# Source: https://nuxt.com/raw/blog/v3-18.md

# Nuxt 3.18

> Nuxt 3.18 is out - bringing v4 features to v3, improved accessibility, better browser dev tooling integration, and performance enhancements!

## 🧪 Lazy Hydration Macros

Building on the delayed hydration support from v3.16, we now support **lazy hydration macros** ([#31192](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/31192))! These provide a more ergonomic way to control component hydration:

```vue
<script setup lang="ts">
const LazyHydrationMyComponent = defineLazyHydrationComponent(
  'visible',
  () => import('./components/MyComponent.vue')
)
</script>
<template>
  <div>
    <!-- 
      Hydration will be triggered when
      the element(s) is 100px away from entering the viewport.
    -->
    <LazyHydrationMyComponent :hydrate-on-visible="{ rootMargin: '100px' }" />
  </div>
</template>
```

These macros make it possible to use Nuxt's lazy hydration utilities alongside explicit component imports.

## ♿️ Accessibility Improvements

We've enhanced accessibility by including `<NuxtRouteAnnouncer>` in the built-in `app.vue` ([#32621](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/32621)). This means page changes will be announced to screen readers, making navigation more accessible for users with visual impairments. (This only applies if you do not have an `app.vue` in your project. If you do, please keep `<NuxtRouteAnnouncer>` in your `app.vue`!)

## 🛠️ Enhanced Development Experience

### Chrome DevTools Workspace Integration

We've added **Chrome DevTools workspace integration** ([#32084](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/32084)), allowing you to edit your Nuxt source files directly from Chrome DevTools. This creates a better debugging experience where changes made in DevTools are reflected in your actual source files.

### Better Component Type Safety

Component type safety has been improved with:

- **Typed slots for <ClientOnly> and <DevOnly>** ([#32707](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/32707)) - better IntelliSense and error checking
- **Exported <NuxtTime> prop types** ([#32547](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/32547)) - easier to extend and customize

### New Auto-Import: `onWatcherCleanup`

The `onWatcherCleanup` function from `vue` is now available as an auto-import ([#32396](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/32396)), making it easier to clean up watchers and prevent memory leaks:

```ts
const { data } = useAsyncData('users', fetchUsers)

watch(data, (newData) => {
  const interval = setInterval(() => {
    // Some periodic task
  }, 1000)
  
  // Clean up when the watcher is stopped
  onWatcherCleanup(() => {
    clearInterval(interval)
  })
})
```

## 📊 Observability Enhancements

Page routes are now **exposed to Nitro for observability** ([#32617](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/32617)), enabling better monitoring and analytics integration with supported platforms. This allows observability tools to track page-level metrics more effectively.

## 🔧 Module Development Improvements

Module authors get several quality-of-life improvements:

### Simplified Server Imports

The `addServerImports` kit utility now **supports single imports** ([#32289](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/32289)), making it easier to add individual server utilities:

```ts
// Before: had to wrap in array
addServerImports([{ from: 'my-package', name: 'myUtility' }])

// Now: can pass directly
addServerImports({ from: 'my-package', name: 'myUtility' })
```

### TypeScript Configuration

Modules can now **add to typescript.hoist** ([#32601](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/32601)), giving them more control over TypeScript configuration and type generation.

## ⚡️ Performance Improvements

We've made several performance optimizations:

- **Improved Vite-node communication** via internal socket ([#32417](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/32417)) for faster development builds
- **Migration to oxc-walker** ([#32250](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/32250)) and **oxc for onPrehydrate transforms** ([#32045](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/32045)) for faster code transformations

## 🐛 Bug Fixes

This release also includes several important fixes:

- **Improved data fetching**: When computed keys change, old data is now properly retained ([#32616](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/32616))
- **Better scroll behavior**: `scrollBehaviorType` is now only used for hash scrolling ([#32622](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/32622))
- **Fixed directory aliases**: Added trailing slashes to some directory aliases for better consistency ([#32755](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/32755))

## ✅ Upgrading

As usual, our recommendation for upgrading is to run:

```sh
npx nuxi@latest upgrade --dedupe
```

This refreshes your lockfile and pulls in all the latest dependencies that Nuxt relies on, especially from the unjs ecosystem.

## Full release notes

<read-more icon="i-simple-icons-github" target="_blank" to="https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/releases/tag/v3.18.0">

Read the full release notes of Nuxt `v3.18.0`.

</read-more>

A huge thank you to everyone who's been a part of this release. Over the next six months, we'll continue backporting compatible v4 features and bug fixes, so please keep the feedback coming! ❤️