nx/docs/shared/recipes/tips-n-tricks/switch-to-workspaces-project-references.md
Isaac Mann ed1dd5fd44
docs(core): update ts migration recipe (#29815)
Updates migration to TS project references recipe
2025-01-31 15:18:22 -05:00

361 lines
14 KiB
Markdown

# Switch to Workspaces and Project References
If you want to take advantage of the [performance benefits](/concepts/typescript-project-linking#typescript-project-references-performance-benefits) of TypeScript project references, it is recommended to use package manager workspaces for local [project linking](/concepts/typescript-project-linking). If you are currently using TypeScript path aliases for project linking, follow the steps in this guide to switch to workspaces project linking and enable TypeScript project references.
## Enable Package Manager Workspaces
Follow the specific instructions for your package manager to enable workspaces project linking.
{% tabs %}
{% tab label="npm" %}
```json {% fileName="package.json" %}
{
"workspaces": ["apps/*", "libs/*"]
}
```
Defining the `workspaces` property in the root `package.json` file lets npm know to look for other `package.json` files in the specified folders. With this configuration in place, all the dependencies for the individual projects will be installed in the root `node_modules` folder when `npm install` is run in the root folder. Also, the projects themselves will be linked in the root `node_modules` folder to be accessed as if they were npm packages.
If you reference a local library project with its own `build` task, you should include the library in the `devDependencies` of the application's `package.json` with `*` specified as the library's version. `*` tells npm to use whatever version of the project is available.
```json {% fileName="/apps/my-app/package.json" %}
{
"devDependencies": {
"@my-org/some-project": "*"
}
}
```
{% /tab %}
{% tab label="yarn" %}
```json {% fileName="package.json" %}
{
"workspaces": ["apps/*", "libs/*"]
}
```
Defining the `workspaces` property in the root `package.json` file lets yarn know to look for other `package.json` files in the specified folders. With this configuration in place, all the dependencies for the individual projects will be installed in the root `node_modules` folder when `yarn` is run in the root folder. Also, the projects themselves will be linked in the root `node_modules` folder to be accessed as if they were npm packages.
If you reference a local library project with its own `build` task, you should include the library in the `devDependencies` of the application's `package.json` with `workspace:*` specified as the library's version. [`workspace:*` tells yarn that the project is in the same repository](https://yarnpkg.com/features/workspaces) and not an npm package. You want to specify local projects as `devDependencies` instead of `dependencies` so that the library is not included twice in the production bundle of the application.
```json {% fileName="/apps/my-app/package.json" %}
{
"devDependencies": {
"@my-org/some-project": "*"
}
}
```
{% /tab %}
{% tab label="bun" %}
```json {% fileName="package.json" %}
{
"workspaces": ["apps/*", "libs/*"]
}
```
Defining the `workspaces` property in the root `package.json` file lets bun know to look for other `package.json` files in the specified folders. With this configuration in place, all the dependencies for the individual projects will be installed in the root `node_modules` folder when `bun install` is run in the root folder. Also, the projects themselves will be linked in the root `node_modules` folder to be accessed as if they were npm packages.
If you reference a local library project with its own `build` task, you should include the library in the `devDependencies` of the application's `package.json` with `workspace:*` specified as the library's version. [`workspace:*` tells bun that the project is in the same repository](https://bun.sh/docs/install/workspaces) and not an npm package. You want to specify local projects as `devDependencies` instead of `dependencies` so that the library is not included twice in the production bundle of the application.
```json {% fileName="/apps/my-app/package.json" %}
{
"devDependencies": {
"@my-org/some-project": "workspace:*"
}
}
```
{% /tab %}
{% tab label="pnpm" %}
```yaml {% fileName="pnpm-workspace.yaml" %}
packages:
- 'apps/*'
- 'libs/*'
```
Defining the `packages` property in the root `pnpm-workspaces.yaml` file lets pnpm know to look for project `package.json` files in the specified folders. With this configuration in place, all the dependencies for the individual projects will be installed in the root `node_modules` folder when `pnpm install` is run in the root folder.
If you reference a local library project from an application, you need to include the library in the `devDependencies` of the application's `package.json` with `workspace:*` specified as the library's version. [`workspace:*` tells pnpm that the project is in the same repository](https://pnpm.io/workspaces#workspace-protocol-workspace) and not an npm package. You want to specify local projects as `devDependencies` instead of `dependencies` so that the library is not included twice in the production bundle of the application.
