Boldr-DX

Boldr Developer Experience is a build toolkit. If you happen to find Webpack configuration tedious, BoldrDX is for you. BoldrDX uses Webpack in a tailored environment specifically for Boldr. However, you can use it in any project without any troubles.

Quick Setup

Everything is already setup for you if you created a Boldr project with the CLI. Want all the power without BoldrCMS?

Don't fret it's easy. The steps below will also work in an existing project after a few additional tweaks.

1. npm init -y

Add Boldr-DX to your dependencies.

1. yarn add --dev boldr-dx

Create the SMALL configuration files. You won't need to configure very much. Promise.

Minimal configuration:

Create a .env file with the two variables defined inside.

BOLDR__SERVER_PORT=3000
BOLDR__DEV_PORT=30001

Create the boldr.dx.js file inside .boldr folder of your project root.

/// .boldr/boldr.dx.js
const path = require('path');
const dotenv = require('dotenv');
dotenv.load();
  module.exports = {
  env: {
    NODE_ENV: process.env.NODE_ENV,
    BOLDR__SERVER_PORT: process.env.BOLDR__SERVER_PORT,
    BOLDR__DEV_PORT: process.env.BOLDR__DEV_PORT,
  },
  bundle: {
    verbose: true,
    debug: false,
    cssModules: true,
    wpProfile: false,
    babelrc: null,
    webPath: '/assets/',
    publicDir: path.resolve(__dirname, '../public'),
    assetsDir:  path.resolve(__dirname, '../public/assets'),
    srcDir: path.resolve(__dirname, '../src'),
    client: {
      entry: path.resolve(__dirname, '../src/client/index.js'),
      bundleDir: path.resolve(__dirname, '../public/assets'),
    },
    server: {
      entry: path.resolve(__dirname, '../src/server/index.js'),
      bundleDir: path.resolve(__dirname, '../lib'),
    },
    vendor: [
      'prop-types',
      'react-dom',
      'react-helmet',
      'react-redux',
      'react-router-dom',
      'react-router-redux',
      'react',
      'redux',
      'serialize-javascript',
    ],
  },
  }

Add vendor libraries to the vendor section of the config. These are included in the dev process as DLLs. A production build compiles the vendor files into a vendor bundle as well as a common chunk bundle. Only include client side dependencies, not node, like Express.

1. mkdir .boldr && touch boldr.dx.js

Insert the config from above into the boldr.dx.js file. The configuration is meant for an entire Boldr project, however you're more than able to use boldr-dx as your go-to webpack runner. Simply remove everything below the bundle key and go about your business.

OR use the provided boldr-project-template which is a standalone universal React application.

1. package.json
   Add the commands to your package.json.

  "scripts": {
    "build": "NODE_ENV=production boldr-dx build",
    "start": "NODE_ENV=production node server/app.js",
    "dev": "NODE_ENV=development boldr-dx dev",
  }

Commands

boldr-dx dev: Fire up the development process. Compile client and server bundles. Runs the main Express server on port 3000 and the development server on port 3001 for hot reloading.

Runtime env options

• process.env.BOLDR__SERVER_PORT
• process.env.BOLDR__DEV_PORT

boldr-dx build: Compile server and client bundles for production.

• Set NODE_ENV=production.

boldr-dx clean: Remove compiled files as well as any compiler caches.

• Use -d along with a path (starting from your CWD) to remove additional directories.

Assets Information

Assets are made available to the server by requiring const assets = require(__ASSETS_MANIFEST__); and const chunks = require(__CHUNK_MANIFEST__). Then you will have access to:

• assets.app.js and assets.app.css: All the time
• assets.common.js and assets.common.css: During production only.
• assets.vendor.js: During production only because during development we dont compile vendor assets.
• During development, vendorDLLs are created to speed up build time. They must be served during development only from /assets/__vendor_dlls_.js

Order of inclusion during production is important.
The order is:
1. common
2. vendor
3. app

Additional Information

The configuration allows you to customize the output directories, the entry files and ports. By default, it is separated into src/(client|shared|server). Client and Server contain the entrypoint of index.js in each.

CSS modules can be disabled in the boldr.dx.js file by setting cssModules to false.

Scss is included.

Helpers

Feel free to modify any of the values within the bundle portion of the config. There are a few "inlined-at-compile" helpers you have access to. They are:

- __IS_CLIENT__
- __IS_SERVER__
- __IS_DEV__
- __ASSETS_MANIFEST__
- __CHUNK_MANIFEST__

The two manifest helpers are important. They turn into requires for your assets once Wepback builds the bundle. The remaining helpers allow you to exclude code. For example:

if (__IS_DEV__) {
  // this code will be included during development and not production
}
 
if (__IS_SERVER__) {
  // will only run on the server
}

Babel

Boldr-DX by default uses its own Babel preset with the following included:

• babel-preset-env

• babel-preset-react

• babel-plugin-syntax-dynamic-import

• babel-plugin-syntax-flow

• babel-plugin-transform-class-properties

• babel-plugin-transform-decorators-legacy

• babel-plugin-transform-runtime

• babel-plugin-transform-regenerator

• babel-plugin-transform-object-rest-spread

• babel-plugin-transform-react-jsx

• babel-plugin-dynamic-import-node

• babel-plugin-dynamic-import-webpack

• react-loadable/babel

• babel-plugin-transform-flow-strip-types
  React Production:

• babel-plugin-transform-react-constant-elements

• babel-plugin-transform-react-inline-elements

• babel-plugin-transform-react-strip-prop-types
  React Development:

• react-hot-loader/babel

• babel-plugin-transform-react-jsx-self

• babel-plugin-transform-react-jsx-source

You can use your own Babel configuration by adding a .babelrc and setting babelrc to true in the config (.boldr/boldr.dx.js).

Note

Using scripts that might require babel processing, or running tests, outside of boldr-dx you will want to have a babelrc file anyways so that babel processes it. The babelrc will not be read by Webpack.