Programmatic navigation with useRouter in Vue - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - Programmatic navigation with useRouter

Import useRouter

↓

Call useRouter() to get router

↓

Define function to navigate

↓

Call router.push() with target path

↓

Vue Router changes URL and view

↓

Component updates to new route

This flow shows how to import and use useRouter to navigate programmatically by calling router.push() to change the route and update the view.

Execution Sample

Vue

import { useRouter } from 'vue-router'

export default {
  setup() {
    const router = useRouter()

    function goHome() {
      router.push('/')
    }

    return { goHome }
  }
}

This code imports useRouter, gets the router instance inside setup, and defines a function to navigate to the home page.

Execution Table

Step	Action	Evaluation	Result
1	Import useRouter from vue-router	useRouter is available	Ready to get router instance
2	Call useRouter()	router = useRouter()	router object obtained
3	Define goHome function	function goHome() {...}	Function ready to call
4	Call goHome()	router.push('/')	Navigation to '/' triggered
5	Vue Router updates URL	URL changes to '/'	View updates to home page
6	Component re-renders	New route active	Home page content displayed

💡 Navigation completes when router.push updates the URL and Vue updates the view.

Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 2	After Step 4	Final
router	undefined	router object	router object	router object

Key Moments - 2 Insights

Why do we call useRouter() inside the setup function or component?

useRouter() must be called inside the component's setup or lifecycle because it accesses Vue Router's context. See execution_table step 2 where router is obtained.

What happens if we call router.push() with a wrong path?

Vue Router tries to navigate but shows a 404 or fallback route if path is invalid. The navigation still triggers as in step 4 but view updates differently.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what is the value of 'router' after step 2?

A undefined

B router object

C function goHome

D null

💡 Hint

Check the variable_tracker table column 'After Step 2' for 'router'

At which step does the URL actually change to '/'?

A Step 5

B Step 3

C Step 4

D Step 6

💡 Hint

See execution_table step 5 where URL changes

If we call router.push('/about') instead of '/', which step changes in the execution table?

A Step 6 component re-render

B Step 2 router creation

C Step 4 action and evaluation

D Step 1 import

💡 Hint

Step 4 shows the navigation target in action and evaluation columns

Concept Snapshot

Programmatic navigation with useRouter:
- Import useRouter from 'vue-router'
- Call useRouter() inside setup to get router
- Use router.push('/path') to navigate
- Vue Router updates URL and view
- Component re-renders with new route content

Full Transcript

Programmatic navigation in Vue uses the useRouter function from vue-router. First, import useRouter and call it inside your component's setup function to get the router instance. Then define a function that calls router.push() with the target path string. When you call this function, Vue Router changes the URL and updates the view to the new route. The component re-renders to show the new page content. This lets you navigate without user clicks on links, useful for buttons or after actions.