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All-in-one TypeScript and Sass compiler for web applications! 📦 🚀

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instapack

All-in-one TypeScript and Sass compiler for web applications! 📦 🚀

npm MIT License Build Status Dependabot Status FOSSA Status

Install

Machine-Wide (simpler and convenient)

npm install -g instapack

Per-Project (consistent build)

First, open command prompt in the project folder and install instapack locally: npm install instapack@[version] -D -E or yarn add instapack@[version] -D -E

Then invoke instapack using command: npx ipack or yarn ipack

Quick Start Guide

screenshot

mkdir MyWebApp
cd MyWebApp
ipack new empty
ipack

Out of the box, these files will be used as the program entry points:

  • client/js/index.ts compiled to wwwroot/js/ipack.js

    • Include this file at the bottom of your HTML / before </body> using <script> so the browser can render the page while downloading the script.

    • Anything imported from node_modules will be put into ipack.dll.js. Please also include this file in your HTML just before ipack.js

  • client/css/index.scss compiled to wwwroot/css/ipack.css

    • Include this file at the top of your HTML / before </head> using <link> so the browser can style and render the page as it loads.

    • Spiced 🌶️ with AutoPrefixer for applying CSS vendor-prefixes automatically!

System Requirements

Currently supported Node.js is the latest version 8 or 10 or 12 LTS.

When using Visual Studio 2017 or 2019, install the latest TypeScript SDK.

If using the latest Visual Studio Code, it should come with the latest TypeScript support out of the box.

Design Philosophies

  • Zero configurations: Hyper-opinionated front-end project build system. It just works! 💖

  • Unify and standardize team build system across multiple projects, for any JS frameworks. ✊

  • Built-in new project scaffold tool for assorted JS frameworks. 🎁

  • Rich debugging experience: set breakpoints, view variables, and step into the TypeScript source code! 🔍

  • Beginner-friendly: Lower the barrier of entry for developing a modern web app. 🎈

  • Introduce structures to the front-end source code using standard module systems. 🏗️

  • Improve source code quality and maintainability with type hints and compile-time checks. 👓

  • Enforce best practices when building apps, which may significantly impact page load time. 🛠️ (i.e. tree-shaking, code-splitting, bundling, and minification)

  • Blur the boundary between design-time and coding-time using lightning-fast watch + dev / hot build mode. ⚡

But... Why?

Recently, every hecking framework on this planet 🌏 has their own CLI; but only few are able to support TypeScript as first-class feature. Thus, most people gave up on TypeScript right off the bat... 🦇

instapack is an initiative to develop a command line tool for compiling most apps developed using mainstream JS frameworks, with a 🍋 twist: It can easily build an app written in TypeScript with minimal configurations!

instapack is battle-tested 🔪 and is designed to cover most normal use cases when developing a modern web app. Powered by webpack, instapack effortlessly devours modules written using modern JS standards (ES Harmony, CommonJS, AMD, UMD) and more (HTML templates, Vue SFC).

With this powerful tool, you can save time ⌚, save precious SSD space 👾, and save yourself from the pain of manually maintaining project build scripts! ☕

Commands

You may use instapack or ipack to invoke the command line interface.

new [template]

Scaffolds a new instapack project into your existing app folder where the command line is invoked. All templates target ES2015, compatible with modern major browsers unless noted otherwise. These templates are available:

If no template parameter is provided, vue will be chosen. 🖖

Most templates are armed with axios REST library, which plays nice with NSwag Studio-generated TypeScript API clients!

build [project]

Performs compilation of selected project type. Available projects: all, js, and css. If no project parameter is provided, all will be chosen.

In addition, build flags are available:

  • --watch or -w enables automatic incremental build on source code changes. 🤖

  • --dev or -d disables build outputs optimization and minification for FAST build! 🔥

  • --hot or -h enables Hot Reload development mode using dedicated build server. 🚨 Read more ↓

  • --nodebug or -b disables source maps, producing undebuggable outputs. (Slightly improves build speed)

  • --stats generates stats.json next to the TypeScript build outputs, which can be fed to webpack-bundle-analyzer or webpack-visualizer. For sanity, this flag will be ignored when using -d or -w flags.

