@vuedoc/parser

Generate a JSON documentation for a Vue file component.

Usage no npm install needed!

<script type="module">
  import vuedocParser from 'https://cdn.skypack.dev/@vuedoc/parser';
</script>

README

The Vuedoc Parser

Generate a JSON documentation for a Vue file component.

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Table of Contents

Install

npm install --save @vuedoc/parser

Features

Options

Name Description
filename The filename to parse. Required unless filecontent is passed
filecontent The file content to parse. Required unless filename is passed
encoding The file encoding. Default is 'utf8'
features The component features to parse and extract.
Default features: ['name', 'description', 'slots', 'model', 'props', 'data', 'computed', 'events', 'methods']
loaders Use this option to define custom loaders for specific languages
ignoredVisibilities List of ignored visibilities. Default: ['protected', 'private']
jsx Set to true to enable JSX parsing. Default false

Usage

See test/fixtures/checkbox.vue for an Vue Component decoration example.

const Vuedoc = require('@vuedoc/parser')
const options = {
  filename: 'test/fixtures/checkbox.vue'
}

Vuedoc.parse(options)
  .then((component) => console.log(component))
  .catch((err) => console.error(err))

This will print this JSON output:

{
  "name": "checkbox" // The component name
  "description": "A simple checkbox component" // The component description
  // Attached component keywords
  "keywords": [
    { "name": "contributor", "description": "Sébastien" }
  ],
  "props": [ ... ],
  "data": [ ... ],
  "computed": [ ... ],
  "slots": [ ... ],
  "events": [ ... ],
  "methods": [ ... ]
}

Found the complete result here: test/fixtures/checkbox-result.json

See the bellow Parsing Output Interface section.

Syntax

Add component name

By default, Vuedoc Parser uses the component's filename to generate the component name.

To set a custom name, use the name field like:

export default {
  name: 'my-checkbox'
}

You can also use the @name tag to set the component name:

/**
 * @name my-checkbox
 */
export default {
  // ...
}

Add component description

To add a component description, just add a comment before the export default statement like:

/**
 * Component description
 */
export default {
  // ...
}

Annotate props

To document props, annotate your code like:

export default {
  props: {
    /**
     * Element ID
     */
    id: {
      type: String,
      required: true
    }
  }
}

Vuedoc Parser will automatically extract required and default values for properties.

Annotate a v-model prop

To document a v-model prop, a proper way is to use the Vue's model field if you use Vue +2.2.0.

export default {
  /**
   * Use `v-model` to define a reactive value of the checkbox
   */
  model: {
    prop: 'checked',
    event: 'change'
  },
  props: {
    checked: Boolean
  }
}

You can also use the @model keyword on a prop if you use an old Vue version:

export default {
  props: {
    /**
     * The checkbox model
     * @model
     */
    checked: Boolean
  }
}

Annotate Vue Array String Props

To document Vue array string props, just attach a Vuedoc comment to each prop:

export default {
  props: [
    /**
     * Checkbox ID
     */
    'id',

    /**
     * The checkbox model
     */
    'value'
  ]
}

Special tags for props

  • @type {typeName}
    Commented prop will use provided type name as type instead of type in source code. This option may be helpful in case the prop type is a complex object or a function
  • @default {value}
    Commented prop will use the provided value as default prop value. This option may be helpful in case the prop type is a complex object or function
  • @kind function
    Force parsing of a prop as a function
export default {
  name: 'NumberInput',
  props: {
    /**
     * Custom default value
     * @type Complex.Object
     * @default { anything: 'custom default value' }
     */
    custom: {
      type: Object,
      default: () => {
        // complex code
        return anythingExpression()
      }
    },
    /**
     * The input validation function
     * @kind function
     * @param {any} value - User input value to validate
     * @returns {boolean} - `true` if validation succeeds; `false` otherwise.
     */
    validator: {
      type: Function,
      default: (value) => !Number.isNaN(value)
    },
  },
};

Prop Entry Interface

interface PropEntry {
  kind: 'prop';
  name: string;
  type: string | string[];
  default: string;
  required: boolean;
  description?: string;
  describeModel: boolean;
  keywords: Keyword[];
  category?: string;
  version?: string;
  since?: string;
  visibility: 'public' | 'protected' | 'private';
}

type Keyword = {
  name: string;
  description?: string;
};

Annotate data

To document data, annotate your code like:

export default {
  data () {
    return {
      /**
       * Indicates that the control is checked
       */
      isChecked: false
    }
  }
}

Vuedoc Parser will automatically detect type for each defined data field and catch their initial value.

