What is ng-packagr?
ng-packagr is a tool for building and packaging Angular libraries in a way that is compatible with the Angular Package Format (APF). It helps developers to create reusable Angular libraries that can be easily distributed and consumed by other Angular applications.
What are ng-packagr's main functionalities?
Library Packaging
This command packages an Angular library according to the configuration specified in the ng-package.json file. It compiles the TypeScript code, bundles the library, and generates metadata files.
ng-packagr -p ng-package.json
Configuration File
The ng-package.json file is used to configure the packaging process. It specifies the destination directory for the packaged library and the entry file for the library.
{
"$schema": "../../node_modules/ng-packagr/ng-package.schema.json",
"dest": "dist/my-lib",
"lib": {
"entryFile": "src/public-api.ts"
}
}
Custom Build Steps
You can add custom build steps in your package.json file to automate the packaging process. This example shows how to add a build script that runs ng-packagr with the specified configuration file.
{
"scripts": {
"build": "ng-packagr -p ng-package.json"
}
}
Other packages similar to ng-packagr
ngx-build-plus
ngx-build-plus is an Angular CLI extension that allows for more advanced build customizations. It provides features like extending the Angular build process, adding custom webpack configurations, and more. Compared to ng-packagr, ngx-build-plus is more focused on extending and customizing the build process of Angular applications rather than packaging libraries.
angular-library-builder
angular-library-builder is another tool for building Angular libraries. It provides a simple and straightforward way to package Angular libraries, similar to ng-packagr. However, it may not support all the advanced features and configurations that ng-packagr offers.
ng-packagr
Compile and package Angular libraries in Angular Package Format (APF)
Installation
npm install -D ng-packagr
Usage Example
Let's walk through a getting started that'll build an Angular library from TypeScript sources and create a distribution-ready npm package:
create a ng-package.json
file and run ng-packagr -p ng-package.json
– Here we go:
{
"$schema": "./node_modules/ng-packagr/ng-package.schema.json",
...
}
You can easily run ng-packagr through a npm/yarn script:
{
"scripts": {
"build": "ng-packagr -p ng-package.json"
}
}
Now, execute the build with the following command:
$ yarn build
The build output is written to the dist
folder, containing all those binaries to meet the Angular Package Format specification.
You'll now be able to go ahead and npm publish dist
your Angular library to the npm registry.
Do you like to publish more libraries?
Is your code living in a monorepo?
Create one package.json
per npm package, run ng-packagr for each!
Features
- :gift: Implements Angular Package Format
- :checkered_flag: Bundles your library in FESM2022
- :school_satchel: npm package can be consumed by Angular CLI, Webpack, or ESM Bundlers
- :dancer: Creates type definitions (
.d.ts
)
- :mag_right: Creates scoped and non-scoped packages for publishing to npm registry
- :surfer: Inlines Templates and Stylesheets
- :sparkles: CSS Features
- :camel: Runs SCSS preprocessor, supporting custom include paths
- :monkey: Adds vendor-specific prefixes w/ autoprefixer and browserslist — just tell your desired
.browserslistrc
- :tiger: Embed assets data w/ postcss-url
How to…
Knowledge
Angular Package Format documentation
Packaging Angular Libraries - Jason Aden at Angular Mountain View Meetup (Jan 2018, 45min talk)
Create and publish Angular libs like a Pro - Juri Strumpflohner at NG-BE (Dec 2017, 30min talk)
Packaging Angular - Jason Aden at ng-conf 2017 (28min talk)
Create and publish Angular libs like a Pro - Juri Strumpflohner at ngVikings, this time demoing building Angular libraries with ng-packagr, with NX as well as Bazel (March 2018, 30min talk)
Contributing to ng-packagr
General contribution guidelines
If you like to submit a pull request, you'll find it helpful to take a look at the initial design document where it all started.
To orchestrate the different tools, ng-packagr features a custom transformation pipeline. The transformation pipeline is built on top of RxJS and Angular Dependency Injection concepts.