raw-loader

What is raw-loader?

The `raw-loader` npm package is used to import files as a string in JavaScript modules. It is commonly used in web development projects to include file contents directly into JavaScript code, such as importing HTML, CSS, or SVG files. This can be particularly useful for embedding small templates, styles, or assets directly into JavaScript bundles without the need for separate HTTP requests to load these resources.

What are raw-loader's main functionalities?

Importing text files

This feature allows you to import the contents of text files, such as `.txt` files, directly into your JavaScript code as a string. This can be useful for embedding static text resources.

import myText from './file.txt';

Importing HTML templates

With `raw-loader`, you can import HTML templates directly into your JavaScript modules. This is particularly useful in frameworks or libraries that allow for template strings, enabling you to keep HTML templates in separate files for better organization.

import myTemplate from './template.html';

Importing CSS as a string

This feature allows importing CSS files as strings. This can be useful for injecting styles directly into the DOM using JavaScript, or for use with CSS-in-JS libraries that accept CSS as a string.

import styles from './styles.css';

Other packages similar to raw-loader

to-string-loader

Similar to `raw-loader`, `to-string-loader` converts files to a string, but it is often used in conjunction with other loaders, such as `css-loader` for stylesheets. It allows for more flexibility in handling different types of files as strings.

val-loader

The `val-loader` executes code as a module and can be used to generate code strings dynamically. While it serves a different primary purpose compared to `raw-loader`, it offers an alternative approach to embedding dynamic content in JavaScript bundles.

html-loader

The `html-loader` handles HTML files, similar to how `raw-loader` can be used for HTML templates. However, `html-loader` also processes images and links within the HTML, resolving `src` and `href` as module requests, providing more comprehensive handling of HTML files.

README

raw loader for webpack

Usage

var fileContent = require("raw!./file.txt");
// => returns file.txt content as string

Don't forget to polyfill require if you want to use it in node. See webpack documentation.

License

MIT (http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php)