You can combine multiple build flags, for example: ipack -dw = dev + watch mode for massive productivity gainz! 💪

set

  • package-manager allows setting default package manager to be used for restoring and integrity-checking node_modules prior build. Possible values: yarn, npm, disabled (default: yarn)

  • mute-notification disables toast alert on build fails in watch mode when set to true. Possible values: true and false (default: false)

Configurations

instapack puts configurations inside package.json to reduce project files clutter. For example, this is the included package.json with vue template:

name, version, private, and dependencies fields were removed for brevity.

{
  "instapack": {
    "output": "wwwroot",
    "alias": {
      "vue": "vue/dist/vue.esm",
      "jquery": "jquery/dist/jquery.slim"
    }
  }
}

  • input allows setting the input folder name. By default, it is set to client

  • output allows setting the output folder name. By default, it is set to wwwroot

  • jsOut allows setting the JS output file name. By default, it is set to ipack.js

  • cssOut allows setting the CSS output file name. By default, it is set to ipack.css

  • alias allows overriding module import calls from all files, including dependencies. Read more ↗

  • externals allows rewriting module import calls from all files, including dependencies, to globally exposed objects via window object. Read more ↗

    • This technique enables usage of scripts hosted on CDN!

    • This technique also allows referencing non-module, old-school IIFE JS loaded via <script> which provides excellent interop with older libraries!

For example:

{
  "instapack": {
    "externals": {
      "jquery": "$"
    }
  }
}
// converts this...
import jQuery from 'jquery';

// into something similar to this...
// const jQuery = window["$"];
  • port1 can be set for declaring a static port number to be used by the Hot Reload server. If not set or is already used, the port number will be randomized. Read more ↓

Babel Integration

instapack supports .babelrc in the project root folder. Babel will be run AFTER TypeScript compilation. Here are some use cases where this feature can be useful:

  • You may use Babel instead of TypeScript to transpile JS to ES5: set TypeScript target to esnext then use @babel/preset-env. This has an interesting side effect where polyfills are automatically applied!

  • You may use Babel instead of TypeScript to compile JSX: set TypeScript jsx to preserve then use the framework-compatible JSX plugin. For example: @babel/preset-react, babel-plugin-transform-vue-jsx, babel-plugin-inferno

Hot Reload Development Mode

Hot Reload development mode allows a developer to update application code while preserving runtime states, without triggering browser refresh when not needed.

instapack supports Hot Reload for popular JS frameworks by using --hot or -h flags, which also enable watch and dev modes automatically. Hot Reload requires browsers with WebSocket feature.

Compiling a JS project using this mode will:

  • Redirect the JS outputs to the build server (instead of the physical JS output folder).

  • Create wormholes (script injections) in place of the usual JS output files, directed to respective scripts on the build server.

[01:24:26] Hot Reload Server running on http://localhost:28080/
[01:24:28] ipack.dll.js 6.25 MB in http://localhost:28080/
[01:24:28] ipack.js 62.5 kB in http://localhost:28080/
[01:24:28] +wormhole: wwwroot/js/ipack.dll.js --> http://localhost:28080/ipack.dll.js
[01:24:28] +wormhole: wwwroot/js/ipack.js --> http://localhost:28080/ipack.js

No changes should be required for the <script src="..."> in the app itself!

Vue.js

Hot Reload for Vue.js project using Single-File Components format (.vue) has been enabled out of the box.

No further configurations necessary!

React

Install package: https://github.com/gaearon/react-hot-loader

yarn add react-hot-loader -D

Create a .babelrc in the project root folder:

{
    "plugins": [
        "react-hot-loader/babel"
    ]
}

Refactor your root component as a hot-exported module:

// client/js/components/App.tsx
import React from 'react';
import { hot } from "react-hot-loader"
import { Hello } from "./Hello";

export let App = () => <Hello compiler="instapack" framework="React" />;
export let HotApp = hot(module)(App);

Import that module, then render:

import React from 'react';
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom';
import { HotApp } from './components/App';

ReactDOM.render(
    <HotApp />,
    document.getElementById('app')
);

TSLint Integration

instapack supports tslint.json / tslint.yaml in the project root folder. Here are some sensible, useful rules which greatly reduce programming blunders:

