Nuxt Content v3

Status: Production Ready
Last Updated: 2025-01-10
Dependencies: None
Latest Versions: @nuxt/content@^3.0.0, nuxt-studio@^0.1.0-alpha, zod@^4.1.12, valibot@^0.42.0, better-sqlite3@^11.0.0

Overview

Nuxt Content v3 is a powerful Git-based CMS for Nuxt projects that manages content through Markdown, YAML, JSON, and CSV files. It transforms content files into structured data with type-safe queries, automatic validation, and SQL-based storage for optimal performance.

What's New in v3

Major Improvements:
- Content Collections: Structured data organization with type-safe queries, automatic validation, and advanced query builder
- SQL-Based Storage: Production uses SQL (vs. large bundle sizes in v2) for optimized queries and universal compatibility (server/serverless/edge/static)
- Full TypeScript Integration: Automatic types for all collections and APIs
- Enhanced Performance: Ultra-fast data retrieval with adapter-based SQL system
- Nuxt Studio Integration: Self-hosted content editing in production with GitHub sync

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:
- Building blogs, documentation sites, or content-heavy applications
- Managing content with Markdown, YAML, JSON, or CSV files
- Implementing Git-based content workflows
- Creating type-safe content queries
- Deploying to Cloudflare (Pages/Workers) or Vercel
- Setting up production content editing with Nuxt Studio
- Building searchable content with full-text search
- Creating navigation systems from content structure

Quick Start (10 Minutes)

1. Install Nuxt Content

# Bun (recommended)
bun add @nuxt/content better-sqlite3

# npm
npm install @nuxt/content better-sqlite3

# pnpm
pnpm add @nuxt/content better-sqlite3

Why this matters:
- @nuxt/content is the core CMS module
- better-sqlite3 provides SQL storage for optimal performance
- Zero configuration required for basic usage

2. Register Module

// nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  modules: ['@nuxt/content']
})

CRITICAL:
- Module must be added to modules array (not buildModules)
- No additional configuration needed for basic setup

3. Create First Collection

// content.config.ts
import { defineContentConfig, defineCollection } from '@nuxt/content'
import { z } from 'zod'

export default defineContentConfig({
  collections: {
    content: defineCollection({
      type: 'page',
      source: '**/*.md',
      schema: z.object({
        tags: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
        date: z.date().optional()
      })
    })
  }
})

Create content file:

<!-- content/index.md -->
---
title: Hello World
description: My first Nuxt Content page
tags: ['nuxt', 'content']
---

# Welcome to Nuxt Content v3

This is my first content-driven site!

4. Query and Render Content

<!-- pages/[...slug].vue -->
<script setup>
const route = useRoute()
const { data: page } = await useAsyncData(route.path, () =>
  queryCollection('content').path(route.path).first()
)
</script>

<template>
  <ContentRenderer v-if="page" :value="page" />
</template>

See Full Template: templates/blog-collection-setup.ts.md.md

Critical Rules

Always Do

1. Define Collections in content.config.ts before querying
2. Use ISO 8601 Date Format: 2024-01-15 or 2024-01-15T10:30:00Z
3. Restart Dev Server after changing content.config.ts
4. Use .only() to select specific fields (performance)
5. Place MDC Components in components/content/ directory
6. Use Zero-Padded Prefixes for numeric sorting: 01-, 02-
7. Install Database Connector: better-sqlite3 required
8. Specify Language in code blocks for syntax highlighting
9. Use <!--more--> in content to separate excerpts
10. D1 Binding Must Be "DB" (case-sensitive) on Cloudflare

Never Do

1. Don't Query Before Defining Collection in content.config.ts
2. Don't Use Non-ISO Date Formats (e.g., "January 15, 2024")
3. Don't Forget to Restart dev server after config changes
4. Don't Query All Fields when you only need some (use .only())
5. Don't Place Components outside components/content/
6. Don't Use Single-Digit Prefixes (use 01- not 1-)
7. Don't Skip Database Connector installation
8. Don't Forget Language in code fences
9. Don't Expect Excerpts without <!--more--> divider
10. Don't Use Different Binding Names for D1 (must be "DB")

Content Collections

Defining Collections

Collections organize related content with shared configuration:

// content.config.ts
import { defineCollection, defineContentConfig } from '@nuxt/content'
import { z } from 'zod'

export default defineContentConfig({
  collections: {
    blog: defineCollection({
      type: 'page',
      source: 'blog/**/*.md',
      schema: z.object({
        title: z.string(),
        date: z.date(),
        tags: z.array(z.string()).default([])
      })
    }),

    authors: defineCollection({
      type: 'data',
      source: 'authors/*.yml',
      schema: z.object({
        name: z.string(),
        bio: z.string()
      })
    })
  }
})

Collection Types

Page Type (type: 'page')

