title: Pass Slots as Functions in Render Functions, Not Direct Children impact: HIGH impactDescription: Passing slot content incorrectly causes slots to not render or be treated as props type: gotcha tags: [vue3, render-function, slots, children, vnode]

Pass Slots as Functions in Render Functions, Not Direct Children

Impact: HIGH - When creating component vnodes with h(), children must be passed as slot functions, not as direct children. Passing children directly may cause them to be interpreted as props or fail to render.

Task Checklist

• Pass slot content as functions: { default: () => [...] }
• Use null for props when only passing slots to avoid misinterpretation
• For default slot only, a single function can be passed directly
• For named slots, use an object with slot function properties

Incorrect:

import { h } from 'vue'
import MyComponent from './MyComponent.vue'

// WRONG: Children array may be misinterpreted
h(MyComponent, [
  h('span', 'Slot content')  // May not render as expected
])

// WRONG: Named slots as direct properties
h(MyComponent, {
  header: h('h1', 'Title'),  // This is a prop, not a slot!
  default: h('p', 'Content')  // This is also a prop
})

Correct:

import { h } from 'vue'
import MyComponent from './MyComponent.vue'

// CORRECT: Default slot as function
h(MyComponent, null, {
  default: () => h('span', 'Slot content')
})

// CORRECT: Single default slot shorthand
h(MyComponent, null, () => h('span', 'Slot content'))

// CORRECT: Named slots as functions
h(MyComponent, null, {
  header: () => h('h1', 'Title'),
  default: () => h('p', 'Content'),
  footer: () => [
    h('span', 'Footer item 1'),
    h('span', 'Footer item 2')
  ]
})

// CORRECT: With props AND slots
h(MyComponent, { size: 'large' }, {
  default: () => 'Button Text'
})

Why Functions?

Slots in Vue 3 are functions for lazy evaluation:

// Slots are called by the child component when needed
// This enables:
// 1. Scoped slots (passing data back)
// 2. Conditional rendering (slot not called if not used)
// 3. Proper reactivity tracking

h(MyList, { items }, {
  // Scoped slot - receives data from child
  item: ({ item, index }) => h('li', `${index}: ${item.name}`)
})

The null Props Gotcha

When passing only slots, always use null for props:

// WRONG: Slots object interpreted as props!
h(MyComponent, {
  default: () => 'Hello'
})
// MyComponent receives: props.default = () => 'Hello'

// CORRECT: null signals "no props, next arg is slots"
h(MyComponent, null, {
  default: () => 'Hello'
})
// MyComponent receives slot correctly

Forwarding Slots from Parent

export default {
  setup(props, { slots }) {
    return () => h(ChildComponent, null, {
      // Forward all slots from parent
      ...slots,

      // Or forward specific slots
      default: slots.default,
      header: slots.header
    })
  }
}

Scoped Slots in Render Functions

// Parent: Receives data from child via slot props
h(DataTable, { data: items }, {
  row: (slotProps) => h('tr', [
    h('td', slotProps.item.name),
    h('td', slotProps.item.value)
  ])
})

// Child (DataTable): Calls slot with data
export default {
  props: ['data'],
  setup(props, { slots }) {
    return () => h('table', [
      h('tbody',
        props.data.map(item =>
          // Pass data to slot function
          slots.row?.({ item })
        )
      )
    ])
  }
}

Common Patterns

// Wrapper component forwarding slots
h('div', { class: 'wrapper' }, [
  h(InnerComponent, null, slots)
])

// Conditional slot rendering
h('div', [
  slots.header?.(),  // Optional chaining - only render if slot provided
  h('main', slots.default?.()),
  slots.footer?.()
])

// Slot with fallback content
h('div', [
  slots.default?.() ?? h('p', 'Default content when slot not provided')
])

Reference

• Vue.js Render Functions - Passing Slots
• Vue.js Render Functions - Children