Vue

@json-render/vue

Vue 3 renderer that converts JSON specs into Vue component trees with data binding, visibility, and actions.

Installation

npm install @json-render/vue @json-render/core zod

Peer dependencies: vue ^3.5.0 and zod ^4.0.0.

Quick Start

Create a Catalog

import { defineCatalog } from "@json-render/core";
import { schema } from "@json-render/vue/schema";
import { z } from "zod";

export const catalog = defineCatalog(schema, {
  components: {
    Card: {
      props: z.object({ title: z.string(), description: z.string().nullable() }),
      description: "A card container",
    },
    Button: {
      props: z.object({ label: z.string(), action: z.string() }),
      description: "A clickable button",
    },
  },
  actions: {},
});

Define Registry with h() Render Functions

import { h } from "vue";
import { defineRegistry } from "@json-render/vue";
import { catalog } from "./catalog";

export const { registry } = defineRegistry(catalog, {
  components: {
    Card: ({ props, children }) =>
      h("div", { class: "card" }, [
        h("h3", null, props.title),
        props.description ? h("p", null, props.description) : null,
        children,
      ]),
    Button: ({ props, emit }) =>
      h("button", { onClick: () => emit("press") }, props.label),
  },
});

Render Specs

<script setup lang="ts">
import { StateProvider, ActionProvider, Renderer } from "@json-render/vue";
import { registry } from "./registry";

const spec = { root: "card-1", elements: { /* ... */ } };
</script>

<template>
  <StateProvider :initial-state="{ form: { name: '' } }">
    <ActionProvider :handlers="{ submit: handleSubmit }">
      <Renderer :spec="spec" :registry="registry" />
    </ActionProvider>
  </StateProvider>
</template>

Providers

| Provider | Purpose |

|----------|---------|

| StateProvider | Share state across components (JSON Pointer paths). Accepts initialState or store for controlled mode. |

| ActionProvider | Handle actions dispatched via the event system |

| VisibilityProvider | Enable conditional rendering based on state |

| ValidationProvider | Form field validation |

Composables

| Composable | Purpose |

|------------|---------|

| useStateStore() | Access state context (state as ShallowRef, get, set, update) |

| useStateValue(path) | Get single value from state |

| useIsVisible(condition) | Check if a visibility condition is met |

| useActions() | Access action context |

| useAction(binding) | Get a single action dispatch function |

| useFieldValidation(path, config) | Field validation state |

| useBoundProp(propValue, bindingPath) | Two-way binding for $bindState/$bindItem |

Note: useStateStore().state returns a ShallowRef<StateModel> — use state.value to access.

External Store (StateStore)

Pass a StateStore to StateProvider to wire json-render to Pinia, VueUse, or any state management:

import { createStateStore, type StateStore } from "@json-render/vue";

const store = createStateStore({ count: 0 });

<StateProvider :store="store">
  <Renderer :spec="spec" :registry="registry" />
</StateProvider>

Dynamic Prop Expressions

Props support $state, $bindState, $cond, $template, $computed. Use { "$bindState": "/path" } on the natural value prop for two-way binding.

Visibility Conditions

{ "$state": "/user/isAdmin" }
{ "$state": "/status", "eq": "active" }
{ "$state": "/maintenance", "not": true }
[ cond1, cond2 ]  // implicit AND

Built-in Actions

setState, pushState, removeState, and validateForm are built into the Vue schema and handled by ActionProvider:

{
  "action": "setState",
  "params": { "statePath": "/activeTab", "value": "settings" }
}

Event System

Components use emit(event) to fire events, or on(event) for metadata (shouldPreventDefault, bound).

Streaming

useUIStream and useChatUI return Vue Refs for streaming specs from an API.

BaseComponentProps

For catalog-agnostic reusable components:

import type { BaseComponentProps } from "@json-render/vue";

const Card = ({ props, children }: BaseComponentProps<{ title?: string }>) =>
  h("div", null, [props.title, children]);

Key Exports

| Export | Purpose |

|--------|---------|

| defineRegistry | Create a type-safe component registry from a catalog |

| Renderer | Render a spec using a registry |

| schema | Element tree schema (from @json-render/vue/schema) |

| StateProvider, ActionProvider, VisibilityProvider, ValidationProvider | Context providers |

| useStateStore, useStateValue, useBoundProp | State composables |

| useActions, useAction | Action composables |

| useFieldValidation, useIsVisible | Validation and visibility |

| useUIStream, useChatUI | Streaming composables |

| createStateStore | Create in-memory StateStore |

| BaseComponentProps | Catalog-agnostic component props type |