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If you wish to reference environment variables within your Nuxt 3 app, you will need to use runtime config. When referencing these variables within your components, you will have to use the useRuntimeConfig composable in your setup method (or Nuxt plugin). In the server/ portion of your app, you can use useRuntimeConfig without any import.

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Why Runtime Config?

Runtime config provides:
  • Type safety - Full TypeScript support for your configuration
  • Security - Separation of public and private configuration
  • Environment variables - Automatic replacement at runtime
  • Universal access - Available in both server and client code

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Migration Steps

  1. Add environment variables to runtimeConfig in your nuxt.config file
  2. Replace process.env with useRuntimeConfig throughout the Vue part of your app

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Configuration Example

nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  runtimeConfig: {
    // Private config that is only available on the server
    apiSecret: '123',
    // Config within public will be also exposed to the client
    public: {
      apiBase: '/api',
    },
  },
})

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Client-side Usage

In your pages and components, use the useRuntimeConfig composable:
app/pages/index.vue
<script setup lang="ts">
const config = useRuntimeConfig()

// instead of process.env you will now access config.public.apiBase
console.log(config.public.apiBase)
</script>

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Server-side Usage

In server routes and API handlers, you can access both public and private config:
server/api/hello.ts
export default defineEventHandler((event) => {
  const config = useRuntimeConfig(event)
  // In server, you can now access config.apiSecret, in addition to config.public
  console.log(config.apiSecret)
  console.log(config.public.apiBase)
})

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Environment Variables

Runtime config values are automatically replaced by matching environment variables at runtime:
.env
# Runtime config values are automatically replaced by matching environment variables at runtime
NUXT_API_SECRET=api_secret_token
NUXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE=https://nuxtjs.org

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Naming Convention

Environment variables follow this pattern:
  • Private config: NUXT_<CONFIG_KEY> → runtimeConfig.configKey
  • Public config: NUXT_PUBLIC_<CONFIG_KEY> → runtimeConfig.public.configKey
Nested keys use underscores: 
NUXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL=https://api.example.com
Maps to: 
runtimeConfig: {
  public: {
    api: {
      baseUrl: 'https://api.example.com'
    }
  }
}

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Before and After Comparison

<script>
export default {
  data() {
    return {
      apiUrl: process.env.API_URL
    }
  },
  async fetch() {
    const data = await fetch(`${process.env.API_URL}/data`)
  }
}
</script>

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Type Safety

You can define types for your runtime config: 
declare module 'nuxt/schema' {
  interface RuntimeConfig {
    apiSecret: string
  }
  interface PublicRuntimeConfig {
    apiBase: string
  }
}

export {}

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Best Practices

  1. Never expose secrets to the client - Only use public for non-sensitive data
  2. Provide defaults - Always set default values in nuxt.config
  3. Use environment variables - Override defaults with .env files
  4. Type your config - Add TypeScript interfaces for better DX

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Common Pitfalls

Don’t use process.env directly - It won’t be reactive and won’t work on the client-side.
Don’t destructure useRuntimeConfig() - The config object is reactive. Always use config.public.apiBase instead of destructuring.
// ❌ Don't do this
const { public: { apiBase } } = useRuntimeConfig()

// ✅ Do this instead
const config = useRuntimeConfig()
const apiBase = config.public.apiBase