copy-webpack-plugin
Advanced tools
The copy-webpack-plugin is a webpack plugin that allows you to copy files and directories from one location to another within your build process. It is commonly used to copy static assets such as images, fonts, and HTML files to the output directory defined in your webpack configuration.
Copying individual files or entire directories
This feature allows you to copy individual files or entire directories from a specified source to a destination within your output directory. The 'from' field specifies the relative or absolute path to the source file or directory, and the 'to' field specifies the relative path to the destination within the output directory.
new CopyPlugin({ patterns: [{ from: 'source', to: 'dest' }] })Ignoring files
This feature allows you to exclude specific files or patterns from being copied. In the provided code sample, all JavaScript files are ignored and will not be copied to the destination.
new CopyPlugin({ patterns: [{ from: 'source', to: 'dest', globOptions: { ignore: ['**/*.js'] } }] })Adding context to file paths
This feature allows you to specify a context for the file paths. The 'context' option sets a base path for the 'from' property. In the code sample, the actual path that will be copied is 'app/source'.
new CopyPlugin({ patterns: [{ from: 'source', to: 'dest', context: 'app' }] })Transforming file content
This feature allows you to modify the content of files before they are copied. The 'transform' function receives the content of the file and its path, and it should return the new content. This can be used to minify files, add banners, or perform other transformations.
new CopyPlugin({ patterns: [{ from: 'source', to: 'dest', transform: (content, path) => { return modifyContent(content); } }] })The file-loader resolves import/require() on a file into a url and emits the file into the output directory. It is similar to copy-webpack-plugin in that it helps manage static assets, but it is more focused on handling assets within the module system.
The html-webpack-plugin simplifies the creation of HTML files to serve your webpack bundles. It can copy HTML files and automatically inject script tags for bundle files. It differs from copy-webpack-plugin by focusing on HTML files and their dependencies.
The assets-webpack-plugin generates a JSON file with the assets produced by webpack. It is similar to copy-webpack-plugin in that it deals with the output of assets, but it does not copy files; instead, it provides a manifest of the generated assets.
Copies individual files or entire directories, which already exist, to the build directory.
To begin, you'll need to install copy-webpack-plugin:
npm install copy-webpack-plugin --save-dev
or
yarn add -D copy-webpack-plugin
or
pnpm add -D copy-webpack-plugin
Then add the plugin to your webpack config. For example:
webpack.config.js
const CopyPlugin = require("copy-webpack-plugin");
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{ from: "source", to: "dest" },
{ from: "other", to: "public" },
],
}),
],
};
Note
copy-webpack-pluginis not designed to copy files generated from the build process; rather, it is to copy files that already exist in the source tree, as part of the build process.
Note
If you want
webpack-dev-serverto write files to the output directory during development, you can force it with thewriteToDiskoption or thewrite-file-webpack-plugin.
Note
You can get the original source filename from Asset Objects.
The plugin's signature:
webpack.config.js
const CopyPlugin = require("copy-webpack-plugin");
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{ from: "source", to: "dest" },
"path/to/source", // absolute or relative, files/directories/globs - see below for examples
],
options: {
concurrency: 100,
},
}),
],
};
PatternsfromType:
type from = string;
Default: undefined
Glob or path from where we copy files.
Globs accept fast-glob pattern-syntax.
Glob can only be a string.
Warning
Don't use directly
\\infromoption if it is aglob(i.epath\to\file.ext) option because on UNIX the backslash is a valid character inside a path component, i.e., it's not a separator. On Windows, the forward slash and the backward slash are both separators. Instead please use/.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
"relative/path/to/file.ext",
"relative/path/to/dir",
path.resolve(__dirname, "src", "file.ext"),
path.resolve(__dirname, "src", "dir"),
"**/*",
{
from: "**/*",
},
// If absolute path is a `glob` we replace backslashes with forward slashes, because only forward slashes can be used in the `glob`
path.posix.join(
path.resolve(__dirname, "src").replace(/\\/g, "/"),
"*.txt",
),
],
}),
],
};
For windowsIf you define from as absolute file path or absolute folder path on Windows, you can use windows path segment (\\)
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: path.resolve(__dirname, "file.txt"),
},
],
}),
],
};
But you should always use forward-slashes in glob expressions
See fast-glob manual.