Special tags for data

  • @type {typeName}
    Commented data will use provided type name as type instead of type in source code. This option may be helpful in case the data type is a complex object or a function
  • @initialValue {value}
    Commented data will use the provided value as initial data value. This option may be helpful in case the data type is a complex object or function
export default {
  data () {
    return {
      /**
       * A data with a complex expression
       * @type boolean
       * @initialValue false
       */
      isChecked: !(a || b || c)
    }
  }
}

Data Entry Interface

interface DataEntry {
  kind: 'data';
  name: string;
  type: string;
  initialValue: string;
  description?: string;
  keywords: Keyword[];
  category?: string;
  version?: string;
  since?: string;
  visibility: 'public' | 'protected' | 'private';
}

type Keyword = {
  name: string;
  description?: string;
};

Annotate computed properties

To document computed properties, annotate your code like:

export default {
  computed: {
    /**
     * Indicates that the control is selected
     */
    selected () {
      return this.isChecked
    }
  }
}

Vuedoc Parser will automatically extract computed properties dependencies.

Computed Property Entry Interface

interface ComputedEntry {
  kind: 'computed';
  name: string;
  type: string;
  dependencies: string[];
  description?: string;
  keywords: Keyword[];
  category?: string;
  version?: string;
  since?: string;
  visibility: 'public' | 'protected' | 'private';
}

type Keyword = {
  name: string;
  description?: string;
};

Annotate methods

To document methods, annotate your code like:

export default {
  methods: {
    /**
     * Submit form
     */
    submit () {}
  }
}

Use the JSDoc @param and @returns tags to define parameters and returning type:

export default {
  methods: {
    /**
     * Submit form
     *
     * @param {object} data - Data to submit
     * @returns {boolean} true on success; otherwise, false
     */
    submit (data) {
      return true
    }
  }
}

Special tags for methods

  • @method <method name>
    You can use special tag @method for non primitive name:

    <script>
  const METHODS = {
    CLOSE: 'closeModal'
  }

  export default {
    methods: {
      /**
        * Close modal
        * @method closeModal
        */
      [METHODS.CLOSE] () {}
    }
  }
</script>

  • @syntax <custom method syntax>
    By default, Vuedoc Parser automatically generates method syntax with typing. For example, the previous example will generate:

    {
  kind: 'method',
  name: 'closeModal',
  params: [],
  returns: { type: 'void', description: undefined },
  syntax: [
    'closeModal(): void'
  ],
  category: undefined,
  version: undefined,
  description: undefined,
  keywords: [],
  visibility: 'public'
}

    You can overwrite syntax generation by using tag @syntax. You can also define multiple syntax examples:

    export default {
  methods: {
    /**
     * @syntax target.addEventListener(type, listener [, options]);
     * @syntax target.addEventListener(type, listener [, useCapture]);
     * @syntax target.addEventListener(type, listener [, useCapture, wantsUntrusted  ]); // Gecko/Mozilla only
     */
    addEventListener(type, listener, options, useCapture) {}
  }
}

Method Entry Interface

interface MethodEntry {
  kind: 'method';
  name: string;
  params: MethodParam[];
  returns: MethodReturn;
  syntax: string[];
  description?: string;
  keywords: Keyword[];
  category?: string;
  version?: string;
  since?: string;
  visibility: 'public' | 'protected' | 'private';
}

type Keyword = {
  name: string;
  description?: string;
};

type MethodParam = {
  name: string;
  type: NativeTypeEnum | string;
  description?: string;
  defaultValue?: string;
  rest: boolean;
};

type MethodReturn = {
  type: string;
  description?: string;
};

