workbox-build

The workbox-build module integrates into a node-based build process and can generate an entire service worker, or just generate a list of assets to precache that could be used within an existing service worker.

The two modes that most developers will use are generateSW and injectManifest. The answers to the following questions can help you choose the right mode and configuration to use.

Which Mode to Use

generateSW

The generateSW mode creates a service worker file for you, customized via configuration options, and writes it out to disk.

When to use generateSW

  • You want to precache files.
  • You have simple runtime caching needs.

When NOT to use generateSW

  • You want to use other Service Worker features (i.e. Web Push).
  • You want to import additional scripts, or add additional logic for custom caching strategies.

injectManifest

The injectManifest mode will generate a list of URLs to precache, and add that precache manifest to an existing service worker file. It will otherwise leave the file as-is.

When to use injectManifest

  • You want more control over your service worker.
  • You want to precache files.
  • You need to customize routing and strategies.
  • You would like to use your service worker with other platform features (e.g. Web Push).

When NOT to use injectManifest

  • You want the easiest path to adding a service worker to your site.

generateSW Mode

You can use the generateSW mode within a node-based build script, using the most common configuration options, like so:

// Inside of build.js:
const {generateSW} = require('workbox-build');

// These are some common options, and not all are required.
// Consult the docs for more info.
generateSW({
  dontCacheBustURLsMatching: [new RegExp('...')],
  globDirectory: '...',
  globPatterns: ['...', '...'],
  maximumFileSizeToCacheInBytes: ...,
  navigateFallback: '...',
  runtimeCaching: [{
    // Routing via a matchCallback function:
    urlPattern: ({request, url}) => ...,
    handler: '...',
    options: {
      cacheName: '...',
      expiration: {
        maxEntries: ...,
      },
    },
  }, {
    // Routing via a RegExp:
    urlPattern: new RegExp('...'),
    handler: '...',
    options: {
      cacheName: '...',
      plugins: [..., ...],
    },
  }],
  skipWaiting: ...,
  swDest: '...',
}).then(({count, size, warnings}) => {
  if (warnings.length > 0) {
    console.warn(
      'Warnings encountered while generating a service worker:',
      warnings.join('\n')
    );
  }

  console.log(`Generated a service worker, which will precache ${count} files, totaling ${size} bytes.`);
});

This will generate a service worker with precaching setup for all of the files picked up by your configuration, and the runtime caching rules provided.

A full set of configuration options can be found in the reference documentation.

injectManifest Mode

You can use the injectManifest mode within a node-based build script, using the most common configuration options, like so:

// Inside of build.js:
const {injectManifest} = require('workbox-build');

// These are some common options, and not all are required.
// Consult the docs for more info.
injectManifest({
  dontCacheBustURLsMatching: [new RegExp('...')],
  globDirectory: '...',
  globPatterns: ['...', '...'],
  maximumFileSizeToCacheInBytes: ...,
  swDest: '...',
  swSrc: '...',
}).then(({count, size, warnings}) => {
  if (warnings.length > 0) {
    console.warn(
      'Warnings encountered while injecting the manifest:',
      warnings.join('\n')
    );
  }

  console.log(`Injected a manifest which will precache ${count} files, totaling ${size} bytes.`);
});

This will create a precache manifest based on the files picked up by your configuration and inject it into your existing service worker file.

A full set of configuration options can be found in the reference documentation.

Additional modes

We expect that generateSW or injectManifest will suit most developers' needs. However, there is one other mode supported by workbox-build that might be appropriate for certain use cases.

getManifest Mode

This is conceptually similar to the injectManifest mode, but instead of adding the manifest into the source service worker file, it returns the array of manifest entries, along with information about the number of entries and total size.

