Introduction to npm-run-all

npm-run-all is a CLI tool that solves an important problem in the JavaScript ecosystem: Managing multiple npm scripts efficiently. Whether you need to run tasks sequentially or in parallel, npm-run-all provides a straightforward API to help streamline your project workflows.

Installation

npm install npm-run-all --save-dev

Basic Commands

Running Scripts Sequentially

You can run scripts in sequence using:

npx run-s script1 script2 script3

Running Scripts in Parallel

To run scripts in parallel, use:

npx run-p script1 script2 script3

Combining Sequential and Parallel Execution

Combine sequential and parallel execution by wrapping parallel scripts in parentheses:

npx run-s script1 (script2 script3) script4

Advanced Usage

Naming npm-run-all Scripts

Inside your package.json file:

  "scripts": {
    "lint": "eslint .",
    "test": "jest",
    "build": "webpack --config webpack.config.js",
    "deploy": "npm run lint && npm run test && npm run build"
  }

Now, you can run all tasks by simply using:

npx npm-run-all lint test build

Wildcards

Run all matching scripts using wildcards:

npx run-p build:*

Code Snippets

Sequential Task Example

  "scripts": {
    "clean": "rimraf dist",
    "copy-assets": "copyfiles -u 1 src/assets/* dist/assets",
    "build-js": "webpack"
  }

Run all tasks sequentially:

npx run-s clean copy-assets build-js

Parallel Task Example

  "scripts": {
    "watch-js": "webpack --watch",
    "watch-css": "postcss src/styles --dir src/styles --watch"
  }

Run both watchers in parallel:

npx run-p watch-js watch-css

Complex Workflow Example

  "scripts": {
    "start-server": "node server.js",
    "open-browser": "open http://localhost:3000",
    "start": "npx run-p start-server open-browser"
  }

Example App

An example setup for a simple Node.js application:

  {
    "name": "example-app",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "scripts": {
      "clean": "rimraf dist",
      "lint": "eslint .",
      "test": "jest",
      "build": "webpack --config webpack.config.js",
      "start-server": "node server.js",
      "open-browser": "open http://localhost:3000",
      "prestart": "npm-run-all clean lint test build",
      "start": "npm-run-all --parallel start-server open-browser"
    },
    "devDependencies": {
      "eslint": "^7.32.0",
      "jest": "^26.6.0",
      "npm-run-all": "^4.1.5",
      "rimraf": "^3.0.0",
      "webpack": "^5.52.0"
    }
  }

This setup ensures a smooth development workflow, cleaning the project, linting the code, running tests, and building the project before starting the server and opening the browser.

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