If you think – ‘No. There is no compatibility between 2nd and 3rd versions of Vue framework.’ – you are wrong. Vue 2 is compatible with Vue 3 version so we can migrate from 2nd to 3rd version of Vue.
For getting Vue 3 in your App you needn’t just write the code from scratch with 3rd Vue version. You can just migrate your existing code base on Vue 2 to Vue 3 version.
There is the migration guide which helps to make migration quite smoothly.
Yes, this is possible to migrate Vue 2 version to newest 3rd one, because Vue 2 and Vue 3 are compatible.
Update Vue 2 to Vue 3 – this is the official recommedation of Vue creators because Vue 2 is not supported any more since 31 of December, 2023.
Vue issued full migration guide which helps update Vue, migrate Vue to 3rd version in a quite easy way, step-by-step way.
In new Vue 3 version there are quite a lot of breaking changes – Vue 2 Options API is distinct from Vue 3 Composition API.
Also in Vue 3 now presented both Composition and Options APIs.
Migrating Vue project you should consider official framework-level recommendations.
Composition API is a built-in feature of Vue 3 and Vue 2.7. For older Vue 2 versions, use the officially maintained @vue/composition-api
plugin. In Vue 3, it is also primarily used together with the <script setup>
syntax in Single-File Components.
Despite an API style based on function composition, Composition API is NOT functional programming. Composition API is based on Vue’s mutable, fine-grained reactivity paradigm, whereas functional programming emphasizes immutability.
Why there appeared the need to move to Vue 3?
Many users appreciate the Options API because it encourages organized code by default, with clear sections for each type of logic. However, when a component’s complexity increases, the Options API can become limiting, especially when multiple logical concerns need to be managed within the same component. This issue is common in large Vue 2 applications.
With the Composition API, code related to the same concern is grouped together, eliminating the need to jump between different sections while working on specific logic. It also makes it easier to extract and move code into external files, simplifying refactoring and improving the long-term maintainability of large codebases.
Some users transitioning from Options API feel their Composition API code is less structured and assume that it’s “worse” in terms of organization. We encourage these users to shift their perspective.
While the Composition API doesn’t enforce predefined buckets for organizing code, it gives you the freedom to structure your code just like regular JavaScript. By applying general best practices for JavaScript organization, you can maintain a well-organized Composition API codebase. If you’re skilled at organizing JavaScript, you can also organize Composition API code effectively.
The Options API simplifies the process by reducing mental effort, which is why it’s favored by many. However, this simplicity comes with rigid patterns that can hinder refactoring and scalability in larger projects. The Composition API, by contrast, offers greater flexibility and scalability for long-term projects.