---
title: Vector
slug: /vector
section: Math
---

## Vectors

Excalibur uses the [[Vector]] structure to represent points. The [[Vector]] class has many different static methods available for doing vector math as well as instance methods to combine vectors together in different ways.

### Creating vectors

To quickly create a vector, use the [[vec]] global:

```ts
import { vec } from 'excalibur'

const point = vec(0, 10)
```

Alternatively, you may see examples of using the more verbose `new Vector(x, y)` format:

```ts
import { Vector } from 'excalibur'

const point = new Vector(0, 10)
```

To set the value of an existing vector, use [[Vector.setTo]]:

```ts
import { vec } from 'excalibur'

const point = vec(0, 10).setTo(10, 10)
```

There are some built-in vector constants you can use:

- [[Vector.Zero]]
- [[Vector.One]]
- [[Vector.Half]]
- [[Vector.Left]]
- [[Vector.Right]]
- [[Vector.Up]]
- [[Vector.Down]]

### Cloning vectors

Vectors are objects, so mutating them will change the state for all references. Use the [[Vector.clone]] method to clone a vector to mutate it:

```ts
import { vec } from 'excalibur'

const point = vec(0, 10)
const samePoint = point.setTo(8, 8)
const anotherPoint = point.clone().setTo(50, 50)

console.log(point.toString()) // "(8, 8)"
console.log(samePoint.toString()) // "(8, 8)"
console.log(anotherPoint.toString()) // "(50, 50)"
```

Notice how both `point` and `samePoint` share the same vector reference, so using `setTo` mutates the vector. Use `clone` to ensure you are not changing vectors unexpectedly!