mirror of https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt.git
63 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
63 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Server Engine
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description: 'Nuxt is powered by a new server engine: Nitro.'
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---
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While building Nuxt 3, we created a new server engine: [Nitro](https://nitro.unjs.io).
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It is shipped with many features:
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- Cross-platform support for Node.js, browsers, service workers and more.
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- Serverless support out-of-the-box.
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- API routes support.
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- Automatic code-splitting and async-loaded chunks.
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- Hybrid mode for static + serverless sites.
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- Development server with hot module reloading.
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## API Layer
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Server [API endpoints](/docs/guide/directory-structure/server#api-routes) and [Middleware](/docs/guide/directory-structure/server#server-middleware) are added by Nitro that internally uses [h3](https://github.com/unjs/h3).
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Key features include:
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- Handlers can directly return objects/arrays for an automatically-handled JSON response
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- Handlers can return promises, which will be awaited (`res.end()` and `next()` are also supported)
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- Helper functions for body parsing, cookie handling, redirects, headers and more
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Check out [the h3 docs](https://github.com/unjs/h3) for more information.
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::read-more{to="/docs/guide/directory-structure/server#server-routes"}
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Learn more about the API layer in the `server/` directory.
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::
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## Direct API Calls
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Nitro allows 'direct' calling of routes via the globally-available [`$fetch`](/docs/api/utils/dollarfetch) helper. This will make an API call to the server if run on the browser, but will directly call the relevant function if run on the server, **saving an additional API call**.
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[`$fetch`](/docs/api/utils/dollarfetch) API is using [ofetch](https://github.com/unjs/ofetch), with key features including:
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- Automatic parsing of JSON responses (with access to raw response if needed)
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- Request body and params are automatically handled, with correct `Content-Type` headers
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For more information on `$fetch` features, check out [ofetch](https://github.com/unjs/ofetch).
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## Typed API Routes
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When using API routes (or middleware), Nitro will generate typings for these routes as long as you are returning a value instead of using `res.end()` to send a response.
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You can access these types when using [`$fetch()`](/docs/api/utils/dollarfetch) or [`useFetch()`](/docs/api/composables/use-fetch).
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## Standalone Server
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Nitro produces a standalone server dist that is independent of `node_modules`.
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The server in Nuxt 2 is not standalone and requires part of Nuxt core to be involved by running `nuxt start` (with the [`nuxt-start`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/nuxt-start) or [`nuxt`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/nuxt) distributions) or custom programmatic usage, which is fragile and prone to breakage and not suitable for serverless and service-worker environments.
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Nuxt generates this dist when running `nuxt build` into a [`.output`](/docs/guide/directory-structure/output) directory.
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The output contains runtime code to run your Nuxt server in any environment (including experimental browser service workers!) and serve your static files, making it a true hybrid framework for the JAMstack. In addition, Nuxt implements a native storage layer, supporting multi-source drivers and local assets.
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::read-more{color="gray" icon="i-simple-icons-github" to="https://github.com/unjs/nitro" target="_blank"}
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Read more about Nitro engine on GitHub.
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::
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