Vitesse

Vitesse is an opinionated Vite starter template for building Vue 3 applications, pre-configured with a curated toolchain including file-based routing, auto-importing, UnoCSS, PWA support, i18n, and static-site generation.

What is Vitesse?

Vitesse is a highly opinionated starter template created by Anthony Fu (antfu) under the antfu-collective organization. It scaffolds a Vue 3 + Vite project with TypeScript, pnpm, and a rich set of pre-integrated plugins so you can begin coding immediately without spending time on configuration. The template accepts your Vue source files and produces a production-ready web app, with a static-site generation (SSG) output via vite-ssg that can be deployed to Netlify with zero configuration. It is optimized for desktop web apps and supports PWA installation.

What makes Vitesse stand out?

• Vue 3 + Vite + pnpm + esbuild — The toolchain is chosen for speed, with pnpm as the package manager and esbuild for fast transpilation.
• File-based routing — Pages are placed in src/pages, and unplugin-vue-router generates the routes automatically.
• Auto-importing — unplugin-vue-components and unplugin-auto-import let you use components and Vue Composition API functions without writing import statements.
• Layout system — Powered by vite-plugin-vue-layouts, you can define shared layouts per page in src/layouts.
• UnoCSS — The instant on-demand atomic CSS engine, with preset-icons allowing class-based icons from any icon set via Iconify.
• PWA ready — Integrates vite-plugin-pwa for offline support and installability.
• i18n support — Vue I18n with unplugin-vue-i18n and locale files in ./locales for multi-language apps.
• Markdown as components — unplugin-vue-markdown lets you write Markdown that becomes Vue components, with Shiki syntax highlighting.
• SSG and critical CSS — vite-ssg generates static sites, beasties inlines critical CSS, and vite-ssg-sitemap creates sitemaps.
• Testing setup — Vitest for unit tests and Cypress for end-to-end tests, wired to run on GitHub Actions.

Who is Vitesse for?

Vitesse targets Vue developers who want a batteries-included starting point without the usual configuration overhead. It suits indie hackers prototyping full-featured web apps, teams adopting a consistent coding style (ESLint with @antfu/eslint-config), and open-source maintainers creating their own starter templates. Developers needing SSG, PWA, or i18n out of the box will find the integrations already wired up.

What can you do with Vitesse?

• Indie hackers: Launch a production-ready SaaS landing page or web app in minutes with routing, state management via Pinia, and layout system already configured.
• Content creators: Build a Markdown-powered blog with syntax highlighting and multi-language support, and generate a sitemap automatically.
• App developers: Create an installable PWA with offline capability and deploy it to Netlify without extra setup.
• Teams: Standardize on a single, opinionated Vue 3 toolchain that includes unit and E2E testing in CI.

How does Vitesse work?

Start by cloning the template with npx degit antfu-collective/vitesse my-vitesse-app, then install dependencies with pnpm i. Run pnpm dev to start the development server at http://localhost:3333, or pnpm build to produce a static dist folder. Deploy by linking your repository to Netlify, or build a Docker image with the included Dockerfile.

Alternatives

• Nuxt — The Vitesse README explicitly recommends Nuxt for better Vue developer experience and more consistent maintenance, especially if you want SSR or SSG with an integrated framework.

FAQ

What Node version does Vitesse require?

Vitesse requires Node 14.18 or higher, as stated in the README. Make sure your environment meets this requirement before using pnpm commands.

How do I create a new project from Vitesse?

You have two options: click the "Create a repo from this template" button on GitHub, or clone locally with npx degit antfu-collective/vitesse my-vitesse-app and then run pnpm i to install dependencies.

What is the default development server port?

The development server runs on port 3333 by default. After running pnpm dev, visit http://localhost:3333 in your browser.

Does Vitesse include PWA support?

Yes, Vitesse integrates vite-plugin-pwa, so your app can be installed on devices and work offline out of the box. The template is configured for PWA from the start.

Is Vitesse still actively maintained?

The README notes that Vitesse was created during the early transition of Vue 3 and Vite, and that maintainers now recommend Nuxt for better long-term experience. The template still serves as a reference but receives slower updates.