to your `nuxt.config` separately.
::

## Creating plugins

The only argument passed to a plugin is [`nuxtApp`](/docs/usage/nuxt-app).

```ts
import { defineNuxtPlugin } from '#app'

export default defineNuxtPlugin(nuxtApp => {
  // Doing something with nuxtApp
})
```

## Automatically providing helpers

If you would like to provide a helper on the `NuxtApp` instance, just return it from the plugin under a `provide` key. For example:

```ts
import { defineNuxtPlugin } from '#app'

export default defineNuxtPlugin(() => {
  return {
    provide: {
      hello: () => 'world'
    }
  }
})
```

In another file you can use this:

```vue
<template>
  <div>
    {{ $hello() }}
  </div>
</template>

<script setup lang="ts">
// alternatively, you can also use it here
const { $hello } = useNuxtApp()
</script>
```

## Typing plugins

If you return your helpers from the plugin, they will be typed automatically; you'll find them typed for the return of `useNuxtApp()` and within your templates.

::alert
If you need to use a provided helper _within_ another plugin, you can call `useNuxtApp()` to get the typed version. But in general this should be avoided unless you are certain of the plugins' order.
::

### Advanced

For advanced use-cases, you can declare the type of injected properties like this:

```ts [index.d.ts]
declare module '#app' {
  interface NuxtApp {
    $hello (msg: string): string
  }
}

declare module '@vue/runtime-core' {
  interface ComponentCustomProperties {
    $hello (msg: string): string
  }
}

export { }
```

## Vue plugins

If you want to use Vue plugins, like [vue-gtag](https://github.com/MatteoGabriele/vue-gtag) to add Google analytics tags, you can use a nuxt plugin to do so.

> There is an Open RFC to make this even easier! See [nuxt/framework#1175](https://github.com/nuxt/framework/discussions/1175)

First install the plugin you want.

```bash
yarn add --dev vue-gtag-next
```

Then create a plugin file `plugins/vue-gtag.client.js`.

```ts
import { defineNuxtPlugin } from '#app'
import VueGtag from 'vue-gtag-next'

export default defineNuxtPlugin((nuxtApp) => {
  nuxtApp.vueApp.use(VueGtag, {
    property: {
      id: 'GA_MEASUREMENT_ID'
    }
  })
})
```