pl-pages

Publish files to a pl-pages or any other branch on Protocol Land and deploy the app to Arweave.

Getting Started

Install pl-pages as a dev dependency using one of your preferred package manager. And, also install the Protocol Land remote helper for this package to work properly.

npm install @protocol.land/pages --save-dev

yarn add @protocol.land/pages --dev

pnpm add @protocol.land/pages --save-dev

bun install @protocol.land/pages --dev

This module requires Git >= 1.9, Node >= 16 and package protocol-land-remote-helper.

Basic Usage

var plpages = require('@protocol.land/pages');

plpages.publish('dist', function(err) {});

publish

plpages.publish(dir, callback);
// or...
plpages.publish(dir, options, callback);

Calling this function will create a temporary clone of the current repository, create a pl-pages branch if one doesn't already exist, copy over all files from the base path, or only those that match patterns from the optional src configuration, commit all changes, and push to the origin remote.

If a pl-pages branch already exists, it will be updated with all commits from the remote before adding any commits from the provided src files.

Note that any files in the pl-pages branch that are not in the src files will be removed. See the add option if you don't want any of the existing files removed.

dir

• type: string

The base directory for all source files (those listed in the src config property).

Example use:

/**
 * Given the following directory structure:
 *
 *   dist/
 *     index.html
 *     js/
 *       site.js
 *
 * The usage below will create a `pl-pages` branch that looks like this:
 *
 *   index.html
 *   js/
 *     site.js
 *
 */
plpages.publish('dist', callback);

Options

The default options work for simple cases. The options described below let you push to alternate branches, customize your commit messages and more.

options.src

• type: string|Array<string>
• default: '**/*'

The minimatch pattern or array of patterns is used to select which files should be published.

options.branch

• type: string
• default: 'pl-pages'
• -b | --branch <branch name>

The name of the branch you'll be pushing to. The default uses Protocol Land's pl-pages branch, but this can be configured to push to any branch on any remote.

Example use of the branch option:

/**
 * This task pushes to the `master` branch of the configured `repo`.
 */
plpages.publish('dist', {
  branch: 'master',
  repo: 'proland://6ace6247-d267-463d-b5bd-7e50d98c3693'
}, callback);

options.dest

• type: string
• default: '.'

The destination folder within the destination branch. By default, all files are published to the root of the repository.

Example use of the dest option:

/**
 * Place content in the static/project subdirectory of the target
 * branch.
 */
plpages.publish('dist', {
  dest: 'static/project'
}, callback);

options.dotfiles

• type: boolean
• default: false

Include dotfiles. By default, files starting with . are ignored unless they are explicitly provided in the src array. If you want to also include dotfiles that otherwise match your src patterns, set dotfiles: true in your options.

Example use of the dotfiles option:

/**
 * The usage below will push dotfiles (directories and files)
 * that otherwise match the `src` pattern.
 */
plpages.publish('dist', {dotfiles: true}, callback);

options.add

• type: boolean
• default: false

Only add, and never remove existing files. By default, existing files in the target branch are removed before adding the ones from your src config. If you want the task to add new src files but leave existing ones untouched, set add: true in your options.

Example use of the add option:

/**
 * The usage below will only add files to the `pl-pages` branch, never removing
 * any existing files (even if they don't exist in the `src` config).
 */
plpages.publish('dist', {add: true}, callback);

options.repo

• type: string
• default: url for the origin remote of the current dir (assumes a git repository)
• -r | --repo <repo url>

By default, pl-pages assumes that the current working directory is a git repository, and that you want to push changes to the origin remote.

If instead your script is not in a git repository, or if you want to push to another repository, you can provide the repository URL in the repo option.

Example use of the repo option:

/**
 * If the current directory is not a clone of the repository you want to work
 * with, set the URL for the repository in the `repo` option.  This usage will
 * push all files in the `src` config to the `pl-pages` branch of the `repo`.
 */
plpages.publish('dist', {
  repo: 'proland://6ace6247-d267-463d-b5bd-7e50d98c3693'
}, callback);

options.remote

• type: string
• default: 'origin'

The name of the remote you'll be pushing to. The default is your 'origin' remote, but this can be configured to push to any remote.

Example use of the remote option:

/**
 * This task pushes to the `pl-pages` branch of of your `upstream` remote.
 */
plpages.publish('dist', {
  remote: 'upstream'
}, callback);

options.tag

• type: string
• default: ''

Create a tag after committing changes on the target branch. By default, no tag is created. To create a tag, provide the tag name as the option value.

options.message

• type: string
• default: 'Updates'

The commit message for all commits.

Example use of the message option:

/**
 * This adds commits with a custom message.
 */
plpages.publish('dist', {
  message: 'Auto-generated commit'
}, callback);

options.user

• type: Object
• default: null

If you are running the pl-pages task in a repository without a user.name or user.email git config properties (or on a machine without these global config properties), you must provide user info before git allows you to commit. The options.user object accepts name and email string values to identify the committer.

Example use of the user option:

plpages.publish('dist', {
  user: {
    name: 'Joe Code',
    email: '[email protected]'
  }
}, callback);

options.remove

• type: string
• default: '.'

Removes files that match the given pattern (Ignored if used together with --add). By default, pl-pages removes everything inside the target branch auto-generated directory before copying the new files from dir.

Example use of the remove option:

plpages.publish('dist', {
  remove: "*.json"
}, callback);

options.push

• type: boolean
• default: true

Push branch to remote. To commit only (with no push) set to false.

Example use of the push option:

plpages.publish('dist', {push: false}, callback);

options.deploy

• type: boolean
• default: true

Deploy branch to Arweave as static app. To push only (with no deploy) set to false.