You can use the injectManifest mode within a node-based build script, using the most common configuration options, like so:

// Inside of build.js:
const {getManifest} = require('workbox-build');

// These are some common options, and not all are required.
// Consult the docs for more info.
getManifest({
  dontCacheBustURLsMatching: [new RegExp('...')],
  globDirectory: '...',
  globPatterns: ['...', '...'],
  maximumFileSizeToCacheInBytes: ...,
}).then(({manifestEntries, count, size, warnings}) => {
  if (warnings.length > 0) {
    console.warn(
      'Warnings encountered while getting the manifest:',
      warnings.join('\n')
    );
  }

  // Do something with the manifestEntries, and potentially log count and size.
});

A full set of configuration options can be found in the reference documentation.

Types

BasePartial

Properties

  • additionalManifestEntries

    (string|ManifestEntry)[] optional

    A list of entries to be precached, in addition to any entries that are generated as part of the build configuration.

  • dontCacheBustURLsMatching

    RegExp optional

    Assets that match this will be assumed to be uniquely versioned via their URL, and exempted from the normal HTTP cache-busting that's done when populating the precache. While not required, it's recommended that if your existing build process already inserts a [hash] value into each filename, you provide a RegExp that will detect that, as it will reduce the bandwidth consumed when precaching.

  • manifestTransforms

    ManifestTransform[] optional

    One or more functions which will be applied sequentially against the generated manifest. If modifyURLPrefix or dontCacheBustURLsMatching are also specified, their corresponding transformations will be applied first.

  • maximumFileSizeToCacheInBytes

    number optional

    Default value is: 2097152

    This value can be used to determine the maximum size of files that will be precached. This prevents you from inadvertently precaching very large files that might have accidentally matched one of your patterns.

  • modifyURLPrefix

    object optional

    An object mapping string prefixes to replacement string values. This can be used to, e.g., remove or add a path prefix from a manifest entry if your web hosting setup doesn't match your local filesystem setup. As an alternative with more flexibility, you can use the manifestTransforms option and provide a function that modifies the entries in the manifest using whatever logic you provide.

    Example usage:

    // Replace a '/dist/' prefix with '/', and also prepend
// '/static' to every URL.
modifyURLPrefix: {
  '/dist/': '/',
  '': '/static',
}

BuildResult

Type

Omit<GetManifestResult"manifestEntries"
>&object

Properties

  • filePaths

    string[]

GeneratePartial

Properties

  • babelPresetEnvTargets

    string[] optional

    Default value is: ["chrome >= 56"]

    The targets to pass to babel-preset-env when transpiling the service worker bundle.

  • cacheId

    string optional

    An optional ID to be prepended to cache names. This is primarily useful for local development where multiple sites may be served from the same http://localhost:port origin.

  • cleanupOutdatedCaches

    boolean optional

    Default value is: false

    Whether or not Workbox should attempt to identify and delete any precaches created by older, incompatible versions.

  • clientsClaim

    boolean optional

    Default value is: false

    Whether or not the service worker should start controlling any existing clients as soon as it activates.

  • directoryIndex

    string optional

    If a navigation request for a URL ending in / fails to match a precached URL, this value will be appended to the URL and that will be checked for a precache match. This should be set to what your web server is using for its directory index.

  • disableDevLogs

    boolean optional

    Default value is: false

  • ignoreURLParametersMatching

    RegExp[] optional

    Any search parameter names that match against one of the RegExp in this array will be removed before looking for a precache match. This is useful if your users might request URLs that contain, for example, URL parameters used to track the source of the traffic. If not provided, the default value is [/^utm_/, /^fbclid$/].

  • importScripts

    string[] optional

    A list of JavaScript files that should be passed to importScripts() inside the generated service worker file. This is useful when you want to let Workbox create your top-level service worker file, but want to include some additional code, such as a push event listener.

  • inlineWorkboxRuntime

    boolean optional

    Default value is: false

    Whether the runtime code for the Workbox library should be included in the top-level service worker, or split into a separate file that needs to be deployed alongside the service worker. Keeping the runtime separate means that users will not have to re-download the Workbox code each time your top-level service worker changes.

