webpack-config

Simplified and opinionated webpack configuration.

This package implements a standard webpack configuration preferred by Software Ventures Limited, but can also be used by others.

Why?

Configuring webpack from scratch is time-consuming and complicated. This package provides a standard webpack configuration that is suitable for most projects.

Upgrading from v3 or earlier

See Upgrade Guide.

Setup

Add a dependency on this package, webpack, and webpack-dev-server, for example using npm or yarn:

$ npm install --save-dev @softwareventures/webpack-config webpack webpack-cli webpack-dev-server

$ yarn add --dev @softwareventures/webpack-config webpack webpack-cli webpack-dev-server

Create a webpack.config.cjs file at the root of your project with the following contents:

const config = require("@softwareventures/webpack-config");

module.exports = config({
    title: "Name of your app"
});

webpack-config exports a single function, config. Options may be passed to config as an object or as a function that returns an object.

The config function itself returns a webpack configuration, which should be exported by webpack.config.cjs.

We also recommend that you add a build and start script to package.json:

{
    "scripts": {
        "build": "webpack --env production",
        "start": "webpack-dev-server --open"
    }
}

See Building and Dev Server for more on these scripts.

TypeScript Support

To enable TypeScript, first add dev dependencies on ts-loader and typescript, and a dependency on tslib:

npm install --save-dev ts-loader typescript
npm install --save tslib

or

yarn add --dev ts-loader typescript
yarn add tslib

Then create a tsconfig.json file at the root of your project with the following contents:

{
    "extends": "@softwareventures/webpack-config/tsconfig/general",
    "compilerOptions": {
        "types": [
            "webpack-env",
            "@softwareventures/webpack-config/webpack-config-runtime"
        ]
    }
}

webpack-config provides several preset TypeScript configurations for different purposes, which can be used in place of the above:

• @softwareventures/webpack-config/tsconfig/general: General purpose configuration suitable for most projects.
• @softwareventures/webpack-config/tsconfig/general-commonjs: Same as general, but modules are compiled to CommonJS module format instead of ESM. Useful for older projects that are not ready to transition to ESM. Not recommended for new projects.
• @softwareventures/webpack-config/tconfig/preact: Configuration suitable for projects using JSX with Preact.
• @softwareventures/webpack-config/tconfig/preact-commonjs: Same as preact, but modules are compiled to CommonJS module format instead of ESM. Useful for older projects that are not ready to transition to ESM. Not recommended for new projects.
• @softwareventures/webpack-config/tsconfig/react: Configuration suitable for projects using JSX with React.
• @softwareventures/webpack-config/tsconfig/react-commonjs Same as react, but modules are compiled to CommonJS module format instead of ESM. Useful for older projects that are not ready to transition to ESM. Not recommended for new projects.

Any of these presets can be used as a base with project-specific overrides. Any options set in tsconfig.json will override those set by the preset. See tsconfig.json in the TypeScript Handbook for more information on configuring TypeScript.

Building

We recommend that you set up a script in package.json to build your project, as follows:

{
    "scripts": {
        "build": "webpack --env production"
    }
}

You can then run the build script using npm or yarn:

npm run build

yarn build

Build output goes in dist by default.

Dev Server

We recommend that you set up a script in package.json to run the dev server, as follows:

{
    "scripts": {
        "start": "webpack serve --open"
    }
}

You can then run the dev server using npm or yarn:

npm start

yarn start

See Also

• @softwareventures/eslint-config