So you want yourmodule.version
to follow the version in package.json but are tired of updating it manually every time the version changes? Could you just require('./package.json').version
or import { version } from './package.json'
? That works but for your client side apps, that would bundle the whole package.json and thus expose the versions of your dependencies and possibly other sensitive data too. It is usually a naughty thing to do! How to import only the version? Genversion to the rescue!
YES!!! This is the right answer. Nobody should be shipping their package.json file with their app. — Eric Jorgensen
Try it out – Integrate to your build – Command line API – Node API – Contribute – Artwork
Usage is simple:
$ cd yourmodule
$ npm install genversion
$ npx genversion version.js
Voilà! The new version.js
:
// Generated by genversion.
module.exports = '1.2.3'
Use flags to match your coding style. $ genversion --es6 --semi version.js
creates:
// Generated by genversion.
export const version = '1.2.3';
Node API is also available:
> const gv = require('genversion')
> gv.generate('lib/version.js', { useSemicolon: true }, (err) => { ... })
See API documentation below for details.
First install via npm.
$ npm install genversion --save-dev
Genversion works by reading the current version from your package.json and then generating a simple CommonJS module file that exports the version string. For safety, the version file begins with a signature that tells genversion that it is safe to overwrite the file in the future.
// Generated by genversion.
module.exports = '1.2.3'
Therefore, your job is to 1) choose a target path for the version file, 2) require() the new file into your module, and 3) add genversion to your build or release pipeline. For example, let us choose the path 'lib/version.js' and require it in yourmodule/index.js:
...
exports.version = require('./lib/version')
...
If you use --es6
flag:
...
import { version } from './lib/version'
export const version
...
Then, let us integrate genversion into your build task.
"scripts": {
"build": "genversion lib/version.js && other build stuff"
}
The target path is given as the first argument. If the file already exists and has been previously created by genversion, it is replaced with the new one. If the file exists but is not by genversion, you will see a warning and the file stays untouched.
Genversion reads the version from the package.json
nearest to the target path. In case your project contains multiple package.json
files along the path you can specify the one with --source <path>
parameter.
Finished! Now your module has a version property that matches with package.json and is updated every time you build the project.
> var yourmodule = require('yourmodule')
> yourmodule.version
'1.2.3'
Great! Having a version property in your module is very convenient for debugging. More than once we have painstakingly debugged a module, just to find out that it was a cached old version that caused the error. An inspectable version property would have helped a big time.
Directly from $ genversion --help
:
Usage: genversion [options] <target>
Generates a version module at the target filepath.
Options:
-V, --version output genversion's own version
-v, --verbose increased output verbosity
-s, --semi use semicolons in generated code
-d, --double use double quotes in generated code
-e, --es6 use es6 syntax in generated code
-u, --strict add "use strict" in generated code
-p, --source <path> search for package.json along a custom path
-c, --check-only check if the version module is up to date
-h, --help display help for command
Output the genversion's own version number.
End each generated line of code with a semicolon as required by some style guides.
Use double quotes "
instead of single quotes '
as required by some style guides.
Use ECMAScript 6 export const
statement instead of module.exports
in the generated code.
Prepend each generated file with 'use strict'
as required by some style guides.
Search for the package.json along a custom path up to the system root. Defaults to the target filepath.
When --check-only
flag is used, only the existence and validity of the version module is checked. No files are generated or modified. The flag is useful for pre-commit hooks and similar.
The command exits with the exit code:
0
if the version module is found and is exactly as freshly generated.1
if the version module cannot be found.2
if the version module is found but needs a refresh. This exit code can occur after version increment or when the version module formatting has changed. Also, if a version module is found but is not made by genversion, the command will exit with this exit code.
The command with --check-only
does not produce any output by default. Use -v
to increase its verbosity.
You can also use genversion within your code:
const gv = require('genversion');
The available properties and functions are listed below.
Check if it is possible to generate the version module into targetPath
.
Parameters:
- targetPath: string. An absolute or relative file path. Relative to
process.cwd()
. - opts: optional options. Available keys are:
- source: optional string. An absolute or relative path to a file or directory. Genversion searches for the source package.json along this path. Defaults to the value of
targetPath
. - useSemicolon: optional boolean. Defaults to
false
. - useDoubleQuotes: optional boolean. Defaults to
false
. - useEs6Syntax: optional boolean. Defaults to
false
. - useStrict: optional boolean. Defaults to
false
.
- source: optional string. An absolute or relative path to a file or directory. Genversion searches for the source package.json along this path. Defaults to the value of
- callback: function (err, doesExist, isByGenversion, isUpToDate), where:
- doesExist: boolean. True if a file at targetPath already exists.
- isByGenversion: boolean. True if the existing file seems like it has been generated by genversion.
- isUpToDate: boolean. True if the existing file contents are exactly as freshly generated.
Example:
gv.check('lib/version.js', function (err, doesExist, isByGv, isUpToDate) {
if (err) {
throw err;
}
if (isByGenversion) {
gv.generate(...)
}
...
});
Read the version property from the nearest package.json
along the targetPath
and then generate a version module file at targetPath
. A custom path to package.json
can be specified with opts.source
.
Parameters:
- targetPath: string. An absolute or relative file path. Relative to
process.cwd()
. - opts: optional options. Available keys are:
- source: optional string. An absolute or relative path to a file or directory. Genversion searches for the source package.json along this path. Defaults to the value of
targetPath
. - useSemicolon: optional boolean. Defaults to
false
. - useDoubleQuotes: optional boolean. Defaults to
false
. - useEs6Syntax: optional boolean. Defaults to
false
. - useStrict: optional boolean. Defaults to
false
.
- source: optional string. An absolute or relative path to a file or directory. Genversion searches for the source package.json along this path. Defaults to the value of
- callback: function (err, version). Parameter version is the version string read from
package.json
. Parameter err is non-null ifpackage.json
cannot be found, its version is not a string, or writing the version module fails.
Examples:
gv.generate('lib/version.js', function (err, version) {
if (err) {
throw err;
}
console.log('Sliding into', version, 'like a sledge.');
});
gv.generate('src/v.js', { useSemicolon: true }, function (err) {
if (err) { throw err }
console.log('Generated version file with a semicolon.')
})
The version string of the genversion module in semantic versioning format. Generated with genversion itself, of course ;)
Do you use genversion in your project? We are happy to mention it in the list. Just hit us with an issue or a pull request.
- versiony for version increments
- package-json-versionify for browserify builds
- browserify-versionify for browserify builds
- semantic-release for automatic version increments
- semver for semantic version formatting
Pull requests and bug reports are highly appreciated. Please test your contribution with the following scripts:
Run test suite:
$ npm run test
Run only linter:
$ npm run lint
To configure VSCode debugger for genversion development, create a file .vscode/launch.json
with the following contents and adjust to your liking:
{
"version": "0.2.0",
"configurations": [
{
"type": "node",
"request": "launch",
"name": "Launch Program",
"skipFiles": [
"<node_internals>/**"
],
"program": "${workspaceFolder}/bin/genversion.js",
"args": [
"--semi",
"--double",
"--es6",
"--strict",
"--check-only",
"--verbose",
"target.js"
]
}
]
}
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