The Weekly Dev's Brew

From Nuxt to Nitro: How One Engine Is Powering the Modern Web (w/ Alexander Lichter)

Jun 30, 2025
Guest
Alexander Lichter
Join Alexander Lichter, a Developer Relations Engineer at VoidZero and a core member of Nuxt, as he dives into the transformative Nitro server engine. Discover how Nitro enhances fullstack JavaScript development and its seamless integration with frameworks like SolidStart and Analog. Alexander shares insights on serverless architecture, the intricacies of runtime-agnostic code, and the user-friendly advancements with Vite. He also discusses the importance of open-source collaboration and the evolving JavaScript toolchain, shedding light on the future of web development.
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INSIGHT

Nitro Emerged From Nuxt Rework

  • Nitro was extracted from Nuxt to become a focused, reusable server engine following the Unix philosophy of small composable tools.
  • This separation improved testability and enabled reuse across multiple frameworks like SolidStart and Analog.
ANECDOTE

Sigma Was Nitro's Early Codename

  • Nitro started under the internal name 'Sigma' before being renamed.
  • The rename to Nitro became the public identity users know today.
ADVICE

Prefer Nitro For Runtime-Agnostic Servers

  • Use Nitro directly for server apps when you want runtime flexibility and many built-in integrations like unstorage.
  • Configure drivers (e.g., Redis, Cloudflare KV) and keep code portable instead of coupling to fs or Node-only APIs.
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