Guides

Global Scripts

Load global third-party scripts and optimize them for your Nuxt app.

Background

While the app.head method in Nuxt Config allows for loading global scripts, it can be cumbersome and requires manual optimization.

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  head: {
    script: [ { src: 'https://analytics.com/tracker.js',  async: true } ]
  }
})

A simpler method is now available: directly input the script URL into scripts.globals. You can also include optional settings to tailor the script loading process with specific optimizations in mind.

You may consider using global scripts when:

  • The script isn't a supported Registry Script.
  • You don't care about interacting with the API provided by the third-party script (e.g. you don't need to use gtag from Google Analytics).
  • You are interacting with the API provided by the third-party script, but you don't care about type safety.

Otherwise, it's recommended to use useScript to load scripts in a safer way.

Usage

The globals key supports strings, objects and arrays.

Example: Load a script using just the src

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  scripts: {
    globals: {
      myScript: 'https://analytics.com/tracker.js',
    }
  }
})

Example: Load a script while providing extra script attributes

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  scripts: {
    globals: {
      myScript: {
        src: 'https://example.com/script.js',
        integrity: 'sha256-abc123',
      }
    }
  }
})

You can optionally provide the script as an array which allows you to provide Script Options.

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  scripts: {
    globals: {
      myScript: [
        { src: 'https://example.com/script.js' },
        // load the script as part of the hydration process instead of on idle
        { trigger: 'client' }
      ]
    }
  }
})

Accessing a global script

All Nuxt Scripts are registered on the $scripts Nuxt App property.

For scripts registered through nuxt.config, type autocompletion is available.

<script setup lang="ts">
const { $scripts } = useNuxtApp()
$scripts.myScript // { $script, instance }
</script>

How it Works

The globals configuration will be used to create a virtual Nuxt plugin that loads in the script using the useScript composable.

As useScript is being used under the hood, it's important to understand the defaults and behavior of the useScript composable..

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  scripts: {
    globals: {
      tracker: 'https://analytics.com/tracker.js',
    }
  }
})