Build a User Management App with Ionic Vue

This tutorial demonstrates how to build a basic user management app. The app authenticates and identifies the user, stores their profile information in the database, and allows the user to log in, update their profile details, and upload a profile photo. The app uses:

Supabase Database - a Postgres database for storing your user data and Row Level Security so data is protected and users can only access their own information.
Supabase Auth - allow users to sign up and log in.
Supabase Storage - allow users to upload a profile photo.

Supabase User Management example

If you get stuck while working through this guide, refer to the full example on GitHub.

Project setup

Before you start building you need to set up the Database and API. You can do this by starting a new Project in Supabase and then creating a "schema" inside the database.

Create a project

Create a new project in the Supabase Dashboard.
Enter your project details.
Wait for the new database to launch.

Set up the database schema

Now set up the database schema. You can use the "User Management Starter" quickstart in the SQL Editor, or you can copy/paste the SQL from below and run it.

Go to the SQL Editor page in the Dashboard.
Click User Management Starter under the Community > Quickstarts tab.
Click Run.

You can pull the database schema down to your local project by running the db pull command. Read the local development docs for detailed instructions.

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supabase link --project-ref <project-id>
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# You can get <project-id> from your project's dashboard URL: https://supabase.com/dashboard/project/<project-id>
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supabase db pull

Get API details

Now that you've created some database tables, you are ready to insert data using the auto-generated API.

To do this, you need to get the Project URL and key. Get the URL from the API settings section of a project and the key from the the API Keys section of a project's Settings page.

Changes to API keys

Supabase is changing the way keys work to improve project security and developer experience. You can read the full announcement, but in the transition period, you can use both the current anon and service_role keys and the new publishable key with the form sb_publishable_xxx which will replace the older keys.

To get the key values, open the API Keys section of a project's Settings page and do the following:

For legacy keys, copy the anon key for client-side operations and the service_role key for server-side operations from the Legacy API Keys tab.
For new keys, open the API Keys tab, if you don't have a publishable key already, click Create new API Keys, and copy the value from the Publishable key section.

Building the app

Let's start building the Vue app from scratch.

Initialize an Ionic Vue app

We can use the Ionic CLI to initialize an app called supabase-ionic-vue:

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npm install -g @ionic/cli
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ionic start supabase-ionic-vue blank --type vue
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cd supabase-ionic-vue

Then let's install the only additional dependency: supabase-js

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npm install @supabase/supabase-js

And finally we want to save the environment variables in a .env.

All we need are the API URL and the key that you copied earlier.

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VITE_SUPABASE_URL=YOUR_SUPABASE_URL
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VITE_SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=YOUR_SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY

Now that we have the API credentials in place, let's create a helper file to initialize the Supabase client. These variables will be exposed on the browser, and that's completely fine since we have Row Level Security enabled on our Database.

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import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js';
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const supabaseUrl = import.meta.env.VITE_SUPABASE_URL as string;
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const supabasePublishableKey = import.meta.env.VITE_SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY as string;
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export const supabase = createClient(supabaseUrl, supabasePublishableKey);

Let's set up a Vue component to manage logins and sign ups. We'll use Magic Links, so users can sign in with their email without using passwords.

