When building web applications, you’re constantly making decisions at the start of every project: “Which router should I use?”, “How should I handle state management?” If these choices feel exhausting, Ember.js might be worth a look. Ember.js is an open-source JavaScript web framework designed to help developers create scalable single-page web applications. What’s particularly compelling is that major services like Apple Music, LinkedIn, Twitch, Discourse, and Groupon actually use it in production.

In this guide, we’ll cover what Ember.js is, why you can build “without the headaches,” and how to actually get started—all from a beginner’s perspective.

 

 

 

1. What Exactly Is Ember.js?

If I had to sum up Ember.js in one phrase, it’s “a complete framework with everything ready out of the box.”

Ember.js is an open-source JavaScript web framework that utilizes a component-service pattern. It’s important to note that it’s a “framework,” not a “library” like React or Vue.

With React, you need to choose React Router for routing, Redux or Zustand for state management, and build tools separately. Ember is different. Ember CLI, routing, state management, and a templating engine are all included by default.

Convention over Configuration – Freedom Through Structure

Ember.js follows a “convention over configuration” approach. This means you don’t need to create configuration files or worry about structure—just follow Ember’s conventions and everything works automatically.

For example:

• Create a file named app/routes/scientists.js, and the /scientists route is automatically created
• Create a component as app/components/people-list.gjs, and you can use it as a <PeopleList> tag

No manual configuration needed—you can focus on building features.

Current Version (October 2025)

The latest stable version of Ember.js is 6.8, released on October 25, 2025. This version introduces Vite as the default build system, dramatically improving build speeds.

Version 6.4 has been promoted to LTS (Long Term Support), receiving bug fixes for 36 weeks and security updates for 54 weeks.

Official Resources:

• Official Website: https://emberjs.com/
• Official Guides: https://guides.emberjs.com/
• API Documentation: https://api.emberjs.com/

 

 

2. Why Choose Ember.js?

Genuinely Fast Development

Ember is designed to reduce development time and increase productivity. You can dive straight into business logic without wondering “what should I use?”

A single ember new command gives you:

• Development Server
• Template Compilation
• JavaScript/CSS Minification
• Modern JavaScript features via Babel
• Dependency management through npm
• Testing environment

You’re production-ready from day one.

Stability and Long-Term Support

Ember follows Semantic Versioning, with minor releases about every six weeks and major releases about every eighteen months.

More importantly, LTS versions are supported for 54 weeks, so teams that don’t upgrade frequently can still receive security updates and bug fixes.

Release Type	Cycle	Features
Canary	Daily	Latest development features
Beta	6 weeks	Preview of next release
Stable	6 weeks	Current stable version (recommended)
LTS	~24 weeks	54-week long-term support (enterprise)

Proven at Scale

Apple Music is the most notable example of a desktop application built with Ember. It’s impressive that this app, part of the iTunes desktop application, is built with Ember.

Other major services using Ember:

• Apple Music – Music streaming for millions of users
• LinkedIn – Professional networking platform
• Twitch – Live streaming service
• Discourse – Open-source community platform
• Square – Payment solutions
• Intercom – Customer messaging platform
• DigitalOcean – Cloud infrastructure

These major services chose Ember because it’s well-suited for managing complex features and maintaining stability.

 

 

3. How Does It Compare to React and Vue?

Here’s a comparison table to help you understand the differences:

Feature	Ember.js	React	Vue.js
Type	Complete framework	UI library	Progressive framework
Data Binding	Two-way	One-way	Two-way (optional)
Learning Curve	Steep initially, fast once mastered	Medium	Gentler
Bundle Size	Large	Medium	Small
Included Tools	Routing, CLI, state management all included	React only	Core only
Flexibility	Structured (convention-based)	Very flexible	Flexible
Community Size	Smaller but loyal	Very large	Large
Job Market	Niche but specialized	Largest	Large

When Should You Choose Ember?

Choose Ember when you need consistency and scalability, and React when you need a lightweight, customizable approach.

Ember is ideal for:

• Large-scale enterprise applications
• Teams where consistent code structure is important
• Projects that need complete tooling from the start
• Long-term projects (5-10 years)
• When you want to focus on building, not choosing tools

React is ideal for:

• Quick prototyping
• Starting small and growing gradually
• Maximum flexibility
• Leveraging a rich third-party library ecosystem

 

What is ‘React’? The Most Popular Component-Based JavaScript Library

Vue.js? : A Deep Dive into the Progressive JavaScript Framework

 

 

4. Getting Started – From Installation to Your First App

Let’s actually install Ember.js and build a simple app. Follow along and you’ll have your first Ember app running in 10 minutes.

Prerequisites

You’ll need Node.js and npm installed. Check in your terminal:

node --version
npm --version

If not installed, download the LTS version from the official Node.js site.

