How to use an npm package component with Vite + Vue?

Question

What would be the steps to add a component to Vite with Vue, as an npm package?

I assumed these:

1. npm install example
2. open src/App.vue and add import Example from 'example'
3. in App.vue, in <template>, add <Example />

Is that correct?

I am trying to install and use vue-select like so, but it's not working:

Answer 1

Your screenshot shows you're importing vSelect in a <script> block, and expecting it to be automatically registered for the component's template. That would only work in a <script setup> block.

However, your GitHub repo (which seems to be different from the screenshot you posted) reveals other issues in your code:

1. You're using Vue 2 code to globally register the v-select component in your Vue 3 app. In Vue 3, global component registration is done from the application instance (i.e., returned from createApp()).

// main.js
import VSelect from 'vue-select';

// Vue.component('v-select', VSelect); ❌ Vue 2 code

import { createApp } from 'vue'
import App from './App.vue'

createApp(App)
  .component('v-select', VSelect) ✅
  .mount('#app')

2. You're using @import (CSS syntax) to import your SCSS file in the <script> block. Either move the CSS into a <style lang="scss"> block; or remove the @ prefix, which would create a valid import for <script>.

<script setup>
// @import 'vue-select/src/scss/vue-select.scss'; ❌ The @ prefix is invalid in <script>
import 'vue-select/src/scss/vue-select.scss'; ✅
</script>

<!-- OR -->
<style lang="scss">
@import 'vue-select/src/scss/vue-select.scss';
</style>

3. Your project is missing sass, which is required to process SCSS files. You can install it as a dev dependency with:

$ npm i -D sass

Here's a demo with the fixes pointed out above.

Answer 2

The process you described is correct, but you must also register the component before you can use it (within components: { ... }).

Since you mentioned you're using vue-select, I will use that as an example.

Step #0 - Install

As you've already done, ensure your project is initialized (npm init), then run yarn add vue-select / npm i vue-select.

---

Step #1 - Initialize

In your main.js, import and register with:

import VSelect from 'vue-select'; 

Vue.component('v-select', VSelect);

/* rest of your Vue initialization here */

---

Step #2 - Use Component

<v-select :options="[{label: 'Canada', code: 'ca'}]"></v-select>

You'll also need to import the stylesheet in your CSS, with:

@import 'vue-select/src/scss/vue-select.scss';

---

Real Example

If you want to see a full example, I am using this package in one of my projects, I'm registering the component in my main.js and using it ThemeSelector.vue.

---

Also, if your project is large and/ or you're only using this component in one place, then a better approach would be to import it into the component that's using it. This is done in a similar way, but you must also register it under components: { ... } for it to be accessible within your <template>.