grunt-replace

Replace text patterns with applause.

Install

From NPM:

npm install grunt-replace --save-dev

Replace Task

Assuming installation via NPM, you can use grunt-replace in your gruntfile like this:

module.exports = function (grunt) {
  grunt.loadNpmTasks('grunt-replace');
  grunt.initConfig({
    replace: {
      dist: {
        options: {
          patterns: [
            {
              match: 'foo', // Looks for @@foo
              replacement: 'bar'
            }
          ]
        },
        files: [
          {expand: true, flatten: true, src: ['src/index.html'], dest: 'build/'}
        ]
      }
    }
  });
  grunt.registerTask('default', 'replace');
};

Options

patterns

Type: Array

Note: Applause is used for pattern matching. The API documentation for patterns is available here.

excludeBuiltins

Type: Boolean Default: false

If set to true, we exclude built-in matching rules.

force

Type: Boolean Default: true

Force the copy of files even when those files don't have any match found for replacement.

noProcess

Type: String

This option is an advanced way to control which file contents are processed.

processContentExclude has been renamed to noProcess and the option name will be removed in the future.

encoding

Type: String Default: grunt.file.defaultEncoding

The file encoding to copy files with.

mode

Type: Boolean or Number Default: false

Whether to copy or set the existing file permissions. Set to true to copy the existing file permissions. Or set to the mode, i.e.: 0644, that copied files will be set to.

silent

Type: Boolean Default: false

If set to true, removes the output from stdout.

pedantic

Type: Boolean Default: false

If set to true, the task will fail with a grunt.fail.warn when no matches are present.

Built-in Replacements

Few matching rules are provided by default and can be used anytime (these will be affected by the options given):

__SOURCE_FILE__:

Replace match with the source file.
__SOURCE_PATH__:

Replace match with the path of source file.
__SOURCE_FILENAME__:

Replace match with the filename of source file.
__TARGET_FILE__:

Replace match with the target file.
__TARGET_PATH__:

Replace match with the path of target file.
__TARGET_FILENAME__:

Replace match with the filename of target file.

If you are looking how to use an built-in replacements, check out the How to insert filename in target usage.

Usage Examples

Basic

File src/manifest.appcache:

CACHE MANIFEST
# @@timestamp

CACHE:

favicon.ico
index.html

NETWORK:
*

Gruntfile, define pattern (for timestamp) and the source files for lookup:

replace: {
  dist: {
    options: {
      patterns: [
        {
          match: 'timestamp',
          replacement: '<%= grunt.template.today() %>'
        }
      ]
    },
    files: [
      {expand: true, flatten: true, src: ['src/manifest.appcache'], dest: 'build/'}
    ]
  }
}

Multiple matching

File src/manifest.appcache:

CACHE MANIFEST
# @@timestamp

CACHE:

favicon.ico
index.html

NETWORK:
*

File src/humans.txt:

              __     _
   _    _/__  /./|,//_`
  /_//_// /_|///  //_, outaTiME v.@@version

/* TEAM */
  Web Developer / Graphic Designer: Ariel Oscar Falduto
  Site: http://www.outa.im
  Twitter: @outa7iME
  Contact: afalduto at gmail dot com
  From: Buenos Aires, Argentina

/* SITE */
  Last update: @@timestamp
  Standards: HTML5, CSS3, robotstxt.org, humanstxt.org
  Components: H5BP, Modernizr, jQuery, Twitter Bootstrap, LESS, Jade, Grunt
  Software: Sublime Text 2, Photoshop, LiveReload

Gruntfile:

replace: {
  dist: {
    options: {
      patterns: [
        {
          match: 'version',
          replacement: '<%= pkg.version %>'
        },
        {
          match: 'timestamp',
          replacement: '<%= grunt.template.today() %>'
        }
      ]
    },
    files: [
      {expand: true, flatten: true, src: ['src/manifest.appcache', 'src/humans.txt'], dest: 'build/'}
    ]
  }
}

Cache busting

File src/assets/index.html:

<head>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/style.css?rel=@@timestamp">
  <script src="/js/app.js?rel=@@timestamp"></script>
</head>

Gruntfile:

replace: {
  dist: {
    options: {
      patterns: [
        {
          match: 'timestamp',
          replacement: '<%= new Date().getTime() %>'
        }
      ]
    },
    files: [
      {src: ['src/assets/index.html'], dest: 'build/index.html'}
    ]
  }
}

Include file

File src/index.html:

<body>
  @@include
</body>

Gruntfile:

replace: {
  dist: {
    options: {
      patterns: [
        {
          match: 'include',
          replacement: '<%= grunt.file.read("includes/content.html") %>'
        }
      ]
    },
    files: [
      {expand: true, flatten: true, src: ['src/index.html'], dest: 'build/'}
    ]
  }
}

Regular expression

File src/username.txt:

John Smith

Gruntfile:

replace: {
  dist: {
    options: {
      patterns: [
        {
          match: /(\w+)\s(\w+)/,
          replacement: '$2, $1' // replaces "John Smith" to "Smith, John"
        }
      ]
    },
    files: [
      {expand: true, flatten: true, src: ['src/username.txt'], dest: 'build/'}
    ]
  }
}