```json {% fileName="/apps/my-app/package.json" %}
{
"devDependencies": {
"@my-org/some-project": "workspace:*"
}
}
```
{% /tab %}
{% /tabs %}
## Update Root TypeScript Configuration
The root `tsconfig.base.json` should contain a `compilerOptions` property and no other properties. `compilerOptions.composite` and `compilerOptions.declaration` should be set to `true`. `compilerOptions.paths` and `compilerOptions.rootDir` should not be set.
Note: Before you delete the `paths` property, copy the project paths for use as `references` in the `tsconfig.json` file.
{% tabs %}
{% tab label="Before" %}
```jsonc {% fileName="tsconfig.base.json" %}
{
"compilerOptions": {
"allowJs": false,
"allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
// ...
"paths": {
"@myorg/utils": ["libs/utils/src/index.ts"],
"@myorg/ui": ["libs/ui/src/index.ts"]
}
}
}
```
{% /tab %}
{% tab label="After" %}
```jsonc {% fileName="tsconfig.base.json" %}
{
"compilerOptions": {
// Required compiler options
"composite": true,
"declaration": true, // defaults to true when composite is true
// Delete the paths property
// Other options...
"allowJs": false,
"allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true
}
}
```
{% /tab %}
{% /tabs %}
The root `tsconfig.json` file should extend `tsconfig.base.json` and not include any files. It needs to have `references` for every project in the repository so that editor tooling works correctly.
{% tabs %}
{% tab label="Before" %}
```jsonc {% fileName="tsconfig.json" %}
{
"extends": "./tsconfig.base.json",
"files": [] // intentionally empty
}
```
{% /tab %}
{% tab label="After" %}
```jsonc {% fileName="tsconfig.json" %}
{
"extends": "./tsconfig.base.json",
"files": [], // intentionally empty
"references": [
// All projects in the repository
{
"path": "./libs/utils"
},
{
"path": "./libs/ui"
}
// Future generated projects will automatically be added here by the generator
]
}
```
{% /tab %}
{% /tabs %}
## Register Nx Typescript Plugin
Make sure that the `@nx/js` plugin is installed in your repository and `@nx/js/typescript` is registered as a plugin in the `nx.json` file.
```jsonc {% fileName="nx.json" %}
{
"plugins": [
{
"plugin": "@nx/js/typescript",
"options": {
"typecheck": {
"targetName": "typecheck"
},
"build": {
"targetName": "build",
"configName": "tsconfig.lib.json",
"buildDepsName": "build-deps",
"watchDepsName": "watch-deps"
}
}
}
]
}
```
This plugin will register a [sync generator](/concepts/sync-generators) to automatically maintain the project references across the repository.
## Create Individual Project package.json files
When using package manager project linking, every project needs to have a `package.json` file. You can leave all the task configuration in the existing `project.json` file. For application projects, you only need to specify the `name` property. For library projects, you should add an `exports` property that accounts for any TypeScript path aliases that referenced the project. A typical configuration is shown below:
{% tabs %}
{% tab label="Non-buildable library" %}
```json {% fileName="libs/ui/package.json" %}
{
"name": "@myorg/ui",
"exports": {
".": {
"types": "./src/index.ts",
"import": "./src/index.ts",
"default": "./src/index.ts"
}
}
}
```
{% /tab %}
{% tab label="Buildable Library" %}
```json {% fileName="libs/ui/package.json" %}
{
"name": "@myorg/ui",
"exports": {
".": {
"types": "./src/index.d.ts",
"import": "./dist/index.js",
"default": "./dist/index.js"
}
}
}
```
{% /tab %}
{% /tabs %}
{% callout type="warning" title="Package Names with Multiple Slashes" %}
The `package.json` name can only have one `/` character in it. This is more restrictive than the TypeScript path aliases. So if you have a project that you have been referencing with `@myorg/shared/ui`, you'll need to make the `package.json` name be something like `@myorg/shared-ui` and update all the import statements in your codebase to reference the new name.
{% /callout %}
## Update Individual Project TypeScript Configuration
Each project's `tsconfig.json` file should extend the `tsconfig.base.json` file and list `references` to the project's dependencies. Remove any `compilerOptions` listed and combine them with the options listed in the `tsconfig.lib.json` and `tsconfig.spec.json` files.
