Vue.js 3 Migration Working Group

Attributes

Disbanding

On October 10th 2024, the Vue 3 working group was disbanded in favor of smaller, more focused task groups. On this date, the migration to Vue 3 is not complete and there’s still a great deal of work to be done. Please see the exit criteria for information on what’s left to complete.

Context

Vue.js 3 is the latest version of the frontend framework used by GitLab.

With 2023-12-31 Vue.js 2 (which is currently the version used by GitLab) reaches official end-of-life, including security updates and browser compatibility which might affect entire GitLab users.

Additionally, current GitLab codebase relies on subset of libraries which were not updated to be compatible with Vue 3 which might pose additional risks during migration.

We want to ensure that we are not creating additional security risks for our users by using an unmaintained version of a framework. At the same time increasing developer productivity by using new features of the latest version of the framework. Also an upgrade to Vue.js 3 hopefully will result in performance gains through out the application of 20-30% and most probably even more for heavy frontend applications like Code Review for example.

Goals

This Working Group has the following goals:

1. Ensure all GitLab projects (including, but not limited to GitLab.com, customers portal, status page, etc.) are using latest Vue.js version
2. Develop & Socialize upgrade strategy for Vue.js 3.
   1. Identify dependencies which are blocking upgrade and ensure that decisions regarding these dependencies will be taken in timely fashion.
   2. Ensure visibility of upgrade process on per-application level
   3. Promote new patterns and update handbook with guidelines appropriate for new framework version
3. Develop a Rollout Strategy and Plan for gradual migration
   1. Create tooling and proper infrastructure to be able to use both framework versions in production during migration process.
   2. Ensure our test suite could be run using both versions of Vue.js to embrace values of iteration of results and allow gradual migration of codebase to Vue.js 3
   3. Implement compatibility layer for unifying differences between framework versions
   4. Create automated tooling (where applicable) to migrate existing Vue.js 2 code to be compatible with latest framework version
   5. Create deprecation strategy for patterns and solutions which are not compatible with Vue.js 3 to rest of the teams
4. Develop and implement a communication plan for the outcomes of the working group.

Exit Criteria

As this group has been disbanded, not all exit criteria has been met. The main items have been picked up by related task groups. The final two will be picked up once they’re unblocked.

Roles and Responsibilities

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