Use for: Content that maps to URLs

Features:
- Auto-generates paths from file structure
- Built-in fields: path, title, description, body, navigation
- Perfect for: blogs, docs, marketing pages

Path Mapping:

content/index.md        → /
content/about.md        → /about
content/blog/hello.md   → /blog/hello

Data Type (type: 'data')

Use for: Structured data without URLs

Features:
- Complete schema control
- No automatic path generation
- Perfect for: authors, products, configs

Schema Validation

With Zod v4 (Recommended)

bun add -D zod@^4.1.12
# or: npm install -D zod@^4.1.12

import { z } from 'zod'

schema: z.object({
  title: z.string(),
  date: z.date(),
  published: z.boolean().default(false),
  tags: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
  category: z.enum(['news', 'tutorial', 'update'])
})

With Valibot (Alternative)

bun add -D valibot@^0.42.0
# or: npm install -D valibot@^0.42.0

import * as v from 'valibot'

schema: v.object({
  title: v.string(),
  date: v.date(),
  published: v.boolean(false),
  tags: v.optional(v.array(v.string()))
})

Querying Content

Basic Queries

// Get all posts
const posts = await queryCollection('blog').all()

// Get single post by path
const post = await queryCollection('blog').path('/blog/hello').first()

// Get post by ID
const post = await queryCollection('blog').where('_id', '=', 'hello').first()

Field Selection

// Select specific fields (performance optimization)
const posts = await queryCollection('blog')
  .only(['title', 'description', 'date', 'path'])
  .all()

// Exclude fields
const posts = await queryCollection('blog')
  .without(['body'])
  .all()

Where Conditions

// Single condition
const posts = await queryCollection('blog')
  .where('published', '=', true)
  .all()

// Multiple conditions
const posts = await queryCollection('blog')
  .where('published', '=', true)
  .where('category', '=', 'tutorial')
  .all()

// Operators: =, !=, <, <=, >, >=, in, not-in, like
const recent = await queryCollection('blog')
  .where('date', '>', new Date('2024-01-01'))
  .all()

const tagged = await queryCollection('blog')
  .where('tags', 'in', ['nuxt', 'vue'])
  .all()

Ordering and Pagination

// Sort by field
const posts = await queryCollection('blog')
  .sort('date', 'DESC')
  .all()

// Pagination
const posts = await queryCollection('blog')
  .sort('date', 'DESC')
  .limit(10)
  .offset(0)
  .all()

Counting

// Count results
const total = await queryCollection('blog')
  .where('published', '=', true)
  .count()

Server-Side Queries

// server/api/posts.get.ts
export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
  const posts = await queryCollection('blog')
    .where('published', '=', true)
    .sort('date', 'DESC')
    .all()

  return { posts }
})

Navigation

Auto-generate navigation tree from content structure:

const navigation = await queryCollectionNavigation('blog').all()

Returns hierarchical structure:

[
  {
    title: 'Getting Started',
    path: '/docs/getting-started',
    children: [{ title: 'Installation', path: '/docs/getting-started/installation' }]
  }
]

Advanced patterns (filters, ordering, custom structures): See references/collection-examples.md

MDC Syntax (Markdown Components)

Basic Component Syntax

<!-- Default slot -->
::my-alert
This is an alert message
::

<!-- Named slots -->
::my-card
#title
Card Title
#default
Card content here
::

Component:

<!-- components/content/MyAlert.vue -->
<template>
  <div class="alert">
    <slot />
  </div>
</template>

Props

::my-button{href="/docs" type="primary"}
Click me
::

Component:

<!-- components/content/MyButton.vue -->
<script setup>
defineProps<{
  href: string
  type: 'primary' | 'secondary'
}>()
</script>

Full-Text Search

// Search across all content
const results = await queryCollectionSearchSections('blog', 'nuxt content')
  .where('published', '=', true)
  .all()

Returns:

[
  {
    id: 'hello',
    path: '/blog/hello',
    title: 'Hello World',
    content: '...matching text...'
  }
]

Deployment

Cloudflare Pages + D1

bun add -D @nuxthub/core
bunx wrangler d1 create nuxt-content
bun run build && bunx wrangler pages deploy dist

wrangler.toml:

[[d1_databases]]
binding = "DB"  # Must be exactly "DB" (case-sensitive)
database_name = "nuxt-content"
database_id = "your-database-id"

CRITICAL: D1 binding MUST be named DB (case-sensitive).

See: references/deployment-checklists.md for complete Cloudflare deployment guide with troubleshooting.

Vercel

// nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  modules: ['@nuxt/content'],
  routeRules: {
    '/blog/**': { prerender: true }
  }
})

vercel deploy

See: references/deployment-checklists.md for complete Vercel configuration and prerender strategy.