The `tsconfig.json` file's purpose is to provide your IDE with `references` to the `tsconfig.*.json` files that define the compilation settings for all the files in the project. In this case, `tsconfig.spec.json` handles the compilation of the test files and `tsconfig.lib.json` handles the compilation of the production code.
```jsonc {% fileName="libs/ui/tsconfig.json" %}
{
"extends": "../../tsconfig.base.json",
"files": [], // intentionally empty
"references": [
// All project dependencies
// UPDATED BY NX SYNC
// This project's other tsconfig.*.json files
{
"path": "./tsconfig.lib.json"
},
{
"path": "./tsconfig.spec.json"
}
]
}
```
Each project's `tsconfig.lib.json` file extends the root `tsconfig.base.json` file and adds `references` to the `tsconfig.lib.json` files of project dependencies. This file should not extend the project's `tsconfig.json` file because the `tsconfig.json` file includes a reference to the `tsconfig.spec.json` file. Keeping the `tsconfig.spec.json` file unreferenced from the `tsconfig.lib.json` file makes the `typecheck` and `build` tasks faster because the test files do not need to be analyzed. Note that the `outDir` location needs to be unique across all `tsconfig.*.json` files so that one task's cached output does not interfere with another task's cached output.
{% callout type="note" title="Shared Compiler Options" %}
If there are a lot of shared `compilerOptions` between `tsconfig.lib.json` and `tsconfig.spec.json`, you could create a `tsconfig.project.json` that contains those shared settings. `tsconfig.project.json` would extend `tsconfig.base.json` while `tsconfig.lib.json` and `tsconfig.spec.json` would each extend `tsconfig.project.json`.
{% /callout %}
```jsonc {% fileName="libs/ui/tsconfig.lib.json" %}
{
"extends": "../../tsconfig.base.json",
"compilerOptions": {
// outDir should be local to the project and not in the same folder as any other tsconfig.*.json
"outDir": "./out-tsc/lib"
// Any overrides
},
"include": ["src/**/*.ts"],
"exclude": [
// exclude config and test files
],
"references": [
// tsconfig.lib.json files for project dependencies
// UPDATED BY NX SYNC
]
}
```
{% callout type="note" title="Task Outputs Within the Project" %}
As part of this migration process, we are moving the task outputs for `typecheck` and `build` to be local to the project instead of being output to a root `dist` folder. This structure is more consistent with a workspaces style repository and helps to keep projects self-contained. It should be possible to continue to send task outputs to a root `dist` folder, but you'll need to make sure that the `outDir` and `exports` paths work correctly for your folder structure.
{% /callout %}
The project's `tsconfig.spec.json` does not need to reference project dependencies.
```jsonc {% fileName="libs/ui/tsconfig.spec.json" %}
{
"extends": "../../tsconfig.base.json",
"compilerOptions": {
// outDir should be local to the project and not in the same folder as any other tsconfig.*.json
"outDir": "./out-tsc/spec"
// Any overrides
},
"include": [
// test files
],
"references": [
// tsconfig.lib.json for this project
{
"path": "./tsconfig.lib.json"
}
]
}
```
After creating these `tsconfig.*.json` files, run `nx sync` to have Nx automatically add the correct references for each project.
### Vite Configuration Updates
If you are using Vite to build a project, you need to update the `vite.config.ts` file for each project.
1. Remove the `nxViteTsPaths` plugin from the `plugins` array.
2. Set the `build.outDir` to `./dist` relative to the project's folder.
3. Make sure the `build.lib.name` matches the full name of the project, including the organization.
```ts {% fileName="libs/ui/vite.config.ts" %}
import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react';
import dts from 'vite-plugin-dts';
import { nxCopyAssetsPlugin } from '@nx/vite/plugins/nx-copy-assets.plugin';
export default defineConfig({
// ...
plugins: [
// any needed plugins, but remove nxViteTsPaths
react(),
nxCopyAssetsPlugin(['*.md', 'package.json']),
dts({
entryRoot: 'src',
tsconfigPath: path.join(__dirname, 'tsconfig.lib.json'),
}),
],
build: {
// ...
outDir: './dist',
// ...
lib: {
name: '@myorg/ui',
// ...
},
},
});
```
## Future Plans
We realize that this manual migration process is tedious. We are investigating automating parts of this process with generators.