  • mode

    string optional

    Default value is: "production"

    If set to 'production', then an optimized service worker bundle that excludes debugging info will be produced. If not explicitly configured here, the process.env.NODE_ENV value will be used, and failing that, it will fall back to 'production'.

  • navigateFallback

    string optional

    Default value is: null

    If specified, all navigation requests for URLs that aren't precached will be fulfilled with the HTML at the URL provided. You must pass in the URL of an HTML document that is listed in your precache manifest. This is meant to be used in a Single Page App scenario, in which you want all navigations to use common App Shell HTML.

  • navigateFallbackAllowlist

    RegExp[] optional

    An optional array of regular expressions that restricts which URLs the configured navigateFallback behavior applies to. This is useful if only a subset of your site's URLs should be treated as being part of a Single Page App. If both navigateFallbackDenylist and navigateFallbackAllowlist are configured, the denylist takes precedent.

    Note: These RegExps may be evaluated against every destination URL during a navigation. Avoid using complex RegExps, or else your users may see delays when navigating your site.

  • navigateFallbackDenylist

    RegExp[] optional

    An optional array of regular expressions that restricts which URLs the configured navigateFallback behavior applies to. This is useful if only a subset of your site's URLs should be treated as being part of a Single Page App. If both navigateFallbackDenylist and navigateFallbackAllowlist are configured, the denylist takes precedence.

    Note: These RegExps may be evaluated against every destination URL during a navigation. Avoid using complex RegExps, or else your users may see delays when navigating your site.

  • navigationPreload

    boolean optional

    Default value is: false

    Whether or not to enable navigation preload in the generated service worker. When set to true, you must also use runtimeCaching to set up an appropriate response strategy that will match navigation requests, and make use of the preloaded response.

  • offlineGoogleAnalytics

    boolean|GoogleAnalyticsInitializeOptions optional

    Default value is: false

    Controls whether or not to include support for offline Google Analytics. When true, the call to workbox-google-analytics's initialize() will be added to your generated service worker. When set to an Object, that object will be passed in to the initialize() call, allowing you to customize the behavior.

  • runtimeCaching

    RuntimeCaching[] optional

    When using Workbox's build tools to generate your service worker, you can specify one or more runtime caching configurations. These are then translated to workbox-routing.registerRoute calls using the match and handler configuration you define.

    For all of the options, see the workbox-build.RuntimeCaching documentation. The example below shows a typical configuration, with two runtime routes defined:

  • skipWaiting

    boolean optional

    Default value is: false

    Whether to add an unconditional call to skipWaiting() to the generated service worker. If false, then a message listener will be added instead, allowing client pages to trigger skipWaiting() by calling postMessage({type: 'SKIP_WAITING'}) on a waiting service worker.

  • sourcemap

    boolean optional

    Default value is: true

    Whether to create a sourcemap for the generated service worker files.

GenerateSWOptions

Type

BasePartial&GlobPartial&GeneratePartial&RequiredSWDestPartial&OptionalGlobDirectoryPartial

GetManifestOptions

Type

BasePartial&GlobPartial&RequiredGlobDirectoryPartial

GetManifestResult

Properties

  • count

    number

  • manifestEntries

    ManifestEntry[]

  • size

    number

  • warnings

    string[]

GlobPartial

Properties

  • globFollow

    boolean optional

    Default value is: true

    Determines whether or not symlinks are followed when generating the precache manifest. For more information, see the definition of follow in the glob documentation.

  • globIgnores

    string[] optional

    Default value is: ["**\/node_modules\/**\/*"]

    A set of patterns matching files to always exclude when generating the precache manifest. For more information, see the definition of ignore in the glob documentation.

  • globPatterns

    string[] optional

    Default value is: ["**\/*.{js,css,html}"]

    Files matching any of these patterns will be included in the precache manifest. For more information, see the glob primer.