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<template>
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  <ion-page>
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    <ion-header>
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      <ion-toolbar>
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        <ion-title>Login</ion-title>
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      </ion-toolbar>
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    </ion-header>
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    <ion-content>
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      <div class="ion-padding">
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        <h1>Supabase + Ionic Vue</h1>
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        <p>Sign in via magic link with your email below</p>
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      </div>
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      <ion-list inset="true">
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        <form @submit.prevent="handleLogin">
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          <ion-item>
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            <ion-label position="stacked">Email</ion-label>
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            <ion-input v-model="email" name="email" autocomplete type="email"></ion-input>
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          </ion-item>
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          <div class="ion-text-center">
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            <ion-button type="submit" fill="clear">Login</ion-button>
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          </div>
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        </form>
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      </ion-list>
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      <p>{{ email }}</p>
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    </ion-content>
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  </ion-page>
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</template>
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<script lang="ts">
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  import { supabase } from '../supabase'
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  import {
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    IonContent,
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    IonHeader,
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    IonPage,
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    IonTitle,
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    IonToolbar,
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    IonList,
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    IonItem,
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    IonLabel,
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    IonInput,
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    IonButton,
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    toastController,
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    loadingController,
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  } from '@ionic/vue'
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  import { defineComponent, ref } from 'vue'
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  export default defineComponent({
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    name: 'LoginPage',
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    components: {
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      IonContent,
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      IonHeader,
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      IonPage,
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      IonTitle,
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      IonToolbar,
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      IonList,
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      IonItem,
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      IonLabel,
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      IonInput,
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      IonButton,
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    },
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    setup() {
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      const email = ref('')
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      const handleLogin = async () => {
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        const loader = await loadingController.create({})
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        const toast = await toastController.create({ duration: 5000 })
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        try {
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          await loader.present()
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          const { error } = await supabase.auth.signInWithOtp({ email: email.value })
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          if (error) throw error
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          toast.message = 'Check your email for the login link!'
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          await toast.present()
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        } catch (error: any) {
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          toast.message = error.error_description || error.message
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          await toast.present()
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        } finally {
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          await loader.dismiss()
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        }
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      }
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      return { handleLogin, email }
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    },
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  })
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</script>

Account page

After a user is signed in we can allow them to edit their profile details and manage their account.

Let's create a new component for that called Account.vue.

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<template>
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  <ion-page>
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    <ion-header>
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      <ion-toolbar>
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        <ion-title>Account</ion-title>
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      </ion-toolbar>
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    </ion-header>
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    <ion-content>
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      <form @submit.prevent="updateProfile">
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        <ion-item>
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          <ion-label>
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            <p>Email</p>
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            <p>{{ user?.email }}</p>
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          </ion-label>
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        </ion-item>
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        <ion-item>
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          <ion-label position="stacked">Name</ion-label>
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          <ion-input type="text" v-model="profile.username" />
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        </ion-item>
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        <ion-item>
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          <ion-label position="stacked">Website</ion-label>
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          <ion-input type="url" v-model="profile.website" />
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        </ion-item>
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        <div class="ion-text-center">
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          <ion-button type="submit" fill="clear">Update Profile</ion-button>
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        </div>
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      </form>
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      <div class="ion-text-center">
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        <ion-button fill="clear" @click="signOut">Log Out</ion-button>
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      </div>
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    </ion-content>
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  </ion-page>
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</template>
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<script lang="ts">
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  import {
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    IonPage,
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    IonHeader,
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    IonToolbar,
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    IonTitle,
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    IonContent,
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    IonItem,
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    IonLabel,
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    IonInput,
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    IonButton,
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    toastController,
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    loadingController,
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  } from '@ionic/vue'
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  import { defineComponent, onMounted, ref } from 'vue'
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  import { useRouter } from 'vue-router'
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  import { supabase } from '@/supabase'
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  import type { User } from '@supabase/supabase-js'
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  export default defineComponent({
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    name: 'AccountPage',
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    components: {
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      IonPage,
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      IonHeader,
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      IonToolbar,
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      IonTitle,
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      IonContent,
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      IonItem,
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      IonLabel,
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      IonInput,
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      IonButton,
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    },
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    setup() {
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      const router = useRouter()
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      const user = ref<User | null>(null)
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      const profile = ref({
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        username: '',
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        website: '',
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        avatar_url: '',
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      })
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      const getProfile = async () => {
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        const loader = await loadingController.create()
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        const toast = await toastController.create({ duration: 5000 })
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        await loader.present()
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        try {
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          const { data, error, status } = await supabase
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            .from('profiles')
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            .select('username, website, avatar_url')
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            .eq('id', user.value?.id)
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            .single()
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          if (error && status !== 406) throw error
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          if (data) {
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            profile.value = {
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              username: data.username,
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              website: data.website,
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              avatar_url: data.avatar_url,
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            }
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          }
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        } catch (error: any) {
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          toast.message = error.message
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          await toast.present()
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        } finally {
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          await loader.dismiss()
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        }
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      }
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      const updateProfile = async () => {
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        const loader = await loadingController.create()
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        const toast = await toastController.create({ duration: 5000 })
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        await loader.present()
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        try {
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          const updates = {
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            id: user.value?.id,
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            ...profile.value,
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            updated_at: new Date(),
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          }
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          const { error } = await supabase.from('profiles').upsert(updates, {
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            returning: 'minimal',
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          })
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          if (error) throw error
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        } catch (error: any) {
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          toast.message = error.message
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          await toast.present()
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        } finally {
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          await loader.dismiss()
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        }
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      }
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      const signOut = async () => {
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        const loader = await loadingController.create()
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        const toast = await toastController.create({ duration: 5000 })
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        await loader.present()
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        try {
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          const { error } = await supabase.auth.signOut()
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          if (error) throw error
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          router.push('/')
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        } catch (error: any) {
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          toast.message = error.message
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          await toast.present()
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        } finally {
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          await loader.dismiss()
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        }
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      }
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      onMounted(async () => {
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        const loader = await loadingController.create()
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        await loader.present()
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        const { data } = await supabase.auth.getSession()
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        user.value = data.session?.user ?? null
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        if (!user.value) {
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          router.push('/')
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        } else {
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          await getProfile()
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        }
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        await loader.dismiss()
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      })
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      return {
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        user,
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        profile,
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        updateProfile,
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        signOut,
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      }
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    },
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  })
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</script>