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
// If absolute path is a `glob` we replace backslashes with forward slashes, because only forward slashes can be used in the `glob`
from: path.posix.join(
path.resolve(__dirname, "fixtures").replace(/\\/g, "/"),
"*.txt",
),
},
],
}),
],
};
The context behaves differently depending on what the from is (glob, file or dir).
More examples
toType:
type to =
| string
| ((pathData: { context: string; absoluteFilename?: string }) => string);
Default: compiler.options.output
stringOutput path.
Warning
Don't use directly
\\into(i.epath\to\dest) option because on UNIX the backslash is a valid character inside a path component, i.e., it's not a separator. On Windows, the forward slash and the backward slash are both separators. Instead please use/orpathmethods.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "**/*",
to: "relative/path/to/dest/",
},
{
from: "**/*",
to: "/absolute/path/to/dest/",
},
{
from: "**/*",
to: "[path][name].[contenthash][ext]",
},
],
}),
],
};
functionAllows to modify the writing path.
Warning
Don't return directly
\\into(i.epath\to\newFile) option because on UNIX the backslash is a valid character inside a path component, i.e., it's not a separator. On Windows, the forward slash and the backward slash are both separators. Instead please use/orpathmethods.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to({ context, absoluteFilename }) {
return "dest/newPath/[name][ext]";
},
},
],
}),
],
};
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to({ context, absoluteFilename }) {
return Promise.resolve("dest/newPath/[name][ext]");
},
},
],
}),
],
};
contextType:
type context = string;
Default: options.context|compiler.options.context
A path to be (1) prepended to from and (2) removed from the start of the result path(s).
Warning
Don't use directly
\\incontext(i.epath\to\context) option because on UNIX the backslash is a valid character inside a path component, i.e., it's not a separator. On Windows, the forward slash and the backward slash are both separators. Instead please use/orpathmethods.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.txt",
to: "dest/",
context: "app/",
},
],
}),
],
};
context can be an absolute path or a relative path. If it is a relative path, then it will be converted to an absolute path based on compiler.options.context.
context should be explicitly set only when from contains a glob. Otherwise, context is automatically set, based on whether from is a file or a directory:
If from is a file, then context is its directory. The result path will be the filename alone.
If from is a directory, then context equals from. The result paths will be the paths of the directory's contents (including nested contents), relative to the directory.
The use of context is illustrated by these examples.
globOptionsType:
type globOptions = import("globby").Options;
Default: undefined
Allows to configure the glob pattern matching library used by the plugin. See the list of supported options To exclude files from the selection, you should use globOptions.ignore option
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "public/**/*",
globOptions: {
dot: true,
gitignore: true,
ignore: ["**/file.*", "**/ignored-directory/**"],
},
},
],
}),
],
};
filterType:
type filter = (filepath: string) => boolean;
Default: undefined
Note
To ignore files by path please use the
globOptions.ignoreoption.
webpack.config.js
const fs = require("fs").promise;
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "public/**/*",
filter: async (resourcePath) => {
const data = await fs.promises.readFile(resourcePath);
const content = data.toString();
if (content === "my-custom-content") {
return false;
}
return true;
},
},
],
}),
],
};
toTypeType:
type toType = "dir" | "file" | "template";
Default: undefined
Determinate what is to option - directory, file or template.
Sometimes it is hard to say what is to, example path/to/dir-with.ext.
If you want to copy files in directory you need use dir option.
We try to automatically determine the type so you most likely do not need this option.
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
'dir' | string | undefined | If to has no extension or ends on '/' |
'file' | string | undefined | If to is not a directory and is not a template |
'template' | string | undefined | If to contains a template pattern |
'dir'webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "path/to/file.txt",
to: "directory/with/extension.ext",
toType: "dir",
},
],
}),
],
};
'file'webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "path/to/file.txt",
to: "file/without/extension",
toType: "file",
},
],
}),
],
};
'template'webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/",
to: "dest/[name].[contenthash][ext]",
toType: "template",
},
],
}),
],
};
forceType:
type force = boolean;
Default: false
Overwrites files already in compilation.assets (usually added by other plugins/loaders).
