npm-build-boilerplate
A collection of packages that build a website using npm scripts.
List of packages used
autoprefixer, browser-sync, eslint, imagemin-cli, node-sass, onchange, npm-run-all, postcss-cli, svgo, svg-sprite-generator, uglify-js.
Many, many thanks go out to Keith Cirkel for his post and his useful CLI tools!
Using in your project
- First, ensure that node.js & npm are both installed. If not, choose your OS and installation method from this page and follow the instructions.
- Next, use your command line to enter your project directory.
- If this a new project (without a
package.jsonfile), start by runningnpm init. This will ask a few questions and use your responses to build a basicpackage.jsonfile. Next, copy the"devDependencies"object into yourpackage.json. - If this is an existing project, copy the contents of
"devDependencies"into yourpackage.json.
- If this a new project (without a
- Now, copy any tasks you want from the
"scripts"object into yourpackage.json"scripts"object. - Finally, run
npm installto install all of the dependencies into your project.
You're ready to go! Run any task by typing npm run task (where "task" is the name of the task in the "scripts" object). The most useful task for rapid development is watch. It will start a new server, open up a browser and watch for any SCSS or JS changes in the src directory; once it compiles those changes, the browser will automatically inject the changed file(s)!
List of available tasks
clean
rm -f dist/{css/*,js/*,images/*}
Delete existing dist files
autoprefixer
postcss -u autoprefixer -r dist/css/*
Add vendor prefixes to your CSS automatically
scss
node-sass --output-style compressed -o dist/css src/scss
Compile Scss to CSS
lint
eslint src/js
"Lint" your JavaScript to enforce a uniform style and find errors
uglify
mkdir -p dist/js && uglifyjs src/js/*.js -m -o dist/js/app.js && uglifyjs src/js/*.js -m -c -o dist/js/app.min.js
Uglify (minify) a production ready bundle of JavaScript
imagemin
imagemin src/images/* -o dist/images
Compress all types of images
icons
svgo -f src/images/icons && mkdir -p dist/images && svg-sprite-generate -d src/images/icons -o dist/images/icons.svg
Compress separate SVG files and combine them into one SVG "sprite"
serve
browser-sync start --server --files 'dist/css/*.css, dist/js/*.js, **/*.html, !node_modules/**/*.html'
Start a new server and watch for CSS & JS file changes in the dist folder
build:css
run-s scss autoprefixer
Alias to run the scss and autoprefixer tasks. Compiles Scss to CSS & add vendor prefixes
build:js
run-s lint concat uglify
Alias to run the lint, concat and uglify tasks. Lints JS, combines src JS files & uglifies the output
build:images
run-s imagemin icons
Alias to run the imagemin and icons tasks. Compresses images, generates an SVG sprite from a folder of separate SVGs
build
run-s build:*
Alias to run all of the build commands
watch:css
onchange 'src/**/*.scss' -- run-s build:css
Watches for any .scss file in src to change, then runs the build:css task
watch:js
onchange 'src/**/*.js' -- run-s build:js
Watches for any .js file in src to change, then runs the build:js task
watch:images
onchange 'src/images/**/*' -- run-s build:images
Watches for any images in src to change, then runs the build:images task
watch
run-p serve watch:*
Run the following tasks simultaneously: serve, watch:css, watch:js & watch:images. When a .scss or .js file changes in src or an image changes in src/images, the task will compile the changes to dist, and the server will be notified of the change. Any browser connected to the server will then inject the new file from dist
postinstall
run-s build watch
Runs watch after npm install is finished
Need help?
Feel free to create an issue, tweet me, or send me an email. I'd be glad to help where I can!