This is a very simple template for using the Svelte front-end framework with uibuilder and Node-RED. It was adapted from the Svelte Basic template--keeping its functionality but using the latest versions and methodologies.
For instructions, check out Svelte Basic's readme (it is somewhat different as to specific file/folder descriptions, but overall usage is still the same), and especially uibuilders' svelte docs.
Note: In the latest recommended svelte
"getting started" strategy (which uses this repo), Rollup is replaced by Vite. Vite's fancier dev mode doesn't rewrite changed files when it updates, which works fine when you connect directly to its dev server, but for connecting through the Node-RED/uibuilder server this means its files aren't updated. So, we switched to Vite's build --watch
mode upon npm run dev
, which does update the files, but unfortunately it doesn't trigger a browser reload after the update. This may be because Vite has separate modes for development
and build
, and apparently build --watch
does something different from Rollup's browser refresh strategy (which is handled by rollup-plugin-livereload
).
So, unfortunately you have to reload the browser manually after changes.
This template should help get you started developing with Svelte and TypeScript in Vite.
Check out SvelteKit, which is also powered by Vite. Deploy anywhere with its serverless-first approach and adapt to various platforms, with out of the box support for TypeScript, SCSS, and Less, and easily-added support for mdsvex, GraphQL, PostCSS, Tailwind CSS, and more.
Why use this over SvelteKit?
- It brings its own routing solution which might not be preferable for some users.
- It is first and foremost a framework that just happens to use Vite under the hood, not a Vite app.
vite dev
andvite build
wouldn't work in a SvelteKit environment, for example.
This template contains as little as possible to get started with Vite + TypeScript + Svelte, while taking into account the developer experience with regards to HMR and intellisense. It demonstrates capabilities on par with the other create-vite
templates and is a good starting point for beginners dipping their toes into a Vite + Svelte project.
Should you later need the extended capabilities and extensibility provided by SvelteKit, the template has been structured similarly to SvelteKit so that it is easy to migrate.
Why global.d.ts
instead of compilerOptions.types
inside jsconfig.json
or tsconfig.json
?
Setting compilerOptions.types
shuts out all other types not explicitly listed in the configuration. Using triple-slash references keeps the default TypeScript setting of accepting type information from the entire workspace, while also adding svelte
and vite/client
type information.
Why include .vscode/extensions.json
?
Other templates indirectly recommend extensions via the README, but this file allows VS Code to prompt the user to install the recommended extension upon opening the project.
Why enable allowJs
in the TS template?
While allowJs: false
would indeed prevent the use of .js
files in the project, it does not prevent the use of JavaScript syntax in .svelte
files. In addition, it would force checkJs: false
, bringing the worst of both worlds: not being able to guarantee the entire codebase is TypeScript, and also having worse typechecking for the existing JavaScript. In addition, there are valid use cases in which a mixed codebase may be relevant.
Why is HMR not preserving my local component state?
HMR state preservation comes with a number of gotchas! It has been disabled by default in both svelte-hmr
and @sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte
due to its often surprising behavior. You can read the details here.
If you have state that's important to retain within a component, consider creating an external store which would not be replaced by HMR.
// store.ts
// An extremely simple external store
import { writable } from 'svelte/store'
export default writable(0)