  • globStrict

    boolean optional

    Default value is: true

    If true, an error reading a directory when generating a precache manifest will cause the build to fail. If false, the problematic directory will be skipped. For more information, see the definition of strict in the glob documentation.

  • templatedURLs

    object optional

    If a URL is rendered based on some server-side logic, its contents may depend on multiple files or on some other unique string value. The keys in this object are server-rendered URLs. If the values are an array of strings, they will be interpreted as glob patterns, and the contents of any files matching the patterns will be used to uniquely version the URL. If used with a single string, it will be interpreted as unique versioning information that you've generated for a given URL.

InjectManifestOptions

Type

BasePartial&GlobPartial&InjectPartial&RequiredSWDestPartial&RequiredGlobDirectoryPartial

InjectPartial

Properties

  • injectionPoint

    string optional

    Default value is: "self.__WB_MANIFEST"

    The string to find inside of the swSrc file. Once found, it will be replaced by the generated precache manifest.

  • swSrc

    string

    The path and filename of the service worker file that will be read during the build process, relative to the current working directory.

ManifestEntry

Properties

  • integrity

    string optional

  • revision

    string

  • url

    string

ManifestTransform()

workbox-build.ManifestTransform(
  manifestEntries: (ManifestEntry&object)[],
  compilation?: unknown,
)

Type

function

Parameters

  • manifestEntries

    (ManifestEntry&object)[]

    • size

      number

  • compilation

    unknown optional

Returns

ManifestTransformResult

Properties

  • manifest

    (ManifestEntry&object)[]

    • size

      number

  • warnings

    string[] optional

OptionalGlobDirectoryPartial

Properties

  • globDirectory

    string optional

    The local directory you wish to match globPatterns against. The path is relative to the current directory.

RequiredGlobDirectoryPartial

Properties

  • globDirectory

    string

    The local directory you wish to match globPatterns against. The path is relative to the current directory.

RequiredSWDestPartial

Properties

  • swDest

    string

    The path and filename of the service worker file that will be created by the build process, relative to the current working directory. It must end in '.js'.

RuntimeCaching

Properties

StrategyName

Enum

"CacheFirst"

"CacheOnly"

"NetworkFirst"

"NetworkOnly"

"StaleWhileRevalidate"

WebpackGenerateSWOptions

Type

BasePartial&WebpackPartial&GeneratePartial&WebpackGenerateSWPartial

WebpackGenerateSWPartial

Properties

  • importScriptsViaChunks

    string[] optional

    One or more names of webpack chunks. The content of those chunks will be included in the generated service worker, via a call to importScripts().

  • swDest

    string optional

    Default value is: "service-worker.js"

    The asset name of the service worker file created by this plugin.

WebpackInjectManifestOptions

Type

BasePartial&WebpackPartial&InjectPartial&WebpackInjectManifestPartial

WebpackInjectManifestPartial

Properties

  • compileSrc

    boolean optional

    Default value is: true

    When true (the default), the swSrc file will be compiled by webpack. When false, compilation will not occur (and webpackCompilationPlugins can't be used.) Set to false if you want to inject the manifest into, e.g., a JSON file.

  • swDest

    string optional

    The asset name of the service worker file that will be created by this plugin. If omitted, the name will be based on the swSrc name.

  • webpackCompilationPlugins

    any[] optional

    Optional webpack plugins that will be used when compiling the swSrc input file. Only valid if compileSrc is true.

WebpackPartial

Properties

  • chunks

    string[] optional

    One or more chunk names whose corresponding output files should be included in the precache manifest.

  • exclude

    (string|RegExp|function)[] optional

    One or more specifiers used to exclude assets from the precache manifest. This is interpreted following the same rules as webpack's standard exclude option. If not provided, the default value is [/\.map$/, /^manifest.*\.js$].

