Simplifyify

A simplified Browserify and Watchify CLI

I constantly find myself using the same Browserify plug-ins and transforms on every project, and I always end up writing pretty much the same Gulp script over and over again. Simplifyify is the solution to that problem.

Features

Supports globs, even on Windows
Supports Browserify transforms and plugins, such as Babel, CoffeeScript, TypeScript, etc.
Built-in support for TypeScript. Enabled automatically if the entry file has a .ts or .tsx extension
Has a programmatic API, for use with build tools like Grunt, Gulp, Broccoli, etc.
Bundle everything into one big file, or create different bundles for each part of your app (see examples below)
Add a banner with version, date, license, etc. via browserify-banner
One command creates all the files you need:
- --bundle bundles your code and nothing else. Useful during development
- --debug creates external source-maps (.map) using exorcist
- --minify shrinks your code using uglifyify and Uglify-ES
- --coverage adds code-coverage instrumentation using istanbul
- --watch uses watchify for fast differential re-builds as files change

globify
Run browserify and watchify with globs - even on Windows
sourcemapify
Sourcemap plugin for Browserify
browserify-banner
Add a comment (and/or code) to the top of your Browserify bundle

Installation

Install using npm:

npm install @jsdevtools/simplifyify

Usage

Usage: simplifyify [options] <source-files...>

Options:

  -b, --bundle              Create a non-minified bundle (*.js) for each source file.
                            This is the default if no other output option is set.

  -m, --minify              Create a minified bundle (*.min.js) for each source file.

  -c, --coverage            Create a bundle with code-coverage instrumentation
                            (*.coverage.js) for each source file.

  -d, --debug               Create a source map (*.js.map) for each bundle

  -w, --watch               Watch source file(s) and rebuild the bundle(s) automatically

  -o, --outfile <filespec>  The output file or directory.
                            May include a filename pattern (e.g. "*.bundle.js")

  -x, --exclude <filespec>  File path or glob pattern to exclude.
                            Don't forget to put quotes around glob patterns

  -s, --standalone <name>   Export as a named UMD bundle (e.g. "my.cool.module")
                            May include a wildcard (e.g. "MyLib.*")

Arguments:

  <source-files...>         One or more file paths and/or glob patterns.
                            Don't forget to put quotes around glob patterns.
                            A separate Browserify bundle will be created
                            for each source file.

Examples

One entry file –> one output file

In the simplest usage, you can use Simplifyify to bundle all of your code into a single file:

simplifyify src/index.js

src/index.js --> src/index.bundle.js                # <-- unminified code

By default, the output file is at the same path as the entry file, but with a .bundle.js extension. You can customize this using the --outfile argument:

simplifyify src/index.js --outfile dist/my-package.js

src/index.js --> dist/my-package.js                 # <-- unminified code

If you want the bundled code to be minified, then add the --minify flag:

simplifyify src/index.js --outfile dist/my-package.js --minify

src/index.js --> dist/my-package.js                 # <-- minified code

What if you also want a source map (.map) file? Just add the --debug flag.

simplifyify src/index.js --outfile dist/my-package.js --minify --debug

src/index.js --> dist/my-package.js                 # <-- minified code
src/index.js --> dist/my-package.js.map             # <-- source map

One entry file –> multiple output files

Simplifyify can output multiple bundles of your code in a single command. Let’s say you want to create an unminified bundle for development (with a source map), a minified bundle for production (with a source map), and a test bundle (with code-coverage instrumentation) for testing:

simplifyify src/index.js --outfile dist/my-package.js --bundle --debug --minify --coverage

src/index.js --> dist/my-package.js                 # <-- unminified code
src/index.js --> dist/my-package.js.map             # <-- source map
src/index.js --> dist/my-package.min.js             # <-- minified code
src/index.js --> dist/my-package.min.js.map         # <-- source map
src/index.js --> dist/my-package.coverage.js        # <-- code-coverage

Multiple entry files –> multiple output files for each

In many applications, it doesn’t make sense for all of your code to be bundled into one huge file. Maybe you want to create separate bundles for each folder, or for each component or section of your app. Simplifyify makes this easy. It will create separate bundles for each entry file that you specify. For example:

simplifyify src/store.js src/cart.js src/checkout.js --outfile dist --bundle --minify --debug

src/store.js --> dist/store.js                      # <-- unminified code
src/store.js --> dist/store.js.map                  # <-- source map
src/store.js --> dist/store.min.js                  # <-- minified code
src/store.js --> dist/store.min.js.map              # <-- source map
src/cart.js --> dist/cart.js                        # <-- unminified code
src/cart.js --> dist/cart.js.map                    # <-- source map
src/cart.js --> dist/cart.min.js                    # <-- minified code
src/cart.js --> dist/cart.min.js.map                # <-- source map
src/checkout.js --> dist/checkout.js                # <-- unminified code
src/checkout.js --> dist/checkout.js.map            # <-- source map
src/checkout.js --> dist/checkout.min.js            # <-- minified code
src/checkout.js --> dist/checkout.min.js.map        # <-- source map

