Node cli task that uses concurrently combined with a JSON configuration in package.json or separate file, to make concurrent tasks better readable and easier to configure. It for instance can be used to build a project in one command, when it consists of separate individual applications. Within our organisation we use it for starting and maintaining several development servers with one command.

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Installation

npm install @freshheads/run-concurrently -D

Usage

1. Add your task configuration to your application's package.json or separate json file.
2. Use the cli command to execute the tasks concurrently
3. Setup shortcuts in the root of your application for easier execution (for instance scripts in package.json or make)

Configuration

Can be placed in package.json, located in the location that this task is run from:

Format:

{
    ...,
    "concurrentTasks": {
        "<task_name>": {
            "subTasks": [
                {
                    "workingDirectory": "<directory_to_execute_code_in>",
                    "command": "<command_to_execute_in_working_directory>",
                    "name": "<prefix_that_is_used_to_distinguish_seperate_tasks_output>"
                },
                ...
            ]
        }
    }
}

Example, added to package.json:

{
    ...,
    "concurrentTasks": {
        "build": {
            "subTasks": [
                {
                    "workingDirectory": "./assets/a",
                    "command": "npm run build",
                    "name": "website"
                },
                {
                    "workingDirectory": "./assets/b",
                    "command": "npm run build",
                    "name": "admin"
                },
                {
                    "workingDirectory": "./assets/c",
                    "command": "npm run build",
                    "name": "frontend"
                }
            ],
            "options": {
                "prefixLength": 20
            }
        },
        "build:watch": {
            "subTasks": [...]
        }
    }
}

You can also place the configuration outside the package.json and into a separate JSON file. For this task to find it, you have to use the --config option to supply the server path to it. See below for more information.

CLI command usage

Arguments

name	description	type	required	default value
task	The task to execute from the configuration	string	false	'build'

Options

name	description	type	required	default value
--config or -c	Path to an alternate configuration file that you want to use	string	false	fallback on package.json in current working directory
--help or -h	Prints information about how to use this cli command	na.	false	na.
--verbose or -v	If flagged with verbose, extra debug output is displayed	na.	false	na.

Running the command

With configuration in package.json:

./node_modules/.bin/run-concurrently <command> --verbose

With separate configuration file:

./node_modules/.bin/run-concurrently <command> --config=/path/to/config.json --verbose

Often it easier to alias it in a NPM script, like:

// package.json

{
    "scripts": {
        "<command>": "run-concurrently <command>"
    }
}

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Development

Install dependencies:

npm install

Running tests

Run tests by executing:

npm run test

Or in watch mode:

npm run test:watch