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/**/*",
to: "dest/",
force: true,
},
],
}),
],
};
priorityType:
type priority = number;
Default: 0
Allows to specify the priority of copying files with the same destination name.
Files for patterns with higher priority will be copied later.
To overwrite files, the force option must be enabled.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
// Copied second and will overwrite "dir_2/file.txt"
{
from: "dir_1/file.txt",
to: "newfile.txt",
force: true,
priority: 10,
},
// Copied first
{
from: "dir_2/file.txt",
to: "newfile.txt",
priority: 5,
},
],
}),
],
};
transformType:
type transform =
| {
transformer: (input: string, absoluteFilename: string) => string | Buffer;
cache?: boolean | TransformerCacheObject | undefined;
}
| ((input: string, absoluteFilename: string) => string | Buffer);
Default: undefined
Allows to modify the file contents.
functionwebpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to: "dest/",
// The `content` argument is a [`Buffer`](https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html) object, it could be converted to a `String` to be processed using `content.toString()`
// The `absoluteFrom` argument is a `String`, it is absolute path from where the file is being copied
transform(content, absoluteFrom) {
return optimize(content);
},
},
],
}),
],
};
object| Name | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
transformer | undefined | Allows to modify the file contents. |
cache | false | Enable transform caching. You can use transform: { cache: { key: 'my-cache-key' } } to invalidate the cache. |
transformerType:
type transformer = (input: string, absoluteFilename: string) => string;
Default: undefined
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to: "dest/",
// The `content` argument is a [`Buffer`](https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html) object, it could be converted to a `String` to be processed using `content.toString()`
// The `absoluteFrom` argument is a `String`, it is absolute path from where the file is being copied
transform: {
transformer(content, absoluteFrom) {
return optimize(content);
},
},
},
],
}),
],
};
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to: "dest/",
transform: {
transformer(content, path) {
return Promise.resolve(optimize(content));
},
},
},
],
}),
],
};
cacheType:
type cache =
| boolean
| {
keys: {
[key: string]: any;
};
}
| {
keys: (
defaultCacheKeys: {
[key: string]: any;
},
absoluteFilename: string,
) => Promise<{
[key: string]: any;
}>;
}
| undefined;
Default: false
webpack.config.js
Enable/disable and configure caching.
Default path to cache directory: node_modules/.cache/copy-webpack-plugin.
booleanEnables/Disable transform caching.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to: "dest/",
transform: {
transformer(content, path) {
return optimize(content);
},
cache: true,
},
},
],
}),
],
};
objectEnables transform caching and setup invalidation keys.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to: "dest/",
transform: {
transformer(content, path) {
return optimize(content);
},
cache: {
keys: {
// May be useful for invalidating cache based on external values
// For example, you can invalid cache based on `process.version` - { node: process.version }
key: "value",
},
},
},
},
],
}),
],
};
You can setup invalidation keys using a function.
Simple function:
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to: "dest/",
transform: {
transformer(content, path) {
return optimize(content);
},
cache: {
keys: (defaultCacheKeys, absoluteFrom) => {
const keys = getCustomCacheInvalidationKeysSync();
return {
...defaultCacheKeys,
keys,
};
},
},
},
},
],
}),
],
};
Async function:
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to: "dest/",
transform: {
transformer(content, path) {
return optimize(content);
},
cache: {
keys: async (defaultCacheKeys, absoluteFrom) => {
const keys = await getCustomCacheInvalidationKeysAsync();
return {
...defaultCacheKeys,
keys,
};
},
},
},
},
],
}),
],
};
transformAllType:
type transformAll = (
data: {
data: Buffer;
sourceFilename: string;
absoluteFilename: string;
}[],
) => any;
Default: undefined
Allows you to modify the contents of multiple files and save the result to one file.
Note
The
tooption must be specified and point to a file. It is allowed to use only[contenthash]and[fullhash]template strings.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/**/*.txt",
to: "dest/file.txt",
// The `assets` argument is an assets array for the pattern.from ("src/**/*.txt")
transformAll(assets) {
const result = assets.reduce((accumulator, asset) => {
// The asset content can be obtained from `asset.source` using `source` method.
