Make vuetify a peer dependency #358
Description
Currently, Vuetify is installed as a direct dependency of @girder/components.
Since the library is designed to be used inside host applications that already configure their own Vuetify instance, this can lead to several issues:
- Multiple Vuetify versions installed in the same project
- Duplicated Vuetify instances and inconsistent behavior
- Harder integration with custom Vuetify configurations (icons, themes, locales, etc.)
- Increased bundle size
- Potential version conflicts between the library and the host app
To align with common best practices for Vue UI libraries, Vuetify should be declared as a peer dependency instead of a direct dependency.
Proposed change
- Move vuetify from dependencies to peerDependencies
- Optionally keep it in devDependencies for local development and testing
- Document the required Vuetify version in the README
Benefits
- Ensures a single Vuetify instance in the host application
- Gives full control of Vuetify configuration to the consuming app
- Avoids version conflicts and duplicated code
- Aligns with ecosystem standards for component libraries
Notes
This change is especially important now that the library targets Vue 3 and Vuetify 3, where applications often have custom Vuetify setups that should not be overridden by the library.