Annotate events

Vuedoc Parser automatically extracts events from component template, hooks and methods:

<template>
  <div>
    <!-- Emit the `click` event on submit -->
    <button @click="$emit('click', $event)">Submit</button>
  </div>
</template>
<script>
  export default {
    created () {
      /**
      * Emit on Vue `created` hook
      */
      this.$emit('created', true)
    },
    methods: {
      submit () {
        /**
        * Emit the `input` event on submit
        */
        this.$emit('input', true)
      }
    }
  }
</script>

Use @arg tag to define arguments of an event:

export default {
  methods: {
    submit (data) {
      /**
       * Emit the `loading` event on submit
       *
       * @arg {boolean} status - The loading status
       */
      this.$emit('loading', true)
    }
  }
}

Note: @arg is an alias of @argument.

You can use special keyword @event for non primitive name:

<script>
  const EVENTS = {
    CLOSE: 'close'
  }

  export default {
    methods: {
      closeModal() {
        /**
          * Emit the `close` event on click
          * @event close
          */
        this.$emit(EVENTS.CLOSE, true)
      }
    }
  }
</script>

Event Entry Interface

interface EventEntry {
  kind: 'event';
  name: string;
  description?: string;
  arguments: EventArgument[];
  keywords: Keyword[];
  category?: string;
  version?: string;
  since?: string;
  visibility: 'public' | 'protected' | 'private';
}

type Keyword = {
  name: string;
  description?: string;
};

type EventArgument = {
  name: string;
  type: NativeTypeEnum | string;
  description?: string;
  rest: boolean;
};

Annotate slots

Vuedoc Parser automatically extracts slots from template. You must use @prop tag to define properties of a slot:

<template>
  <div>
    <!-- Default slot -->
    <slot></slot>
    <!-- Use this slot to set the checkbox label -->
    <slot name="label">Unnamed checkbox</slot>
    <!--
      Slot with keywords and
      multiline description

      @prop {User} user - The current user
      @prop {UserProfile} profile - The current user's profile
    -->
    <slot name="header" v-bind:user="user" v-bind:profile="profile"/>
  </div>
</template>

Annotate slots defined in Render Functions

To annotate slots defined in Render Functions, just attach the keyword @slot to the component definition:

/**
 * A functional component with slots defined in render function
 * @slot title - A title slot
 * @slot default - A default slot
 */
export default {
  functional: true,
  render(h, { slots }) {
    return h('div', [
      h('h1', slots().title),
      h('p', slots().default)
    ])
  }
}

You can also use the keyword @slot to define dynamic slots on template:

<template>
  <div>
    <template v-for="name in ['title', 'default']">
      <!--
        @slot title - A title slot
        @slot default - A default slot
      -->
      <slot :name="name" :slot="name"></slot>
    </template>
  </div>
</template>

Slot Entry Interface

interface SlotEntry {
  kind: 'slot';
  name: string;
  description?: string;
  props: SlotProp[];
  keywords: Keyword[];
  category?: string;
  version?: string;
  since?: string;
  visibility: 'public' | 'protected' | 'private';
}

type Keyword = {
  name: string;
  description?: string;
};

type SlotProp = {
  name: string;
  type: string;
  description?: string;
};

Ignore item from parsing

Use the JSDoc's tag @ignore to keeps the subsequent code from being documented.

export default {
  data: () => ({
    /**
     * This will be ignored on parsing
     * @ignore
     */
    isChecked: false
  })
}

You can also use the TypeDoc's tag @hidden.

Keywords Extraction

You can attach keywords to any comment and then extract them using the parser.

Usage

/**
 * Component description
 *
 * @license MIT
 */
export default { /* ... */ }

Note that the description must always appear before keywords definition.