// The asset content is a [`Buffer`](https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html) object, it could be converted to a `String` to be processed using `content.toString()`
const content = asset.data;
accumulator = `${accumulator}${content}\n`;
return accumulator;
}, "");
return result;
},
},
],
}),
],
};
noErrorOnMissingType:
type noErrorOnMissing = boolean;
Default: false
Doesn't generate an error on missing file(s).
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: path.resolve(__dirname, "missing-file.txt"),
noErrorOnMissing: true,
},
],
}),
],
};
infoType:
type info =
| Record<string, any>
| ((item: {
absoluteFilename: string;
sourceFilename: string;
filename: string;
toType: ToType;
}) => Record<string, any>);
Default: undefined
Allows to add assets info.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
"relative/path/to/file.ext",
{
from: "**/*",
// Terser skip this file for minimization
info: { minimized: true },
},
],
}),
],
};
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
"relative/path/to/file.ext",
{
from: "**/*",
// Terser skip this file for minimization
info: (file) => ({ minimized: true }),
},
],
}),
],
};
concurrencytype:
type concurrency = number;
default: 100
limits the number of simultaneous requests to fs
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [...patterns],
options: { concurrency: 50 },
}),
],
};
from (glob, file or dir).Take for example the following file structure:
src/directory-nested/deep-nested/deepnested-file.txt
src/directory-nested/nested-file.txt
Everything that you specify in from will be included in the result:
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/directory-nested/**/*",
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
src/directory-nested/deep-nested/deepnested-file.txt,
src/directory-nested/nested-file.txt
If you don't want the result paths to start with src/directory-nested/, then you should move src/directory-nested/ to context, such that only the glob pattern **/* remains in from:
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "**/*",
context: path.resolve(__dirname, "src", "directory-nested"),
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
deep-nested/deepnested-file.txt,
nested-file.txt
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: path.resolve(__dirname, "src", "directory-nested"),
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
deep-nested/deepnested-file.txt,
nested-file.txt
Technically, this is **/* with a predefined context equal to the specified directory.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "**/*",
context: path.resolve(__dirname, "src", "directory-nested"),
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
deep-nested/deepnested-file.txt,
nested-file.txt
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: path.resolve(
__dirname,
"src",
"directory-nested",
"nested-file.txt",
),
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
nested-file.txt
Technically, this is a filename with a predefined context equal to path.dirname(pathToFile).
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "nested-file.txt",
context: path.resolve(__dirname, "src", "directory-nested"),
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
nested-file.txt
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: path.posix.join(
path.resolve(__dirname, "src").replace(/\\/g, "/"),
"**/*",
),
globOptions: {
ignore: [
// Ignore all `txt` files
"**/*.txt",
// Ignore all files in all subdirectories
"**/subdir/**",
],
},
},
],
}),
],
};
Removes all directory references and only copies file names.
Warning
If files have the same name, the result is non-deterministic.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/**/*",
to: "[name][ext]",
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
file-1.txt
file-2.txt
nested-file.txt
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
// When copying files starting with a dot, must specify the toType option
// toType: "file",
to({ context, absoluteFilename }) {
return `newdirectory/${path.relative(context, absoluteFilename)}`;
},
from: "directory",
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
"newdirectory/file-1.txt",
"newdirectory/nestedfile.txt",
"newdirectory/nested/deep-nested/deepnested.txt",
"newdirectory/nested/nestedfile.txt",
Useful if you need to simply copy *.js files to destination "as is" without evaluating and minimizing them using Terser.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
"relative/path/to/file.ext",
{
from: "**/*",
// Terser skip this file for minimization
info: { minimized: true },
},
],
}),
],
};
yarn workspaces and monoreposWhen using yarn workspaces or monorepos, relative copy paths from node_modules can be broken due to the way packages are hoisting.
To avoid this, should explicitly specify where to copy the files from using require.resolve.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: `${path.dirname(
require.resolve(`${moduleName}/package.json`),
)}/target`,
to: "target",
},
],
}),
],
};
Please take a moment to read our contributing guidelines if you haven't yet done so.
FAQs
Copy files && directories with webpack
We found that copy-webpack-plugin demonstrated a healthy version release cadence and project activity because the last version was released less than a year ago. It has 3 open source maintainers collaborating on the project.
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