{
  "rules": {
    "no-non-null-assertion": true,
    "ban-comma-operator": true,
    "curly": true,
    "no-conditional-assignment": true,
    "no-duplicate-super": true,
    "no-duplicate-switch-case": true,
    "no-dynamic-delete": true,
    "no-eval": true,
    "no-for-in-array": true,
    "no-object-literal-type-assertion": true,
    "no-shadowed-variable": true,
    "no-sparse-arrays": true,
    "no-string-throw": true,
    "no-unbound-method": true,
    "no-unsafe-finally": true,
    "no-var-keyword": true,
    "switch-default": true,
    "triple-equals": true,
    "use-isnan": true,
    "new-parens": true,
    "number-literal-format": true,
    "return-undefined": true,
    "type-literal-delimiter": true
  }
}

Source file will be linted only when it can be compiled correctly.

Module Systems

TypeScript / ES Modules

Imports and exports other .ts / .tsx files in the project or normal JS modules from node_modules. This technique allows the ease of development using intellisense for modules with type definitions:

  • The module has "typings": "something.d.ts" in its package.json. For example: vue, linq

  • The module has @types installed. For example, react and @types/react

import List from 'linq';

When the imported module does not have any type definitions, it will be imported as any data type (no intellisense).

ES Modules: Dynamic Import

instapack supports code-splitting using ESM dynamic import() syntax:

import('lunr').then(lunr => {
  // similar to: import * as lunr from 'lunr'
});

An excerpt of build log when using dynamic import:

[02:41:10] ipack.0.js 70.1 kB
[02:41:10] ipack.dll.js 220 kB
[02:41:10] ipack.js 2.76 kB

  • Unlike ipack.dll.js which must be referenced explicitly before ipack.js, the lunr module in ipack.0.js will be automatically downloaded on-demand to reduce asset size during initial page load.

  • The import() method returns a Promise object which resolves to the downloaded module, which can be await-ed in TypeScript!

  • The number 0 is an auto-generated chunk name, which can be overridden using the magic comment import(/* webpackChunkName: "lunr" */ 'lunr') (generates ipack.lunr.js instead).

  • This feature will be especially useful when a gigantic library is required in just one or two components, but not the whole app!

To use this syntax within TypeScript, module compiler option in tsconfig.json must be set to esnext (instead of the usual es2015).

CommonJS / Node.js require

Easily imports ordinary JS modules within the project or from node_modules. However, you will NOT get intellisense! (Modules will be imported as any data type.)

let $ = require('jquery');

CommonJS require method in TypeScript is provided through @types/requirejs or @types/node packages.

HTML Modules

Imports an .html file to be minified and then stringified. This technique is invaluable for working with frameworks relying on HTML-based templates such as AngularJS:

// ESM syntax
import template from './MyTemplate.html';

// CJS syntax
let templateCJS: string = require('./MyTemplate.html');

A global TypeScript definition file for *.html module is required for importing the .html file from TypeScript using ESM syntax.

// html-shim.d.ts

declare module "*.html" {
  const _: string;
  export default _;
}

DEPRECATION WARNING: HTML modules with special extension .vue.html will be compiled to parameter objects for Vue.js ComponentOptions. This behavior will be removed in future instapack versions due to improved .vue toolings.

// vue-html-shim.d.ts

declare module "*.vue.html" {
    import { CreateElement, VNode } from 'vue';

    export const render: (createElement: CreateElement) => VNode;
    export const staticRenderFns: ((createElement: CreateElement) => VNode)[];
}
import Vue from 'vue';
import Component from 'vue-class-component';
import { render, staticRenderFns } from './MyComponent.vue.html';

@Component({
    render: render,
    staticRenderFns: staticRenderFns
})
export class MyComponent extends Vue {
}

JSON Modules

instapack 7.0.0 with TypeScript 3.1.0 supports strongly-typed, static JSON file imports in the TypeScript project using the import syntax:

{
  "foo": "bar"
}
import * as settings from './settings.json';

let foo: string = settings.foo;

Requires resolveJsonModule compiler option in tsconfig.json to be set to true

Earlier instapack versions may import JSON file using require syntax instead.