Parsing result:

{
  "name": "my-checkbox",
  "description": "Component description",
  "keywords": [
    {
      "name": "license",
      "description": "MIT"
    }
  ]
}

Supported tags

Keyword Scope Description
@name component Provide a custom name of the component
@type props, data Provide a type expression identifying the type of value that a prop or a data may contain
@default props Provide a default value of a prop
@model props Mark a prop as v-model
@kind props Used to document what kind of symbol is being documented
@initialValue data Provide an initial value of a data
@method methods Force the name of a specific method
@syntax methods Provide the custom method syntax
@param methods Provide the name, type, and description of a function parameter
@returns, @return methods Document the value that a function returns
@event events Force the name of a specific event
@arg, @argument events Provide the name, type, and description of an event argument
@slot slots Document slot defined in render function
@prop slots Provide the name, type, and description of a slot prop
@mixin component Force parsing of the exported item as a mixin component
@version all Assign a version to an item
@since all Indicate that an item was added in a specific version
@author all Identify authors of an item
@deprecated all Mark an item as being deprecated
@see all Allow to refer to a resource that may be related to the item being documented
@ignore * Keep the subsequent code from being documented
TypeDoc
@category all Attach a category to an item
@hidden * Keep the subsequent code from being documented
Visibilities
@public * Mark a symbol as public
@protected * Mark a symbol as private
@private * Mark a symbol as protected

* stand for props, data, methods, events, slots

Working with Mixins

Since Vuedoc Parser don't perform I/O operations, it completely ignores the mixins property.

To parse a mixin, you need to parse its file as a standalone component and then merge the parsing result with the result of the initial component:

const Vuedoc = require('@vuedoc/parser')
const merge = require('deepmerge')

const parsers = [
  Vuedoc.parse({ filename: 'mixinFile.js' })
  Vuedoc.parse({ filename: 'componentUsingMixin.vue' })
]

Promise.all(parsers)
  .then(merge.all)
  .then((mergedParsingResult) => console.log(mergedParsingResult))
  .catch((err) => console.error(err))

Using the keyword @mixin

You can use the special keyword @mixin to force parsing named exported component:

import Vue from 'vue';

/**
 * @mixin
 */
export const InputMixin = Vue.extend({
  props: {
    id: String,
    value: [ Boolean, Number, String ]
  }
});

Bellow an example with a factory:

import Vue from 'vue';

/**
 * @mixin
 */
export function InputMixin (route) {
  return Vue.extend({
    props: {
      id: String,
      value: [ Boolean, Number, String ]
    },
    methods: { route }
  });
}

Parsing control with options.features

options.features lets you select which Vue Features you want to parse and extract.

The default value is defined by Vuedoc.Parser.SUPPORTED_FEATURES array.

Usage

Only parse name, props, computed properties, slots and events:

const Vuedoc = require('@vuedoc/parser')

const options = {
  filename: 'test/fixtures/checkbox.vue',
  features: [ 'name', 'props', 'computed', 'slots', 'events' ]
}

Vuedoc.parse(options)
  .then((component) => Object.keys(component))
  .then((keys) => console.log(keys))
  // => [ 'name', 'props', 'computed', 'slots', 'events' ]

Parse all features except data:

const Vuedoc = require('@vuedoc/parser')

const options = {
  filename: 'test/fixtures/checkbox.vue',
  features: Vuedoc.Parser.SUPPORTED_FEATURES.filter((feature) => feature !== 'data')
}

Vuedoc.parse(options)
  .then((component) => Object.keys(component))
  .then((keys) => console.log(keys))
  // => [ 'name', 'description', 'keywords', 'model',
  //      'props', 'computed', 'events', 'methods', 'slots' ]

Language Processing

Loader API

abstract class Loader {
  public static extend(loaderName: string, loaderClass: Loader);
  public abstract load(source: string): Promise<void>;
  public emitTemplate(source: string): Promise<void>;
  public emitScript(source: string): Promise<void>;
  public emitErrors(errors: Array<string>): Promise<void>;
  public pipe(loaderName: string, source: string): Promise<void>;
}

Build-in loaders

Language Load by default? Package
HTML Yes @vuedoc/parser/loader/html
JavaScript Yes @vuedoc/parser/loader/javascript
Pug No @vuedoc/parser/loader/pug
TypeScript Yes @vuedoc/parser/loader/typescript
Vue Yes @vuedoc/parser/loader/vue

TypeScript usage

Vuedoc Parser implements a full TypeScript support since v3.0.0. You no longer need to load a specific loader or install additional packages.