Specifying each entry file can quickly become cumbersome though. That’s where globs come in. You can specify one or more globs, and Simplifyify will create a separate bundle for each file that matches the glob pattern. For example:

simplifyify "src/*/index.js" --outfile "dist/*.bundle.js" --bundle --minify --debug

src/store/index.js --> dist/store/index.bundle.js               # <-- unminified code
src/store/index.js --> dist/store/index.bundle.js.map           # <-- source map
src/store/index.js --> dist/store/index.bundle.min.js           # <-- minified code
src/store/index.js --> dist/store/index.bundle.min.js.map       # <-- source map
src/cart/index.js --> dist/cart/index.bundle.js                 # <-- unminified code
src/cart/index.js --> dist/cart/index.bundle.js.map             # <-- source map
src/cart/index.js --> dist/cart/index.bundle.min.js             # <-- minified code
src/cart/index.js --> dist/cart/index.bundle.min.js.map         # <-- source map
src/checkout/index.js --> dist/checkout/index.bundle.js         # <-- unminified code
src/checkout/index.js --> dist/checkout/index.bundle.js.map     # <-- source map
src/checkout/index.js --> dist/checkout/index.bundle.min.js     # <-- minified code
src/checkout/index.js --> dist/checkout/index.bundle.min.js.map # <-- source map

TIP: Don’t forget to put quotes around your glob patterns! Otherwise, some shells (e.g. Bash) will try to expand them themselves, which may or may not work

Browserify Transforms

Simplifyify honors the browserify.transform field in your package.json file. For example, the following configuration uses Babelify to transform your ES6 code to ES5:

{
  "name": "my-package",
  "version": "1.2.3",
  "browserify": {
    "transform": ["babelify"]
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "babelify": "^10.0.0"
  }
}

You can also specify options for your transforms. The exact options depend on the transform you’re using. Here’s an example that configures Babelify and also modifies Simplifyify’s default config for uglifyify:

{
  "name": "my-package",
  "version": "1.2.3",
  "browserify": {
    "transform": [
      ["babelify", {
        "presets": ["@babel/preset-env"]
      }],
      ["uglifyify", {
        "mangle": true,
        "compress": {
          "sequences": true,
          "dead_code": true,
          "booleans": true,
          "conditionals": true,
          "if_return": false,
          "drop_console": false,
          "keep_fnames": true
        },
        "output": {
          "comments": false
        }
      }]
    ]
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@babel/preset-env": "^7.0.0",
    "babelify": "^10.0.0"
  }
}

Browserify Plugins

The same technique described above for Browserify transforms also works for Browserify plugins. Just add a browserify.plugins field to your package.json file. For example, the following configuration configures TSify to transpile your TypeScript code, and browserify-banner to add a banner comment to the top of your output file(s).

{
  "name": "my-package",
  "version": "1.2.3",
  "browserify": {
    "plugins": [
      ["browserify-banner", {
        "template": "<%= pkg.name %> v<%= pkg.version %>"
      }],
      ["tsify", {
        "target": "esnext",
        "module": "commonjs",
        "moduleResolution": "node",
        "jsx": "react"
      }]
    ]
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "typescript": "^3.0.3"
  }
}

API

Simplifyify also has a programmatic API, so you can use it directly in your build scripts (Gulp, Grunt, Broccoli, etc.)

Here’s the API definition, and here’s a full example. Just pass an array of strings (file paths and/or glob patterns) and an options param. You get back an EventEmitter, which fires all the Browserify & Watchify events.

var simplifyify = require("@jsdevtools/simplifyify");

gulp.task("browserify", function(done) {
  simplifyify("lib/*.module.js",
    {
        outfile: "dist/*.bundle.js",
        debug: true,
        minify: true
    })
    .on("end", function() {
        // Finished successfully!
        done();
    })
    .on("error", function(err) {
        // Something went wrong
        done(err);
    });
});

Contributing

Contributions, enhancements, and bug-fixes are welcome! Open an issue on GitHub and submit a pull request.

Building

To build the project locally on your computer:

Clone this repo
git clone https://github.com/JS-DevTools/simplifyify.git
Install dependencies
npm install
Run the tests
npm test

License

Simplifyify is 100% free and open-source, under the MIT license. Use it however you want.

This package is Treeware. If you use it in production, then we ask that you buy the world a tree to thank us for our work. By contributing to the Treeware forest you’ll be creating employment for local families and restoring wildlife habitats.