minimani: reference web assets with a cache busting suffix in a json file

For small web projects installing and configuring Webpack, or even Gulp or Grunt, can sometimes be overkill. A handful npm scripts could be enough. Minimani will reference files in a manifest file appending a timestamp to them and deleting the previously referenced one.

Installation

npm i @dotburo/minimani

Examples

A simple npm script may look like this:

"scripts": {
  "build:css": "cleancss -o css/index.min.css css/index.css && minimani index.css:css/index.min.css"
}

Cleancss contatenates and minifies your css to a new file called index.min.css located in a css folder; minimani will then use that file to create the following manifest file:

{"index.css": "css/index.min.1547379363884.css"}

If you have multiple entry points to your project with, for instance, a js file for a dashboard application as well as one for a client app, you can branch out the json and pretty-print it along the way. minimani -p dashboard:index.js:css/index.min.js will generate:

{
  "dashboard": {
    "index.js": "css/index.min.1547379363884.js"
  }
}