Installing Ember CLI

To install Ember CLI globally, use this command:

npm install -g ember-cli

Verify the installation:

ember --version

If you see version information, you’re good to go!

Creating Your First Project

You can create a new application with the ember new command:

ember new my-first-app --lang en --strict

What this does:

• Creates a folder called my-first-app
• Automatically installs all necessary files and dependencies
• --lang en sets the primary language to English for accessibility
• --strict enables stricter type checking

Grab a coffee—this might take a minute.

Starting the Development Server

Navigate to your project folder and start the dev server:

cd my-first-app
npm start

After a few seconds, the local development server will run at http://localhost:4200:

VITE v6.3.6 ready in 1202 ms
➜ Local: http://localhost:4200/

Open http://localhost:4200 in your browser. If you see the Ember welcome page, you’re all set!

 

 

5. Building a Simple App – Scientists List Page

Let’s build a working page. We’ll create a page that displays a list of scientists.

Creating a Route

Ember has generators that automate boilerplate code for common tasks. Open a new terminal and run:

ember generate route scientists

What just happened? Ember automatically created:

• app/routes/scientists.js – Route file for fetching data
• app/templates/scientists.gjs – Template file for display
• app/router.js – Route automatically added to router
• tests/unit/routes/scientists-test.js – Test file

All of this from one command!

Building the Display

Open app/templates/scientists.gjs in your code editor and modify it:

import { pageTitle } from 'ember-page-title';

<template>
  {{pageTitle "Scientists"}}
  <h2>Great Scientists</h2>
  <ul>
    {{#each @model as |scientist|}}
      <li>{{scientist}}</li>
    {{/each}}
  </ul>
</template>

The {{#each}} block is a loop that iterates through the data in @model.

Adding Data

Open app/routes/scientists.js and add some actual data:

import Route from '@ember/routing/route';

export default class ScientistsRoute extends Route {
  model() {
    return [
      'Marie Curie',
      'Mae Jemison', 
      'Albert Einstein',
      'Isaac Newton',
      'Ada Lovelace'
    ];
  }
}

The model() method returns the data needed for this page. Here we’re returning a simple array, but in practice, you’d fetch data from an API.

Open http://localhost:4200/scientists in your browser to see the list of scientists!

 

 

6. Creating Reusable Components

Let’s turn this list into a component so we can reuse it elsewhere.

Generating a Component

ember generate component people-list

Writing Component Code

Edit app/components/people-list.gjs:

<template>
  <h2>{{@title}}</h2>
  <ul>
    {{#each @people as |person|}}
      <li>{{person}}</li>
    {{/each}}
  </ul>
</template>

The @ prefix (@title, @people) indicates values passed from outside, like function parameters.

Using the Component

Now modify app/templates/scientists.gjs to use our new component:

import { pageTitle } from 'ember-page-title';
import PeopleList from '../components/people-list';

<template>
  {{pageTitle "Scientists"}}
  <PeopleList
    @title="Great Scientists"
    @people={{@model}}
  />
</template>

Much cleaner! Now you can reuse this component for programmers lists, authors lists, or anything else.

 

 

7. Adding Click Events

Let’s add buttons and make them respond to clicks.

Clickable Buttons with State Management

Modify app/components/people-list.gjs:

import { on } from '@ember/modifier';
import { fn } from '@ember/helper';
import { tracked } from '@glimmer/tracking';
import Component from '@glimmer/component';

export default class extends Component {
  @tracked currentPerson;

  showPerson = (person) => {
    this.currentPerson = person;
  };

  isCurrentPerson = (person) => {
    return this.currentPerson === person;
  };

  <template>
    <h2>{{@title}}</h2>
    <ul>
      {{#each @people as |person|}}
        <li>
          <button type="button" {{on "click" (fn this.showPerson person)}}>
            {{person}}
          </button>
          {{#if (this.isCurrentPerson person)}}
            ⬅️ Selected
          {{/if}}
        </li>
      {{/each}}
    </ul>
  </template>
}

Code explanation:

• @tracked – When this variable changes, the UI automatically updates
• {{on "click"}} – Handles click events
• (fn this.showPerson person) – Passes the selected person data on click

Now when you click a button, you’ll see an arrow appear!

 

 

8. Preparing for Production Deployment

Once your app is complete, you’ll need to deploy it to a server.

Building for Production

Create optimized files for production:

npm run build

This command optimizes JavaScript, templates, CSS, images, and all assets and saves them to the dist/ folder.

Deploying to Netlify (Free!)

Netlify is one easy way to deploy Ember apps.

Preparation:

Create a _redirects file in the public/ folder with this single line:

/* /index.html 200

This setting routes all URL requests to index.html so Ember can handle routing.