Example use of the deploy option:

plpages.publish('dist', {deploy: false}, callback);

options.history

• type: boolean
• default: true

Push force new commit without parent history.

Example use of the history option:

plpages.publish('dist', {history: false}, callback);

options.silent

• type: boolean
• default: false

Avoid showing repository URLs or other information in errors.

options.beforeAdd

• type: function
• default: null

Custom callback that is executed right before git add.

The CLI expects a file exporting the beforeAdd function

pl-pages --before-add ./cleanup.js

Example use of the beforeAdd option:

/**
 * beforeAdd makes most sense when `add` option is active
 * Assuming we want to keep everything on the pl-pages branch
 * but remove just `some-outdated-file.txt`
 */
plpages.publish('dist', {
  add: true,
  async beforeAdd(git) {
    return git.rm('./some-outdated-file.txt');
  }
}, callback);

options.git

• type: string
• default: 'git'

Your git executable.

Example use of the git option:

/**
 * If `git` is not on your path, provide the path as shown below.
 */
plpages.publish('dist', {
  git: '/path/to/git'
}, callback);

Command Line Utility

Installing the package creates a pl-pages command line utility. Run pl-pages --help to see a list of supported options.

Usage: pl-pages [options]

Publish files to a `pl-pages` or any other branch on Protocol.Land and deploy the app to Arweave.

Options:
  -V, --version            output the version number
  -d, --dist <dist>        Base directory for all source files
  -s, --src <src>          Pattern used to select which files to publish (default: "**/*")
  -b, --branch <branch>    Name of the branch you are pushing to (default: "pl-pages")
  -e, --dest <dest>        Target directory within the destination branch (relative to the root) (default: ".")
  -a, --add                Only add, and never remove existing files
  -x, --silent             Do not output the repository url
  -m, --message <message>  commit message (default: "Updates")
  -g, --tag <tag>          add tag to commit
  --git <git>              Path to git executable (default: "git")
  -t, --dotfiles           Include dotfiles
  -r, --repo <repo>        URL of the repository you are pushing to
  -p, --depth <depth>      depth for clone (default: 1)
  -o, --remote <name>      The name of the remote (default: "origin")
  -u, --user <address>     The name and email of the user (defaults to the git config).  Format is "Your Name <[email protected]>".
  -v, --remove <pattern>   Remove files that match the given pattern (ignored if used together with --add). (default: ".")
  -n, --no-push            Commit only (with no push)
  -nd, --no-deploy         Don't deploy to Arweave as static app
  -f, --no-history         Push force new commit without parent history
  --before-add <file>      Execute the function exported by <file> before "git add"
  -h, --help               display help for command

With a local install of pl-pages, you can set up a package script with something like the following:

"scripts": {
  "predeploy": "npm run build",
  "deploy": "pl-pages -d dist"
}

And then to publish everything from your dist folder to your pl-pages branch, you'd run this:

npm run deploy

Debugging

To get additional output from the pl-pages script, set NODE_DEBUG=pl-pages. For example:

NODE_DEBUG=pl-pages npm run deploy

Dependencies

Note that this plugin requires Git 1.9 or higher (because it uses the --exit-code option for git ls-remote).

Tips

when get error branch already exists

{ ProcessError: fatal: A branch named 'pl-pages' already exists.

    at ChildProcess.<anonymous> (~/node_modules/pl-pages/lib/git.js:42:16)
    at ChildProcess.emit (events.js:180:13)
    at maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:936:16)
    at Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:220:5)
  code: 128,
  message: 'fatal: A branch named \'pl-pages\' already exists.\n',
  name: 'ProcessError' }

The pl-pages module writes temporary files to a node_modules/.cache/pl-pages directory. The location of this directory can be customized by setting the CACHE_DIR environment variable.

If pl-pages fails, you may find that you need to manually clean up the cache directory. To remove the cache directory, run node_modules/pl-pages/bin/pl-pages-clean or remove node_modules/.cache/pl-pages.

Build And Deployment Guide

Recommended: Use HashRouter for apps deploying using PL Pages to Arweave.

Please follow this guide for different frameworks and libraries to reference the built assets correctly in the final compiled HTML.

ReactJS

Note: Use HashRouter from react-router-dom in React apps.

Set a "homepage" property in the package.json to ./

{
  homepage: "./"
  // other properties
}

Or, add this line to the scripts in package.json and build your React project using this script.

"plbuild": "PUBLIC_URL=./ react-scripts build"

NextJS (Static Export)

Learn about it here for the supported and unsupported features in static HTML export.

If you are having problems regarding images in Next.js HTML export, see here.

Add the configuration to next.config.js and build the project to get an out folder which contains the HTML/CSS/JS assets for your application.

/**
 * @type {import('next').NextConfig}
 */
const nextConfig = {
  output: 'export'
  // other configuration
}

module.exports = nextConfig

Note: NextJS doesn't have a hash router and also dynamic routes are not supported when deployed. Also, for NextJS app to work properly, you need an ArNS domain.

VueJS

Modify vue.config.js to include the following config and build your Vue project as you normally would:

publicPath: "./"

NuxtJS

Modify nuxt.config.js to include the following config and build your Nuxt project using generate script.

// https://nuxt.com/docs/api/configuration/nuxt-config
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  router: { options: { hashMode: true } },
  app: { baseURL: "./" }
  // other configuration
})

ViteJS

Set a "base" property in its vite.config.js with ./.

export default defineConfig({
  base: "./"
  // other configuration
})

Or, add this line to the scripts in package.json and build your Vite project using this script.

"plbuild" : "vite build --base ./"

Be sure to read the documentation for your particular build tool or framework to learn how to configure correct asset paths.