N
Nuxt•4w ago
Gecco

Is there a way to get an element from the dom as writable with typescript support

I want to retrieve a DOM element in Nuxt but the only way I've found online is using ref(null) which does not work TypeScript. Any advice as to how I can retrieve an element like such in Nuxt?
2 Replies
kapa.ai
kapa.ai•4w ago
Hi @Gecco. I'm kapa.ai, your friendly support bot. I will try to answer your question by searching through the knowledge base. :wave: ---------------------- Yes, in Nuxt (and Vue 3), the recommended way to retrieve a DOM element as a writable reference with TypeScript support is to use the ref composable, which is auto-imported in Nuxt. You can declare a ref with a specific type, such as HTMLElement or null, to get proper TypeScript support. Here’s how you can do it: 
<script setup lang="ts">
const myElement = ref<HTMLElement | null>(null)
</script>

<template>
  <div ref="myElement"></div>
</template>
<script setup lang="ts">
const myElement = ref<HTMLElement | null>(null)
</script>

<template>
  <div ref="myElement"></div>
</template>
This pattern is fully supported by TypeScript and works seamlessly in Nuxt, thanks to auto-imports and type inference for refs. The ref will be populated with the DOM element after the component is mounted, and you can access or modify it as needed in your script. This approach is shown in Nuxt and Vue documentation and is widely used in the ecosystem for DOM access with type safety and reactivity support Auto-imports in Nuxt. If you are working with components from Nuxt UI or similar libraries, you may also see the useTemplateRef composable, which provides a similar experience but is especially useful for accessing component instances and their exposed APIs, not just raw DOM elements UForm Expose, UCarousel Expose, UTable Expose. So, using ref<HTMLElement | null>(null) is the correct and TypeScript-friendly way to retrieve a DOM element in Nuxt. ---------------------- Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon: ----------------------
kapa.ai
kapa.ai•4w ago
<@442088054321184778> Kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.

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