Launch!

Now that we have all the components in place, let's update App.vue and our routes:

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import { createRouter, createWebHistory } from '@ionic/vue-router'
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import { RouteRecordRaw } from 'vue-router'
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import LoginPage from '../views/Login.vue'
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import AccountPage from '../views/Account.vue'
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const routes: Array<RouteRecordRaw> = [
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  {
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    path: '/',
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    name: 'Login',
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    component: LoginPage,
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  },
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  {
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    path: '/account',
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    name: 'Account',
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    component: AccountPage,
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  },
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]
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const router = createRouter({
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  history: createWebHistory(import.meta.env.BASE_URL),
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  routes,
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})
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export default router

Once that's done, run this in a terminal window:

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ionic serve

And then open the browser to localhost:3000 and you should see the completed app.

Supabase Ionic Vue

Bonus: Profile photos

Every Supabase project is configured with Storage for managing large files like photos and videos.

First install two packages in order to interact with the user's camera.

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npm install @ionic/pwa-elements @capacitor/camera

Capacitor is a cross-platform native runtime from Ionic that enables web apps to be deployed through the app store and provides access to native device API.

Ionic PWA elements is a companion package that will polyfill certain browser APIs that provide no user interface with custom Ionic UI.

With those packages installed we can update our main.ts to include an additional bootstrapping call for the Ionic PWA Elements.

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import { createApp } from 'vue'
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import App from './App.vue'
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import router from './router'
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import { IonicVue } from '@ionic/vue'
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/* Core CSS required for Ionic components to work properly */
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import '@ionic/vue/css/ionic.bundle.css'
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/* Theme variables */
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import './theme/variables.css'
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import { defineCustomElements } from '@ionic/pwa-elements/loader'
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defineCustomElements(window)
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const app = createApp(App).use(IonicVue).use(router)
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router.isReady().then(() => {
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  app.mount('#app')
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})

Then create an AvatarComponent.

