🛡️ Vue Navigation Guards – Control Access and Transitions in Your Vue Apps (2025 Guide)

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🧲 Introduction – What Are Vue Navigation Guards?

Navigation Guards in Vue Router are lifecycle hooks that let you control access to routes during navigation. These guards let you authenticate users, restrict access, run validations, or log activity before or after route transitions.

🎯 In this guide, you’ll learn:

• What types of navigation guards exist
• Syntax for global, per-route, and in-component guards
• Real-world use cases (auth, roles, confirmations)
• Best practices and examples

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📘 What Is a Navigation Guard?

A navigation guard is a function that intercepts a route change before it completes. It can:

• Allow or block navigation
• Redirect to another route
• Run async operations (like API validation)

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🔁 Types of Navigation Guards

Type	When It Runs	Scope
Global Guards	On every route change	App-wide
Per-Route Guards	On specific route definition	Route-level
In-Component Guards	When entering/leaving a component	Component

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🌍 Global Navigation Guards

✅ router.beforeEach

Runs before every navigation. Use it to protect all routes.

router.beforeEach((to, from, next) => {
  if (to.meta.requiresAuth && !isLoggedIn()) {
    next('/login');
  } else {
    next();
  }
});

🧠 next() proceeds, next(false) cancels, next('/path') redirects.

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✅ router.afterEach

Runs after navigation is confirmed.

router.afterEach((to, from) => {
  console.log(`Navigated from ${from.path} to ${to.path}`);
});

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📦 Per-Route Navigation Guards

✅ Route Definition Example:

{
  path: '/admin',
  component: AdminPage,
  beforeEnter: (to, from, next) => {
    if (!isAdmin()) {
      next('/unauthorized');
    } else {
      next();
    }
  }
}

🧠 Good for securing specific routes like /admin or /dashboard.

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🧬 In-Component Navigation Guards

These hooks are placed inside the component’s <script> block.

✅ beforeRouteEnter

Runs before the route is entered. No access to this, but next() can be passed a callback.

beforeRouteEnter(to, from, next) {
  next(vm => {
    console.log('Entered with access to', vm);
  });
}

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✅ beforeRouteUpdate

Runs when params or query changes but the component is reused.

beforeRouteUpdate(to, from, next) {
  // Called when /user/:id changes but same component
  this.fetchData(to.params.id);
  next();
}

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✅ beforeRouteLeave

Runs when leaving the component. Useful for confirmations.

beforeRouteLeave(to, from, next) {
  if (this.unsavedChanges) {
    const answer = window.confirm('Discard changes?');
    answer ? next() : next(false);
  } else {
    next();
  }
}

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🧰 Real-World Use Case – Auth Guard

✅ router.js

router.beforeEach((to, from, next) => {
  const isAuth = localStorage.getItem('auth');
  if (to.meta.requiresAuth && !isAuth) {
    next('/login');
  } else {
    next();
  }
});

✅ Route Meta Tag:

{
  path: '/dashboard',
  component: Dashboard,
  meta: { requiresAuth: true }
}

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⚠️ Best Practices

Best Practice	Why?
Use meta fields	Keep auth logic clean and reusable
Avoid async inside next()	Always return next() only once
Use next(false) to block navigation	Prevent user from leaving a route
Call next() in all branches	Prevent hanging transitions

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📌 Summary – Recap & Next Steps

Vue Navigation Guards are essential for adding logic and control to your routes. Whether you’re protecting admin pages, validating data, or confirming navigation, guards keep your app secure and user-friendly.

🔍 Key Takeaways:

• Use global guards for universal auth logic
• Use per-route guards for fine-grained control
• Use in-component guards for lifecycle-based transitions
• Always handle next() properly

⚙️ Real-World Relevance:
Used in apps with authentication, role-based access, form validation, and dynamic route conditions.

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❓ FAQ Section

❓ What is a navigation guard in Vue?

✅ It’s a hook that runs during route transitions to control access or behavior.

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❓ How do I protect routes in Vue Router?

✅ Use router.beforeEach() and check to.meta.requiresAuth.

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❓ What does next() do in navigation guards?

✅ It continues the navigation. You can pass false to cancel or a path to redirect.

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❓ What is the difference between global and component guards?

✅ Global guards apply app-wide, component guards run inside specific components.

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❓ Can I cancel navigation with guards?

✅ Yes, use next(false) to stop navigation.

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