Rebuild:

npm run build

Deployment Method 1: Drag and Drop (Easiest)

1. Sign up at Netlify (free!)
2. Find the drag and drop area on the Sites page
3. Drag and drop your dist/ folder
4. Deployment complete in seconds! You’ll get a URL

Deployment Method 2: GitHub Integration (Auto-deploy)

1. Push your code to GitHub
2. Click “New site from Git” in Netlify
3. Connect your GitHub repository
4. If it detects an Ember app, click “Deploy site”
5. Automatic redeployment whenever you push code!

 

 

9. Fetching Server Data – Ember Data

In real apps, you need to fetch data from a server API. Ember Data is a data persistence library that works like an ORM for databases.

Defining a Model

Define the structure of data you’ll receive from the server:

ember generate model scientist

app/models/scientist.js:

import Model, { attr } from '@ember-data/model';

export default class ScientistModel extends Model {
  @attr('string') name;
  @attr('string') field;
  @attr('number') birthYear;
  @attr('string') achievement;
}

Fetching Data from API

app/routes/scientists.js:

import Route from '@ember/routing/route';
import { service } from '@ember/service';

export default class ScientistsRoute extends Route {
  @service store;

  model() {
    // Fetches data from /api/scientists endpoint
    return this.store.findAll('scientist');
  }
}

Configuring API Adapter

Set up your server address:

ember generate adapter application

app/adapters/application.js:

import JSONAPIAdapter from '@ember-data/adapter/json-api';

export default class ApplicationAdapter extends JSONAPIAdapter {
  host = 'https://your-api-server.com';
  namespace = 'api';
}

Ember Data can load and save records without any configuration via a RESTful API that implements the JSON API specification.

 

 

10. Development Tools – Mastering Ember CLI

Ember CLI is a command-line utility that brings convention over configuration to build tools.

Frequently Used Commands

Command	Purpose	Example
ember new <app-name>	Create new app	ember new blog-app
ember serve	Start dev server	or npm start
ember generate route <name>	Generate route	ember g route about
ember generate component <name>	Generate component	ember g component nav-bar
ember generate model <name>	Generate model	ember g model user
ember generate service <name>	Generate service	ember g service cart
ember build	Production build	npm run build
ember test	Run tests	npm test
ember install <addon>	Install addon	ember install ember-bootstrap

💡 Tip: You can abbreviate generate as g!

Extending Features with Addons

Addons can be installed with the ember install command.

Popular Addons:

• ember-bootstrap – Bootstrap UI components (link)

ember install ember-bootstrap

• ember-concurrency – Async task management

ember install ember-concurrency

• ember-power-select – Powerful select box

ember install ember-power-select

• ember-cli-mirage – Mock API server for development

ember install ember-cli-mirage

Find Addons: Browse over 2,000 addons at Ember Observer.

 

 

11. Testing – Building Reliable Apps

Ember.js has a built-in testing framework that allows developers to write automated tests for their applications.

Understanding Test Types

1. Unit Tests

• Test individual functions or classes
• Fastest and simplest

2. Integration Tests

• Test if components render properly
• Can test user interactions

3. Acceptance Tests

• Test entire app workflows
• Test scenarios like “user login → create post → save”

Component Test Example

tests/integration/components/people-list-test.gjs:

import { module, test } from 'qunit';
import { setupRenderingTest } from 'ember-qunit';
import { render } from '@ember/test-helpers';
import PeopleList from 'my-app/components/people-list';

module('Integration | Component | people-list', function (hooks) {
  setupRenderingTest(hooks);

  test('renders title and list properly', async function (assert) {
    await render(
      <template>
        <PeopleList 
          @title="Test Title" 
          @people={{array "Person 1" "Person 2" "Person 3"}} 
        />
      </template>
    );

    // Check if h2 contains the title
    assert.dom('h2').hasText('Test Title');
    
    // Check if there are 3 li elements
    assert.dom('li').exists({ count: 3 });
  });
});

Running Tests

ember test

Or to see results in real-time in your browser:

ember test --server

Then open http://localhost:7357 to view test results.

 

 

12. Debugging Tools – Ember Inspector

Ember Inspector is a browser extension available for Firefox and Chrome for debugging Ember applications.

Key Features

Routes

• View currently active routes in real-time
• Visualize route hierarchy

Components

• See all components rendered on screen
• Inspect component properties and state

Data

• Examine Ember Data models and records
• Debug data fetched from server

Deprecations

• Find deprecated code
• See what to fix before upgrading

Render Performance

• Analyze which components take the most rendering time
• Identify performance bottlenecks

Installation Links

• Chrome: Chrome Web Store
• Firefox: Firefox Add-ons

After installation, open Developer Tools (F12) and you’ll see an Ember tab!

 

 

13. Learning Resources

Official Documentation (Highly Recommended!)

