Astro Framework Skill

Conventions for building content-focused, high-performance websites with Astro.

When to Use

• Creating or modifying .astro components
• Working with content collections (blog, articles, resume)
• Configuring Astro routing and layouts
• Optimizing performance with island architecture
• Integrating Vue components as islands

Critical Patterns

1. Island Architecture - Server First

ALWAYS minimize client-side JavaScript. Astro ships zero JS by default.

Compare these patterns: Static vs Interactive

Static component – No JavaScript shipped to the client:

---
import Header from '../components/Header.astro';
---
<Header title="Welcome" />

Interactive island – JavaScript loaded only for this component (uses client:visible):

---
import Counter from '../components/Counter.vue';
---
<Counter client:visible />

2. Hydration Directives

Directive	When to Use
client:load	Critical interactivity needed immediately
client:idle	Non-critical, can wait for browser idle
client:visible	Below the fold, hydrate on scroll
client:media="(max-width: 768px)"	Mobile-only interactivity
client:only="vue"	No SSR, client-only rendering (see note)

Default choice: client:visible unless there's a reason otherwise.

[!WARNING] client:only trade-offs Components using client:only skip server-side rendering entirely, which increases the client JS payload and can harm SEO since no HTML is rendered initially. Use only for:

• Third-party widgets that cannot render on the server
• Complex client-only UI (e.g., canvas, WebGL, maps)
• Non-SEO-critical parts of the page (modals, admin dashboards)

3. Component Structure

Props typing options: Astro supports both runtime access via Astro.props and compile-time typing.

---
// 1. Type definitions FIRST
type Props = {
  title: string;
  description?: string;
  isActive?: boolean;
};

// 2. Props destructuring with defaults (runtime access)
const { title, description, isActive = false } = Astro.props;

// 3. Imports and logic
import { getCollection } from 'astro:content';
const posts = await getCollection('articles');
---

<!-- 4. Template -->
<section class:list={["hero", { active: isActive }]}>
  <h1>{title}</h1>
  {description && <p>{description}</p>}
  <slot />
</section>

<!-- 5. Scoped styles -->
<style>
  .hero {
    padding: var(--space-8);
  }
</style>

4. Content Collections

ALWAYS define schemas for type safety (see src/content.config.ts):

// src/content.config.ts
import {defineCollection, z, reference} from 'astro:content';
import {glob} from 'astro/loaders';

const articles = defineCollection({
  loader: glob({pattern: '**/*.{md,mdx}', base: './src/data/articles'}),
  schema: ({image}) => z.object({
    title: z.string(),
    description: z.string(),
    date: z.coerce.date(),
    cover: image().optional(),
    author: reference('authors'),
    tags: z.array(reference('tags')),
    category: reference('categories'),
    draft: z.boolean().optional().default(false),
  }),
});

export const collections = {articles};

5. Image Optimization

ALWAYS use Astro's Image component:

---
import { Image } from 'astro:assets';
import heroImage from '../assets/hero.jpg';
---

<!-- ✅ Optimized, responsive -->
<Image
  src={heroImage}
  alt="Hero banner"
  width={1200}
  height={600}
  format="webp"
/>

<!-- ❌ NEVER use raw img for local images -->
<img src="/hero.jpg" alt="Hero" />

Project Structure (This Portfolio)

apps/portfolio/
├── src/
│ ├── pages/ # File-based routing
│ ├── components/
│ │ ├── atoms/ # Smallest elements
│ │ ├── molecules/ # Atom combinations
│ │ └── organisms/ # Full sections
│ ├── layouts/ # BaseLayout.astro, etc.
│ ├── data/ # Content collections
│ │ ├── articles/ # Blog posts (MDX)
│ │ ├── resume/ # Resume JSON by locale
│ │ ├── tags/ # Tag definitions
│ │ └── authors/ # Author profiles
│ ├── core/ # Business logic (domain)
│ ├── lib/ # Utilities
│ ├── i18n/ # Internationalization
│ └── styles/ # Global CSS (Tailwind)
├── public/ # Static assets
└── astro.config.mjs

Anti-Patterns

❌ Shipping unnecessary JS - Use .astro for static content ❌ Using client:load everywhere - Most components don't need immediate hydration ❌ Raw <img> tags - Use <Image> for optimization ❌ Inline styles for everything - Use scoped <style> blocks ❌ Hardcoded meta tags - Use a reusable BaseHead.astro

SEO Pattern

---
// BaseHead.astro
type Props = {
  title: string;
  description: string;
  image?: string;
};

const { title, description, image } = Astro.props;
const canonicalURL = new URL(Astro.url.pathname, Astro.site);
---

<meta charset="utf-8" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
<link rel="canonical" href={canonicalURL} />
<title>{title}</title>
<meta name="description" content={description} />
<meta property="og:title" content={title} />
<meta property="og:description" content={description} />
<meta property="og:url" content={canonicalURL} />
{image && <meta property="og:image" content={new URL(image, Astro.site)} />}

Commands

Astro CLI Usage: Use pnpm exec astro or pnpm --filter portfolio exec astro

# Development
pnpm --filter=portfolio dev

# Build
pnpm --filter=portfolio build

# Preview production build
pnpm --filter=portfolio preview

# Running Astro CLI commands directly
pnpm --filter=portfolio exec astro check      # Type-check .astro files
pnpm --filter=portfolio exec astro add vue    # Add integrations

Integration with Vue

When using Vue components as islands:

---
import InteractiveWidget from '../components/InteractiveWidget.vue';
---

<!-- Pass props, use appropriate hydration -->
<InteractiveWidget
  client:visible
  title="Dashboard"
  :items={data.items}
/>

Resources

• Astro Documentation
• Content Collections
• Image Optimization