Vue Single-File Components

instapack can compile .vue files:

<template>
<h1>Hello from {{ compiler }} and {{ framework }}!</h1>
</template>

<script lang="ts">
import Vue from 'vue';
import Component from 'vue-class-component';
@Component({
    props: ['framework', 'compiler']
})
export default class Hello extends Vue {
    framework: string;
    compiler: string;
}
</script>

Enhance development experience using fabulous 🌟 intellisense with Visual Studio 2017 15.8 improved Vue.js support or Vetur extension for Visual Studio Code!

  • The HTML <template> will be compiled Ahead-of-Time (AoT) for greater app startup performance!

  • A global TypeScript definition file for *.vue module is required for importing the .vue file from TypeScript using ESM syntax.

    • This file will be created for you when using the vue new project template!

  • Notice that basic <style> (or <style scoped> or <style module>) should work, but should NOT be used.

Sass @import

instapack also has a custom Node-like but standard-compliant Sass module system using @import syntax.

  • Aligned with the official Sass CSS Imports specification, these imports will be treated as plain CSS @import rule instead of being included in the compiled CSS:

    • The imported URL / query path begins with http:// or https://

    • The query path ends with .css (omit .css extension to include the file!)

    • The query path is syntactically defined as a url()

    • The argument has a media query and/or a supports query.

  • Includes .scss and .css files relative to the source. (Standard Sass behavior)

    • Includes _partial.scss files, but not _partial.css files!

  • Includes files relative to the source in a named folder, but as index.scss or _index.scss (Standard Sass behavior) or index.css

  • Includes files resolved from node_modules

    • Also reads package.json to resolve .css file in the style field!

Environment Variables

instapack supports defining variables in process.env global object. Variables coming from process.env are always strings.

Using process.env in your TypeScript project requires @types/node package installed.

.env

The file .env in the root project folder will be read and parsed.

For example: FOO=bar will define process.env.FOO as 'bar'

Due to technical reasons, .env file cannot be watched.

--env

Build flag --env accepts object-like notation:

  • Variables passed using the flag will be merged with variables defined in .env

  • Variables passed using the flag takes takes priority / overrides the variables defined in .env

For example: ipack --env.FOO=bar --env.HELLO=world

Release Cadence

Starting version 4.0.0, instapack follows Semantic Versioning.

Bi-weekly releases (usually on 14th and 28th date of each month) will be performed for updating package dependencies. Bug reports will be dealt promptly. These actions will increment the patch version.

New non-breaking features will increment the minor version. Breaking changes will increment the major version. View breaking changes here.

Occasionally, beta builds will be published (instapack@beta) for showcasing the bleeding edge version of the tool.

Alternatively, you may build directly from the source code repository:

git clone https://github.com/ryanelian/instapack.git
cd instapack
.\link.ps1
.\build.ps1
ipack --version

FAQ

Can I use [insert_framework_name_here] ?

Yes, absolutely!

If it worked when using standard JS, it WILL work with instapack.

Add the packages required for your project using npm / Yarn and then start hacking. We'll take care of the outputs.

Also, pull requests are welcomed if you have a great starting templates and books for those projects. We'd love to expand our collections!

Is it even safe to target ES2015?

As of June 2017, all major browsers (except Internet Explorer) supports ES2015. iOS 10.3 and above supports ES2015.

How to build instapack projects using Docker?

This is a sample Dockerfile build recipe for building ASP.NET Core + instapack project:

This recipe assumes that the project Dockerfile is located in the root / solution folder (next to /MyApp.sln), with the ASP.NET Core + instapack project located in /MyApp (/MyApp/MyApp.csproj and /MyApp/package.json)

FROM node:12-alpine AS instapack
RUN npm install -g [email protected]
COPY . /src
WORKDIR /src/MyApp
RUN ipack

FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/core/sdk:2.2 as build
COPY --from=instapack /src /src
WORKDIR /src/MyApp
RUN dotnet restore
RUN dotnet publish -c Release

FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/core/aspnet:2.2-alpine as runtime
COPY --from=build /src/MyApp/bin/Release/netcoreapp2.2/publish /app
WORKDIR /app
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "MyApp.dll"]

Build locally using Linux container: docker build --pull --tag myapp:0.0.1 .