Lookup for `foo` instead of `@@foo`

Gruntfile:

// option 1 (explicitly using an regexp)
replace: {
  dist: {
    options: {
      patterns: [
        {
          match: /foo/g,
          replacement: 'bar'
        }
      ]
    },
    files: [
      {expand: true, flatten: true, src: ['src/foo.txt'], dest: 'build/'}
    ]
  }
}

// option 2 (easy way)
replace: {
  dist: {
    options: {
      patterns: [
        {
          match: 'foo',
          replacement: 'bar'
        }
      ],
      usePrefix: false
    },
    files: [
      {expand: true, flatten: true, src: ['src/foo.txt'], dest: 'build/'}
    ]
  }
}

// option 3 (old way)
replace: {
  dist: {
    options: {
      patterns: [
        {
          match: 'foo',
          replacement: 'bar'
        }
      ],
      prefix: '' // remove prefix
    },
    files: [
      {expand: true, flatten: true, src: ['src/foo.txt'], dest: 'build/'}
    ]
  }
}

How to insert filename in target

File src/app.js:

// filename: @@__SOURCE_FILENAME__

var App = App || (function () {

  return {

    // app contents

  };

}());

window.App = App;

Gruntfile:

replace: {
  dist: {
    options: {
      // pass, we use built-in replacements
    },
    files: [
      {expand: true, flatten: true, src: ['src/**/*.js'], dest: 'build/'}
    ]
  }
}

Release History

2015-08-06 v0.9.3 New pedantic option (thanks @donkeybanana). Fix issue with special characters attributes ($$, $&, $`, $', $n or $nn) on JSON, YAML and CSON.
2015-05-07 v0.9.2 Fix regression issue with empty string in replacement.
2015-05-01 v0.9.1 Better output.
2015-05-01 v0.9.0 Output available via --verbose flag. The mode option now also applies to directories. Fix path issue on Windows. Display warning message when no matches and overall of replacements. Update to applause v0.4.0.
2014-10-10 v0.8.0 Escape regexp when matching type is String.
2014-08-26 v0.7.9 Fixes backwards incompatible changes introduced in NPM.
2014-06-10 v0.7.8 Remove node v.8.0 support and third party dependencies updated. Force flag now are true by default.
2014-04-20 v0.7.7 JSON / YAML / CSON as function supported. Readme updated (thanks @milanlandaverde).
2014-03-23 v0.7.6 Readme updated.
2014-03-22 v0.7.5 Modular core renamed to applause. Performance improvements. Expression flag removed. New pattern matching for CSON object. More test cases, readme updated and code cleanup.
2014-03-21 v0.7.4 Test cases in Mocha, readme updated and code cleanup.
2014-03-17 v0.7.3 Update script files for readme file generation.
2014-03-12 v0.7.2 Typo error, replace task name again.
2014-03-11 v0.7.1 Task name update.
2014-03-11 v0.7.0 New pattern-replace modular core for replacements.
2014-02-13 v0.6.2 Attach process data for function replacements (source / target). Add delimiter option for object as replacement. Dependencies updated.
2014-02-06 v0.6.1 Rename excludePrefix to preservePrefix (more readable) and adds usePrefix flag. Support the noProcess option like grunt-contrib-copy.
2014-02-05 v0.6.0 Object replacement allowed. New excludePrefix flag (thanks @shinnn). Encoding / Mode options added.
2013-09-18 v0.5.1 New pattern matching for JSON object.
2013-09-17 v0.5.0 Regular expression matching now supported and notation has been updated but is backward compatible.
2013-05-03 v0.4.4 Fix escape $ before performing regexp replace (thanks @warpech).
2013-04-14 v0.4.3 Detect path destinations correctly on Windows.
2013-04-02 v0.4.2 Add peerDependencies and update description.
2013-04-02 v0.4.1 Add trace when force flag.
2013-02-28 v0.4.0 First official release for Grunt 0.4.0.
2012-11-20 v0.3.2 New examples added.
2012-09-25 v0.3.1 Rename grunt-contrib-lib dep to grunt-lib-contrib, add force flag.
2012-09-25 v0.3.0 General cleanup and consolidation. Global options depreciated.

Task submitted by Ariel Falduto

osidenate / grunt-replace

grunt-replace

Install

Replace Task

Options

patterns

excludeBuiltins

force

noProcess

encoding

mode

silent

pedantic

Built-in Replacements

Usage Examples

Basic

Multiple matching

Cache busting

Include file

Regular expression

Lookup for `foo` instead of `@@foo`

How to insert filename in target

Release History

About

Languages

grunt-replace

Install

Replace Task

Options

patterns

excludeBuiltins

force

noProcess

encoding

mode

silent

pedantic

Built-in Replacements

Usage Examples

Basic

Multiple matching

Cache busting

Include file

Regular expression

Lookup for foo instead of @@foo

How to insert filename in target

Release History

About

Languages

Lookup for `foo` instead of `@@foo`