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<template>
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  <div class="avatar">
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    <div class="avatar_wrapper" @click="uploadAvatar">
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      <img v-if="avatarUrl" :src="avatarUrl" />
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      <ion-icon v-else name="person" class="no-avatar"></ion-icon>
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    </div>
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  </div>
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</template>
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<script lang="ts">
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  import { ref, toRefs, watch, defineComponent } from 'vue'
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  import { supabase } from '../supabase'
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  import { Camera, CameraResultType } from '@capacitor/camera'
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  import { IonIcon } from '@ionic/vue'
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  import { person } from 'ionicons/icons'
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  export default defineComponent({
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    name: 'AppAvatar',
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    props: { path: String },
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    emits: ['upload', 'update:path'],
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    components: { IonIcon },
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    setup(prop, { emit }) {
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      const { path } = toRefs(prop)
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      const avatarUrl = ref('')
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      const downloadImage = async () => {
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        try {
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          const { data, error } = await supabase.storage.from('avatars').download(path.value)
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          if (error) throw error
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          avatarUrl.value = URL.createObjectURL(data!)
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        } catch (error: any) {
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          console.error('Error downloading image: ', error.message)
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        }
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      }
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      const uploadAvatar = async () => {
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        try {
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          const photo = await Camera.getPhoto({
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            resultType: CameraResultType.DataUrl,
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          })
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          if (photo.dataUrl) {
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            const file = await fetch(photo.dataUrl)
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              .then((res) => res.blob())
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              .then((blob) => new File([blob], 'my-file', { type: `image/${photo.format}` }))
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            const fileName = `${Math.random()}-${new Date().getTime()}.${photo.format}`
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            const { error: uploadError } = await supabase.storage
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              .from('avatars')
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              .upload(fileName, file)
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            if (uploadError) {
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              throw uploadError
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            }
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            emit('update:path', fileName)
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            emit('upload')
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          }
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        } catch (error) {
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          console.log(error)
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        }
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      }
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      watch(path, () => {
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        if (path.value) downloadImage()
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      })
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      return { avatarUrl, uploadAvatar, person }
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    },
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  })
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</script>
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<style>
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  .avatar {
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    display: block;
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    margin: auto;
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    min-height: 150px;
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  }
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  .avatar .avatar_wrapper {
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    margin: 16px auto 16px;
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    border-radius: 50%;
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    overflow: hidden;
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    height: 150px;
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    aspect-ratio: 1;
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    background: var(--ion-color-step-50);
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    border: thick solid var(--ion-color-step-200);
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  }
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  .avatar .avatar_wrapper:hover {
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    cursor: pointer;
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  }
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  .avatar .avatar_wrapper ion-icon.no-avatar {
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    width: 100%;
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    height: 115%;
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  }
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  .avatar img {
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    display: block;
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    object-fit: cover;
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    width: 100%;
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    height: 100%;
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  }
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</style>

And then we can add the widget to the Account page:

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<template>
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  <ion-page>
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    <ion-header>
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      <ion-toolbar>
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        <ion-title>Account</ion-title>
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      </ion-toolbar>
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    </ion-header>
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    <ion-content>
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      <avatar v-model:path="profile.avatar_url" @upload="updateProfile"></avatar>
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...
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</template>
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<script lang="ts">
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import Avatar from '../components/Avatar.vue';
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export default defineComponent({
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  name: 'AccountPage',
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  components: {
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    Avatar,
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    ....
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  }
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</script>

At this stage you have a fully functional application!

Build a User Management App with Ionic Vue

Project setup

Create a project

Set up the database schema

Get API details

Changes to API keys

Building the app

Initialize an Ionic Vue app

Account page

Launch!

Bonus: Profile photos

Create an upload widget

Add the new widget

Is this helpful?

Build a User Management App with Ionic Vue

Project setup#

Create a project#

Set up the database schema#

Get API details#

Changes to API keys

Building the app#

Initialize an Ionic Vue app#

Set up a login route#

Account page#

Launch!#

Bonus: Profile photos#

Create an upload widget#

Add the new widget#

Is this helpful?

Project setup

Create a project

Set up the database schema

Get API details

Building the app

Initialize an Ionic Vue app

Set up a login route

Account page

Launch!

Bonus: Profile photos

Create an upload widget

Add the new widget