Angular Cli Webpack, How to add or bundle external js files?

I am not sure how to include JS files (vendors) after switching Angular Cli from SystemJs to Webpack.

For example

Option A

I have some js files that were installed via npm. Adding script tags to the head tag like this does not work. Nor does it seem like the best way.

<head>
   <script src="node_modules/some_package/somejs.js">
</head>

//With systemJs I could do this

<head>
   <script src="vendor/some_package/somejs.js">
</head>

Option B

Include these js files as part of the webpack bundle. This seems like the way it probably should be done. However I am not sure how to do this as all of the webpack code seems to be hidden behind the angular-cli-webpack node package. I was thinking maybe there is another webpack config that we might have access to. But I am not sure as I didn't see one when creating a new angular-cli-webpack project.

More Info:

The js files I am trying to include need to be included before the Angular project. For example jQuery and a third party js lib that isn't really setup for module loading or typescript.

References https://github.com/angular/angular-cli/blob/master/WEBPACK_UPDATE.md https://github.com/angular/angular-cli/tree/webpack

Solution 1:

Last tested using angular-cli 11.x.x with Angular 11.x.x

This can be accomplished using scripts:[] in angular.json.

{
  "project": {
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "name": "my-project"
  },
  "apps": [
    {
      "root": "src",
      "outDir": "dist",
      "assets": ["assets"],
      "index": "index.html",
      "main": "main.ts",
      "polyfills": "polyfills.ts",
      "test": "test.ts",
      "tsconfig": "tsconfig.json",
      "prefix": "app",
      "mobile": false,
      "styles": [
        "styles.css"
      ],
      "scripts": [
        "../node_modules/jquery/dist/jquery.js"
      ],
      "environments": {
        "source": "environments/environment.ts",
        "dev": "environments/environment.ts",
        "prod": "environments/environment.prod.ts"
      }
    }
  ],
  "addons": [],
  "packages": [],
  "e2e": {
    "protractor": {
      "config": "./protractor.conf.js"
    }
  },
  "test": {
    "karma": {
      "config": "./karma.conf.js"
    }
  },
  "defaults": {
    "styleExt": "css",
    "prefixInterfaces": false
  }
}

Note: As the documentation suggests in the global library installation: if you change the value of your styles (or scripts!) property, then:

Restart ng serve if you're running it,

..to see the scripts executed in a **globalcontext via the scripts.bundle.js file.

Note: As discussed in the comments below. JS libs that support UMD modules via es6 imports such as jQuery can also be imported into your typescript files using the es6 import syntax. For example: import $ from 'jquery';.

Solution 2:

There is a subtle difference to using scripts:[] then to adding something to the <head> with <script>. Scripts from scripts:[] get added to the scripts.bundle.js that gets always loaded in the body tag and will thus be loaded AFTER scripts in <head>. Thus if script loading order matters (i.e. you need to load a global polyfill), then your only option is to manually copy scripts to a folder (e.g. with a npm script) and add this folder as an asset to .angular-cli.json.

So if you really depend on something being loaded before angular itself (Option A), then you need to copy it manually to a folder that will be included in the angular build and then you can load it manually with a <script> in <head>.

Thus, for achieving option a you have to:

create a vendor folder in src/
add this folder as an asset to .angular-cli.json:

"assets": [
    "assets",
    "favicon.ico",
     "vendor"
  ]

copy your vendor script node_modules/some_package/somejs.js to vendor
load it manually in index.html: <head> <script src="vendor/some_package/somejs.js"> </head>

However most of the time you only need this approach for packages, that need to be available globally, before everything else (i.e. certain polyfills). Kris' answer holds true for Option B and you get the benefit of the webpack build (Minification, Hashes, ...).

However if your scripts need not be globally available and if they are module-ready you can import them in src/polyfills.ts or even better import them only when you need them in your specific components.

Making scripts globally available via scripts:[] or via manually loading them brings it own set of problems and should really only be used, when it is absolutely necessary.

Angular Cli Webpack, How to add or bundle external js files?

Solution 1:

Solution 2:

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