Building Vue’s High-Performance Future: Vapor Mode – Insights from Rizumu Ayaka’s Vue.js Nation 2025 Talk

This article is based on Rizumu Ayaka's insightful talk at Vue.js Nation 2025, titled 'Join Us Building Vue’s High-Performance Future: Vapor Mode'. In this session, Rizumu discussed the evolution of Vue.js and Vapor Mode, highlighting its performance improvements and the role of compilers.

Rizumu (Little Sound) is an independent developer who loves open source. Currently, she is active in the Vue community.

Understanding Vapor Mode: A New Era in Vue.js

As Rizumu mentioned: "Today, I want to tell you about the next upgrade in Vue. It's called Vapor Mode". Vue Vapor is a variant of Vue that offers rendering without the Virtual DOM.

Vue.js has been around for over ten years, creating a strong community and introducing tools like Vite. Each update has pushed front-end development forward. Vapor Mode is the latest feature in the Vue ecosystem, aiming for more efficient rendering without using virtual DOM.

Performance Improvements and Benchmarks

Looking at how front-end frameworks perform, React has a score of 68, while Vapor Mode has increased Vue's score to 90. The goal is to reach performance like vanilla JavaScript, which scores a perfect 100 by directly interacting with the DOM.

Key Optimization Techniques in Vapor Mode:

• Batch Updates: Combine multiple updates to avoid repeated rendering and speed things up.
• Event Delegation: Use fewer listeners by managing events at a higher level for better performance.
• Template Reuse and Reactive Programming: These methods help by cutting down unnecessary work.

Vapor Mode sets new standards for making Vue.js applications fast and efficient.

Optimization Techniques in Vapor Mode

Native DOM Operations vs. Virtual DOM

Using the virtual DOM is common in many frameworks, but it has its drawbacks. Rizumu explains that we don’t always need a virtual DOM. Instead, using native DOM operations can boost performance if you master the right techniques.

"So we actually don't need virtual DOM. If the person who writes it masters enough optimization techniques, they can do a lot of tricks."

Techniques for Reducing Updates and Improving Performance

• Use compilers to skip the virtual DOM.
• Directly compile to native DOM operations.
• Cut down on unnecessary updates for better efficiency.

Role of Compilers in Vapor Mode

A smart compiler can turn a Single File Component (SFC) into native DOM operations. This makes apps run almost as fast as plain JavaScript, which is key to Vapor Mode's strategy.

Vapor Mode's Impact and Future Prospects

Rizumu continued her talk by highlighting the significant impact and promising future of Vapor Mode.

Vapor Mode is introduced as a promising upgrade to Vue.js, made to boost performance and efficiency. As "a part of Vue," Vapor Mode offers a runtime size that is currently 53% smaller compared to the virtual DOM mode.

Key Benefits

• Smaller Runtime Size: 53% reduction compared to virtual DOM mode.
• Improved Performance: Faster execution and smaller bundle sizes.
• Enhanced JSX Support: Future plans include better JSX integration.

Community Contributions and Future Plans

The future of Vapor Mode looks bright with plans for improved JSX support and other enhancements that everyone eagerly anticipates. The development and success of these features are thanks to the teamwork of contributors within the Vue community. Vapor Mode's ongoing growth shows how web technologies keep changing and highlights how important community-driven innovation is in shaping the tools we use every day.

Rizumu’s Open Source Journey

Rizumu's journey into open source began by chance. She saw a tweet by Kevin Deng (co-creator of Vapor Mode) asking for help with Vapor Mode. Though she didn't know what Vapor Mode was, her interest in Vue.js led her to get involved. Her first encounter with the code was tough. Rizumu spent a night trying to understand it and felt overwhelmed. But by looking at it again, she started to get it!

"Interest is really the best teacher and gives you lots of energy." ~ Rizumu

Some challenges she faced included:

• Waiting a year for pull request approval at Vue Corp due to thorough checks.
• Learning that bigger projects require more work and time.

Last but not least, Rizumu highlighted the benefits of starting with smaller projects where you can contribute faster and learn more.

Key Points:

• Mistakes help you learn.
• Community projects allow you to grow and share ideas.

Conclusion and Insights

Rizumu concluded by encouraging everyone to share their stories in open-source projects like Vapor Mode. She talked about how working together on these projects can lead to exciting developments like improved performance, architecture enhancements, and new features.

She expressed gratitude for all contributors who make these projects successful and shared her hope that more people will join this rewarding journey into open source. Her final words were a reminder that getting involved is just the start of a fulfilling journey in building software together with a passionate community.