v-model creates two-way binding between a form input and a piece of state: the input shows the state's value, and editing the input updates the state — automatically, in both directions.
<script setup>
import { ref } from "vue";
const name = ref("");
</script>
<template>
<input v-model="name" />
<p>You typed: {{ name }}</p> <!-- updates live as you type -->
</template>
Under the hood, combines a bind and an listener:
v-model:value@input<!-- these two are equivalent -->
<input v-model="name" />
<input :value="name" @input="name = $event.target.value" />
So it's not magic — just a convenient shorthand for the bind-and-update pattern.
<template>
<input v-model="text" /> <!-- text -->
<textarea v-model="message" />
<input type="checkbox" v-model="agreed" /> <!-- boolean -->
<input type="radio" value="a" v-model="choice" />
<select v-model="selected">...</select>
</template>
Vue picks the right property/event for each control type (value/input, checked/change, etc.).
<input v-model.trim="name" /> <!-- auto-trim whitespace -->
<input v-model.number="age" /> <!-- cast to a number -->
<input v-model.lazy="text" /> <!-- sync on `change` instead of every keystroke -->
<!-- a component can support v-model via a `modelValue` prop + `update:modelValue` event -->
<CustomInput v-model="name" />
<!-- equivalent to :model-value="name" @update:model-value="name = $event" -->
This lets you build reusable input components that work with v-model just like native inputs (Vue 3 even supports multiple named v-models: v-model:title, v-model:body).
v-model is the cornerstone of forms in Vue — it eliminates the manual value-binding + event-handling boilerplate for two-way data flow.
Understanding that it desugars to :value + @input demystifies it and explains how to implement v-model on your own components, while modifiers (.trim/.number/.lazy) handle common input-processing needs declaratively.