Nuxt Studio Integration

Enable Studio

bun add -D nuxt-studio@alpha
# or: npm install -D nuxt-studio@alpha

// nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  modules: ['@nuxt/content', 'nuxt-studio'],

  studio: {
    enabled: true,
    gitInfo: {
      name: 'your-name',
      email: 'your-email@example.com'
    }
  }
})

OAuth Setup

1. Create GitHub OAuth App
2. Set Authorization callback URL: https://yourdomain.com/api/__studio/oauth/callback
3. Add client ID and secret to environment variables

CRITICAL: Callback URL must match production domain exactly (including https://).

Top 5 Critical Issues

Issue #1: Collection Not Found

Error: Collection 'xyz' not found

Solution: Define collection in content.config.ts and restart dev server

rm -rf .nuxt && bun dev

Issue #2: Date Validation Failure

Error: Validation error: Expected date, received string

Solution: Use ISO 8601 format:

---
date: 2024-01-15  # ✅ Correct
# NOT: "January 15, 2024"  # ❌ Wrong
---

Issue #3: D1 Binding Not Found (Cloudflare)

Error: DB is not defined

Solution: D1 binding name must be exactly DB (case-sensitive) in Cloudflare dashboard.

Issue #4: MDC Components Not Rendering

Error: Components show as raw text

Solution: Place components in components/content/ with exact name matching:

<!-- components/content/MyAlert.vue -->

::my-alert
Content
::

Issue #5: Navigation Not Updating

Error: New content doesn't appear in navigation

Solution: Clear .nuxt cache:

rm -rf .nuxt && bun dev

See All 18 Issues: references/error-catalog.md

When to Load References

Load references/error-catalog.md when:
- User encounters error beyond Top 5 shown above
- Debugging collection validation, schema errors, or deployment issues
- Need complete error catalog with all 18 documented solutions and sources

Load references/collection-examples.md when:
- Setting up advanced collection types (data vs page)
- Implementing complex schema validation patterns
- Need examples for Zod v4 or Valibot schemas
- Working with multiple collection configurations

Load references/query-operators.md when:
- Building complex queries beyond basic examples
- Need full reference of all operators (=, !=, <, >, <=, >=, in, not-in, like)
- Implementing pagination, sorting, or field selection
- Troubleshooting query syntax errors

Load references/deployment-checklists.md when:
- Deploying to specific platform (Cloudflare Pages, Cloudflare Workers D1, Vercel)
- Setting up production environment configurations
- Troubleshooting deployment-specific errors (D1 binding, prerender routes)
- Need platform-specific wrangler.toml or vercel.json examples

Load references/mdc-syntax-reference.md when:
- Implementing custom MDC (Markdown Components)
- Debugging component rendering issues
- Need complete syntax reference for props, slots, nesting
- Creating advanced content components

Load references/studio-setup-guide.md when:
- Setting up Nuxt Studio for production content editing
- Configuring GitHub OAuth authentication
- Enabling self-hosted content editing with GitHub sync
- Troubleshooting Studio authentication or Git sync issues

Templates (templates/):
- blog-collection-setup.ts.md - Complete blog setup with collections, queries, navigation, search, and deployment (334 lines)

Performance Tips

1. Use .only() to select specific fields
2. Enable Caching for production
3. Use Pagination for large collections
4. Prerender Static Routes on Vercel
5. Use SQL Storage (better-sqlite3) for optimal performance

Best Practices

1. Always define collections before querying
2. Use TypeScript for type-safe queries
3. Validate schemas with Zod or Valibot
4. Place MDC components in components/content/
5. Use ISO 8601 date format
6. Add <!--more--> for excerpts
7. Specify language in code blocks
8. Clear .nuxt after config changes
9. For Cloudflare: D1 binding must be "DB"
10. Use pagination for large datasets

Integration with Other Skills

This skill composes well with:

• nuxt-v4 → Core Nuxt framework
• nuxt-ui-v4 → UI component library
• cloudflare-worker-base → Cloudflare deployment
• tailwind-v4-shadcn → Styling
• drizzle-orm-d1 → Additional database queries
• cloudflare-d1 → Database integration

Secure Installation

When installing CMS packages, follow supply chain security best practices:

• Block post-install scripts — npm config set ignore-scripts true (or Bun: disabled by default)
• Cooldown period — Wait 7 days for new package versions to be vetted by the community
• Audit before installing — Run socket package score npm <pkg> or use socket npm install <pkg> to check packages

Load the dependency-upgrade skill for full security configuration including Socket CLI integration, cooldown setup, lockfile validation, and CI enforcement.

Additional Resources

Official Documentation:
- Nuxt Content Docs: https://content.nuxt.com
- GitHub: https://github.com/nuxt/content
- Nuxt Studio: https://nuxt.studio

Examples:
- Official Examples: https://github.com/nuxt/content/tree/main/examples
- Starter Templates: https://github.com/nuxt-themes

Production Tested: Documentation sites, blogs, content platforms
Last Updated: 2025-01-27
Token Savings: ~60% (reduces content + error documentation)

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