Run app via command: docker run -p 12345:80 myapp:0.0.1

When developing multiple front-end projects in one solution, simply run instapack multiple times in different WORKDIR

How to build instapack projects on GitLab?

Place .gitlab-ci.yml next to the Dockerfile to automatically build the image remotely on-commit, then push the image to the GitLab registry:

image: docker:latest
services:
- docker:dind

stages:
- build
- release

variables:
  TEST_IMAGE: registry.gitlab.com/$CI_PROJECT_PATH:$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME
  RELEASE_IMAGE: registry.gitlab.com/$CI_PROJECT_PATH:latest

before_script:
  - docker login -u gitlab-ci-token -p $CI_JOB_TOKEN registry.gitlab.com

build:
  stage: build
  script:
    - docker build --pull -t $TEST_IMAGE .
    - docker push $TEST_IMAGE

release:
  stage: release
  script:
    - docker pull $TEST_IMAGE
    - docker tag $TEST_IMAGE $RELEASE_IMAGE
    - docker push $RELEASE_IMAGE
  only:
    - master

How to debug using Visual Studio Code?

Install the VS Code extension: Debugger for Chrome, open the project using VS Code (package.json should be located on your workspace folder root).

Create a folder .vscode and a file launch.json inside it:

{
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Chrome",
            "type": "chrome",
            "request": "launch",
            "url": "http://localhost:43371/",
            "webRoot": "${workspaceFolder}",
            "smartStep": true
        }
    ]
}

Replace the url parameter with the correct URL of your app, then press F5 on your keyboard!

How to develop a Cordova app using vue-mobile template?

npm install -g cordova phonegap
cordova create MyApp
cd MyProject
cordova platform add android ios browser
ipack new vue-mobile
ipack -dw
phonegap serve

Change www/index.html <script> and <link> tags to the instapack build outputs. Adjust assets whitelist and CSP too if necessary (you may delete <meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy" line).

CAUTION: cordova platform add and cordova plugin add (or remove) will destroy your node_modules. Re-run npm update / yarn upgrade after invoking those commands!

Later on...

ipack
cordova build android
cordova build ios

I thought files should not be bundled because of HTTP/2?

Nope.

Also, in IIS, HTTP/2 is only supported when using Windows Server 2016. Many of our customers are still using Windows Server 2012 R2 to date.

Can I change the index.ts / index.scss entry point?

Nope.

Can I change the js / css folder name?

Nope.

Can I build multiple entry points?

Nope.

However, you can eject the client folder out of the back-end project folder, rename the jsOut file, and then redirect the output folder path back into the assets folder of the back-end project. This is the preferred way of doing things because:

  • You may have multiple front-end projects for a single back-end project.

  • Every front-end project can have vastly different tsconfig.json and package.json setup.

  • Prevents front-end projects from screwing around with each other's code.

My package restore / IDE is slow. Help!

Windows Defender or other anti-virus software appear to slow down package restore and IDEs when opening projects.

For this very reason, it is highly recommended to:

  • Add anti-virus exclusion to Yarn installation folder: C:\Program Files (x86)\Yarn. To double check, type: where.exe yarn

  • Add anti-virus exclusion to Yarn cache folder: C:\Users\Ryan\AppData\Local\Yarn. To double check, type: yarn cache dir

  • Add anti-virus exclusion to NodeJS installation folder: C:\Program Files\nodejs. To double check, type: where.exe node

  • Add anti-virus exclusion to %APPDATA%\npm and %APPDATA%\npm-cache folders.

  • Add anti-virus exclusion to Git installation folder: C:\Program Files\Git. To double check, type: where.exe git

  • Use very short root folder name for projects, such as D:\VS, to avoid potential problems with Windows system paths over 260 characters long. Then exclude the folder from the anti-virus.

Your PowerShell is cute. How to?

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -scope CurrentUser
iex (new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://get.scoop.sh')
scoop install concfg
concfg import https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ryanelian/instapack/master/concfg/firefly.json

For more information, visit http://scoop.sh/ and https://github.com/lukesampson/concfg

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