Create a custom loader

The example below uses the abstract Vuedoc.Loader class to create a specialized class to handle a template with the CoffeeScript language. It uses the built-in PugLoader to load Pug template:

const Vuedoc = require('@vuedoc/parser')
const PugLoader = require('@vuedoc/parser/loader/pug')
const CoffeeScript = require('coffeescript')

class CoffeeScriptLoader extends Vuedoc.Loader {
  load (source) {
    const outputText = CoffeeScript.compile(source);

    // don't forget the return here
    return this.emitScript(outputText);
  }
}

const options = {
  filecontent: `
    <template lang="pug">
      div.page
        h1 Vuedoc Parser with Pug
        // Use this slot to define a subtitle
        slot(name='subtitle')
    </template>

    <script lang="coffee">
      ###
      # Description of MyInput component
      ###
      export default
        name: 'MyInput'
    </script>
  `,
  loaders: [
    /**
     * Register CoffeeScriptLoader
     * Note that the name of the loader is either the extension
     * of the file or the value of the attribute `lang`
     */
    Vuedoc.Loader.extend('coffee', CoffeeScriptLoader),

    // Register the built-in Pug loader
    Vuedoc.Loader.extend('pug', PugLoader)
  ]
}

Vuedoc.parse(options).then((component) => {
  console.log(component)
})

Output

{
  name: 'MyInput',
  description: 'Description of MyInput component',
  slots: [
    {
      kind: 'slot',
      visibility: 'public',
      description: 'Use this slot to define a subtitle',
      keywords: [],
      name: 'subtitle',
      props: []
    }
  ],
  // ...
}

Parsing Output Interface

type ParsingOutput = {
  name: string;               // Component name
  description?: string;       // Component description
  category?: string;
  version?: string;
  since?: string;
  inheritAttrs: boolean;
  keywords: Keyword[];        // Attached component keywords
  model?: ModelEntry;         // Component model
  slots: SlotEntry[];         // Component slots
  props: PropEntry[];         // Component props
  data: DataEntry[];          // Component data
  computed: ComputedEntry[];  // Computed properties
  events: EventEntry[];       // Events
  methods: MethodEntry[];     // Component methods
  errors: string[];           // Syntax and parsing errors
  warnings: string[];         // Syntax and parsing warnings
};

interface NameEntry {
  kind: 'name';
  value: string;
}

interface DescriptionEntry {
  kind: 'description'
  value: string;
}

interface InheritAttrsEntry {
  kind: 'inheritAttrs'
  value: boolean;
}

interface KeywordsEntry {
  kind: 'keywords';
  value: Keyword[];
}

interface ModelEntry {
  kind: 'model';
  prop: string;
  event: string;
  description?: string;
  keywords: Keyword[];
}

type Keyword = {
  name: string;
  description?: string;
};

Related projects

  • @vuedoc/md - A Markdown Documentation Generator for Vue Components

Contribute

Contributions to Vuedoc Parser are welcome. Here is how you can contribute:

  1. Submit bugs or a feature request and help us verify fixes as they are checked in
  2. Create your working branch from the dev branch: git checkout dev -b feature/my-awesome-feature
  3. Write code for a bug fix or for your new awesome feature
  4. Write test cases for your changes
  5. Submit merge requests for bug fixes and features and discuss existing proposals

Versioning

Given a version number MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH, increment the:

  • MAJOR version when you make incompatible API changes,
  • MINOR version when you add functionality in a backwards-compatible manner, and
  • PATCH version when you make backwards-compatible bug fixes.

Additional labels for pre-release and build metadata are available as extensions to the MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH format.

See SemVer.org for more details.

License

Under the MIT license. See LICENSE file for more details.