How to Reuse Vendor Chunk From Separate Webpack Build?

When you have multiple separate webpack builds and you want to reuse a vendor chunk from one of those builds in another build, you can achieve this by configuring your webpack builds to output the vendor chunk separately and then referencing it in the builds where you want to reuse it.

To reuse the vendor chunk from a separate webpack build, you can set up your webpack configurations to output the vendor chunk to a specific location using the output.filename and output.chunkFilename options. Then, in the webpack configuration of the build where you want to reuse the vendor chunk, you can use the optimization.splitChunks.cacheGroups option to reference the vendor chunk from the separate build.

By configuring your webpack builds in this way, you can easily reuse the vendor chunk from a separate build in other builds without duplicating code and potentially saving on build size and load time.

What is the best practice for reusing vendor chunk from separate build in webpack?

To reuse vendor chunks from separate builds in webpack, the following practices can be considered:

1. Use the SplitChunksPlugin in webpack configuration to create a separate vendor chunk that contains all the dependencies shared among different builds. This allows for better code splitting and prevents duplication of code across builds.
2. Use a CDN to host the vendor chunk files and load them dynamically in each build. This reduces the size of individual builds and speeds up the loading of common dependencies.
3. Use webpack's externals configuration option to exclude the vendor chunks from the build and load them separately at runtime. This reduces the size of the build and allows for better caching of vendor dependencies.
4. Use a package manager like npm or Yarn to manage dependencies across builds. By organizing dependencies in a central location, it becomes easier to share and reuse vendor chunks among different builds.

By following these best practices, developers can effectively reuse vendor chunks from separate builds in webpack and improve the overall performance of their applications.

What is the relationship between vendor chunk and code splitting in webpack?

In webpack, code splitting is the process of breaking down a bundle of JavaScript code into smaller chunks that can be loaded separately. Vendor chunk is one type of code splitting strategy where third-party libraries and dependencies are separated into their own chunk.

The relationship between vendor chunk and code splitting in webpack is that the vendor chunk helps to optimize the code splitting process by grouping all external dependencies together in a separate chunk. This can improve the performance of the application because the vendor chunk can be cached by the browser separately from the application code, allowing for faster loading times when changes are made to the application code.

Overall, using vendor chunk in conjunction with code splitting helps to improve the performance and efficiency of a webpack bundle by separating third-party dependencies from the application code.

How to configure webpack to reuse vendor chunk from separate build?

To configure webpack to reuse vendor chunks from a separate build, you can use the webpack DllPlugin and DllReferencePlugin.

1. Create a separate webpack configuration file for building the vendor bundle. This configuration should contain the DllPlugin that will create a JSON manifest file of the vendor chunk.

Example webpack.vendor.config.js:

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const webpack = require('webpack');
const path = require('path');

module.exports = {
  entry: {
    vendor: ['react', 'react-dom']
  },
  output: {
    path: path.resolve(__dirname, 'dist'),
    filename: '[name].dll.js',
    library: '[name]_lib',
  },
  plugins: [
    new webpack.DllPlugin({
      name: '[name]_lib',
      path: path.resolve(__dirname, 'dist', '[name]-manifest.json')
    })
  ]
};

1. Run the vendor build configuration to generate the vendor bundle and manifest file:

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webpack --config webpack.vendor.config.js

1. In your main webpack configuration file, use the DllReferencePlugin to reference the vendor manifest file and reuse the vendor chunk:

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const webpack = require('webpack');
const path = require('path');

module.exports = {
  entry: './src/index.js',
  output: {
    path: path.resolve(__dirname, 'dist'),
    filename: 'bundle.js'
  },
  plugins: [
    new webpack.DllReferencePlugin({
      manifest: require('./dist/vendor-manifest.json')
    })
  ]
};

Now webpack will reuse the vendor chunk from the separate build when bundling your application. This can help reduce build time and improve performance by caching the vendor dependencies.

What is the difference between vendor chunk and main chunk in webpack?

In webpack, a vendor chunk and a main chunk are two different types of output bundles that are generated during the build process.

1. Vendor Chunk:

• A vendor chunk is a separate output bundle that contains all third-party libraries and dependencies used in the application.
• These dependencies are typically common libraries such as React, lodash, or jQuery that are shared across different modules in the application.
• By splitting these dependencies into a separate vendor chunk, it allows for better code reusability and caching benefits as the vendor chunk is less likely to change frequently compared to the main application code.

1. Main Chunk:

• The main chunk is the primary output bundle that contains the application's own code and logic.
• This chunk includes all the custom modules, components, and assets that are specific to the application being built.
• The main chunk is essentially the entry point of the application and is what gets executed by the browser when the application is loaded.

Overall, the main difference between a vendor chunk and a main chunk is that the vendor chunk contains third-party dependencies while the main chunk contains the application-specific code. Separating these chunks can help optimize the build process and improve performance by leveraging browser caching and loading only the necessary resources.