  • excludeChunks

    string[] optional

    One or more chunk names whose corresponding output files should be excluded from the precache manifest.

  • include

    (string|RegExp|function)[] optional

    One or more specifiers used to include assets in the precache manifest. This is interpreted following the same rules as webpack's standard include option.

  • mode

    string optional

    If set to 'production', then an optimized service worker bundle that excludes debugging info will be produced. If not explicitly configured here, the mode value configured in the current webpack compilation will be used.

Methods

copyWorkboxLibraries()

workbox-build.copyWorkboxLibraries(
  destDirectory: string,
)

This copies over a set of runtime libraries used by Workbox into a local directory, which should be deployed alongside your service worker file.

As an alternative to deploying these local copies, you could instead use Workbox from its official CDN URL.

This method is exposed for the benefit of developers using workbox-build.injectManifest who would prefer not to use the CDN copies of Workbox. Developers using workbox-build.generateSW don't need to explicitly call this method.

Parameters

  • destDirectory

    string

    The path to the parent directory under which the new directory of libraries will be created.

Returns

  • Promise<string>

    The name of the newly created directory.

generateSW()

workbox-build.generateSW(
  config: GenerateSWOptions,
)

This method creates a list of URLs to precache, referred to as a "precache manifest", based on the options you provide.

It also takes in additional options that configures the service worker's behavior, like any runtimeCaching rules it should use.

Based on the precache manifest and the additional configuration, it writes a ready-to-use service worker file to disk at swDest.

// The following lists some common options; see the rest of the documentation
// for the full set of options and defaults.
const {count, size, warnings} = await generateSW({
  dontCacheBustURLsMatching: [new RegExp('...')],
  globDirectory: '...',
  globPatterns: ['...', '...'],
  maximumFileSizeToCacheInBytes: ...,
  navigateFallback: '...',
  runtimeCaching: [{
    // Routing via a matchCallback function:
    urlPattern: ({request, url}) => ...,
    handler: '...',
    options: {
      cacheName: '...',
      expiration: {
        maxEntries: ...,
      },
    },
  }, {
    // Routing via a RegExp:
    urlPattern: new RegExp('...'),
    handler: '...',
    options: {
      cacheName: '...',
      plugins: [..., ...],
    },
  }],
  skipWaiting: ...,
  swDest: '...',
});

Parameters

Returns

getManifest()

workbox-build.getManifest(
  config: GetManifestOptions,
)

This method returns a list of URLs to precache, referred to as a "precache manifest", along with details about the number of entries and their size, based on the options you provide.

// The following lists some common options; see the rest of the documentation
// for the full set of options and defaults.
const {count, manifestEntries, size, warnings} = await getManifest({
  dontCacheBustURLsMatching: [new RegExp('...')],
  globDirectory: '...',
  globPatterns: ['...', '...'],
  maximumFileSizeToCacheInBytes: ...,
});

Parameters

Returns

getModuleURL()

workbox-build.getModuleURL(
  moduleName: string,
  buildType: BuildType,
)

Parameters

  • moduleName

    string

  • buildType

    BuildType

Returns

  • string

injectManifest()

workbox-build.injectManifest(
  config: InjectManifestOptions,
)

This method creates a list of URLs to precache, referred to as a "precache manifest", based on the options you provide.

The manifest is injected into the swSrc file, and the placeholder string injectionPoint determines where in the file the manifest should go.

The final service worker file, with the manifest injected, is written to disk at swDest.

This method will not compile or bundle your swSrc file; it just handles injecting the manifest.

// The following lists some common options; see the rest of the documentation
// for the full set of options and defaults.
const {count, size, warnings} = await injectManifest({
  dontCacheBustURLsMatching: [new RegExp('...')],
  globDirectory: '...',
  globPatterns: ['...', '...'],
  maximumFileSizeToCacheInBytes: ...,
  swDest: '...',
  swSrc: '...',
});

Parameters

Returns