Introduction to Building a Business Component Library with Vite

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Column Introduction

Hello, I am Tusi. I am currently writing a series about building a business component library based on Vite. I invite readers to follow the column and learn together.

The column focuses on how to construct a business‑oriented component library rather than teaching how to build a generic library like AntDesign or ElementPlus from scratch, because many existing courses already cover the basics.

I believe it is unnecessary to reinvent basic wheels; creating a custom Button component that surpasses AntDesign’s design is possible but may not justify the investment unless it creates a competitive edge.

🐶 Dog‑head protection

From a team perspective, leaders care about whether your work brings real business value; duplicating basic components rarely gains recognition.

However, building foundational infrastructure can greatly improve personal skills and reveal the challenges and solutions encountered by pioneers.

Valuable output can take two forms:

Creating a brand‑new, deployable component that fills a gap.

Adding extra value on top of existing tools, such as a business‑specific CLI or a tailored component library.

The series will not teach you how to build a full‑scale library like AntDesign, but it will cover core requirements such as on‑demand loading, module format compatibility, TypeScript support, and Unplugin integration.

Core components such as Button , Icon , Table , and Form are examples; the architecture remains the same regardless of which components you eventually implement.

A business‑oriented application that adopts such a library can combine the strengths of many tools, improve efficiency, and avoid locking developers into a single UI framework.

In this column I will share practical experience from multiple projects, guiding readers through the entire pipeline of component‑library design, development, automated packaging, publishing, and documentation, helping them master the core methods of building a modern library with Vite.

Preface

UI component libraries such as Bootstrap, Material, AntDesign, Element, Vant, iView, and newer ones like AcroDesign, TDesign, and Semi Design are familiar to front‑end engineers; most developers have used at least one of them.

With the evolution of front‑end frameworks, build tools, and UI/UX design philosophies, developing a component has become low‑barrier, but creating a high‑quality component still demands solid design skills.

Component Design Basic Principles

When developing a component, consider the following aspects based on my practical experience:

Clear Input and Output

The API should be semantic, simple, and easy to understand, reducing the cognitive load for users.

High Cohesion, Low Coupling

Aim to keep logic tightly grouped inside the component while avoiding unnecessary dependencies on external state such as global stores, contexts, or browser storage.

// bad case
const store = useStore(key) // depends on global state
const innerState = computed(() => store.state.xxxModule.xxxState)

Do not mutate prototypes of built‑in objects, as this creates side effects.

// bad case
// Adding a magical method to Array prototype
Array.prototype.blingbling = function () {
  console.log("Solved the problem in a spectacular way")
}

Vue’s source code handles array reactivity without altering Array.prototype , using specialized observer modules instead.

Customizable and Extensible

A component should support a wide range of business scenarios by exposing props for user‑defined conditions and, when necessary, allowing custom render functions or slots.

Friendly Warning Tips

Provide clear runtime warnings when users misuse component APIs, similar to framework‑level warnings.

// Vue source warning for duplicate mount
if (__DEV__ && (rootContainer as any).__vue_app__) {
  warn(`There is already an app instance mounted on the host container.\n` +
       `If you want to mount another app on the same host container,`
       + ` you need to unmount the previous app by calling \\`app.unmount()\\` first.`)
}

Such warnings reduce the mental burden on developers and help them troubleshoot without diving into source code.

Component Documentation

Comprehensive documentation is essential to address user questions and anxiety; creating it efficiently tests a developer’s engineering skills.

Complete TypeScript Support

React naturally offers strong TypeScript integration, while Vue can achieve good type support using @vue/compiler-sfc together with tools like tsc or ts‑morph.

Supporting Toolchain

Providing auxiliary tools such as CLI scaffolds or IDE plugins can further improve developer experience.

Summary

This article serves as the opening introduction to a Vite‑based business component library series, outlining the author’s motivation, the direction of future posts, and a set of component design principles and practical tips intended to inspire and assist readers.