Official Guides – https://guides.emberjs.com/

• The best resource for learning from scratch
• Very detailed step-by-step explanations

Official Tutorial – Building Super Rentals App

• Learn by building a real app
• Covers routing, components, testing, and more

API Documentation – https://api.emberjs.com/

• Detailed explanation of all methods and classes
• Excellent search functionality

Community

Official Forum – Discuss Ember.js

• Great for asking questions and getting answers
• Friendly community

Discord – Ember Community Discord

• Real-time chat for quick answers
• Ask questions in the #help channel

Stack Overflow – ember.js tag

• Search for solutions to common problems

Ember.js has about 22,500 stars on GitHub. While smaller than React, it has an enthusiastic and helpful community.

Learning Tips

1. Start with the official tutorial – The Super Rentals tutorial is really well done
2. Practice with small projects – Build a Todo app or simple blog
3. Explore Ember Observer – See which addons are popular
4. Engage with the community – Don’t hesitate to ask questions when stuck

 

 

14. Honest Pros and Cons

Pros

✅ Complete solution – No decision fatigue about what to use
✅ Consistent structure – Same code structure even when team members change
✅ Powerful CLI – Auto-generate files with a few commands
✅ Stability – LTS versions receive security updates for 54 weeks
✅ Optimized for scale – Suitable for enterprise-grade services
✅ Clear upgrade path – Version upgrades are predictable and safe

Cons

❌ Learning curve – Ember is not easy for beginners
❌ Large bundle size – Initial load is slower than React or Vue
❌ Smaller community – Fewer resources and developers compared to React
❌ Prescribed structure – Less freedom to change architecture
❌ Hiring – Finding Ember developers can be difficult and may require paying a premium

 

 

15. Understanding Project Structure

When you open an Ember project, you’ll see this structure:

my-app/
├── app/
│   ├── components/     # Reusable UI components
│   ├── controllers/    # URL query parameter management
│   ├── models/         # Data model definitions
│   ├── routes/         # Page-specific logic
│   ├── services/       # Global state and business logic
│   ├── styles/         # CSS/SCSS files
│   ├── templates/      # Page templates
│   └── router.js       # URL route configuration
├── public/             # Static files (images, fonts, etc.)
├── tests/              # Test code
├── ember-cli-build.js  # Build configuration
└── package.json        # npm package management

File Naming Conventions (Important!)

Ember does a lot automatically based on file names:

File Location	What It Does Automatically
app/routes/about.js	Creates /about route
app/components/nav-bar.gjs	Usable as <NavBar> component
app/models/user.js	Enables this.store.find('user')
app/services/session.js	Injectable with @service session

 

 

16. Performance Optimization Tips

Lazy Loading

Split code by route to load only when needed:

// app/router.js
import EmberRouter from '@ember/routing/router';
import config from 'my-app/config/environment';

export default class Router extends EmberRouter {
  location = config.locationType;
  rootURL = config.rootURL;
}

Router.map(function () {
  this.route('admin', function() {
    // Admin pages loaded only when needed
    this.route('users');
    this.route('settings');
  });
});

Server-Side Rendering with Fastboot

Fastboot is an addon that runs Ember apps in Node.js so users can see HTML and CSS immediately.

ember install ember-cli-fastboot

Benefits:

• Faster initial load
• Better SEO
• Content visible while JavaScript loads

Global State Management with Services

No need to install Redux separately—manage global state with Ember services:

// app/services/cart.js
import Service from '@ember/service';
import { tracked } from '@glimmer/tracking';

export default class CartService extends Service {
  @tracked items = [];

  addItem(item) {
    this.items = [...this.items, item];
  }

  removeItem(itemId) {
    this.items = this.items.filter(item => item.id !== itemId);
  }

  get totalPrice() {
    return this.items.reduce((sum, item) => sum + item.price, 0);
  }

  get itemCount() {
    return this.items.length;
  }
}

Using in a component:

import Component from '@glimmer/component';
import { service } from '@ember/service';

export default class ProductCard extends Component {
  @service cart;

  addToCart = () => {
    this.cart.addItem(this.args.product);
  };

  <template>
    <div class="product-card">
      <h3>{{@product.name}}</h3>
      <p>${{@product.price}}</p>
      <button type="button" {{on "click" this.addToCart}}>
        Add to Cart
      </button>
    </div>
    
    <p>Cart: {{this.cart.itemCount}} items</p>
  </template>
}

 

 

17. Latest 2025 Feature – Vite Build System

Starting with Ember CLI 6.8, Vite became the default build system. What does this mean?

Dramatically Faster Builds

• During development: File changes reflect in browser almost instantly
• Production builds: Smaller bundle sizes and faster build times
• Rollup plugins: Now you can use Vite/Rollup plugins directly

No More AMD Module System

Production builds no longer use AMD, resulting in smaller and faster bundles.