Nuxt/docs/3.api/3.utils/$fetch.md

title	description	links
$fetch	Nuxt uses ofetch to expose globally the $fetch helper for making HTTP requests.	label icon to size Source i-simple-icons-github https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/blob/main/packages/nuxt/src/app/entry.ts xs

Nuxt uses ofetch to expose globally the $fetch helper for making HTTP requests within your Vue app or API routes.

::tip{icon="i-ph-rocket-launch-duotone" color="gray"} During server-side rendering, calling $fetch to fetch your internal API routes will directly call the relevant function (emulating the request), saving an additional API call. ::

::note{color="blue" icon="i-ph-info-duotone"} Using $fetch in components without wrapping it with useAsyncData causes fetching the data twice: initially on the server, then again on the client-side during hydration, because $fetch does not transfer state from the server to the client. Thus, the fetch will be executed on both sides because the client has to get the data again. ::

We recommend to use useFetch or useAsyncData + $fetch to prevent double data fetching when fetching the component data.

<script setup lang="ts">
// During SSR data is fetched twice, once on the server and once on the client.
const dataTwice = await $fetch('/api/item')

// During SSR data is fetched only on the server side and transferred to the client.
const { data } = await useAsyncData('item', () => $fetch('/api/item'))

// You can also useFetch as shortcut of useAsyncData + $fetch
const { data } = await useFetch('/api/item')
</script>

:read-more{to="/docs/getting-started/data-fetching"}

You can use $fetch in any methods that are executed only on client-side.

<script setup lang="ts">
function contactForm() {
  $fetch('/api/contact', {
    method: 'POST',
    body: { hello: 'world '}
  })
}
</script>

<template>
  <button @click="contactForm">Contact</button>
</template>

::tip $fetch is the preferred way to make HTTP calls in Nuxt instead of @nuxt/http and @nuxtjs/axios that are made for Nuxt 2. ::

::note If you use $fetch to call an (external) HTTPS URL with a self-signed certificate in development, you will need to set NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=0 in your environment. ::