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webpack CLI

The official CLI of webpack

About

webpack CLI provides a flexible set of commands for developers to increase speed when setting up a custom webpack project. As of webpack v4, webpack is not expecting a configuration file, but often developers want to create a more custom webpack configuration based on their use-cases and needs. webpack CLI addresses these needs by providing a set of tools to improve the setup of custom webpack configuration.

How to install

When you have followed the Getting Started guide of webpack then webpack CLI is already installed!

Otherwise

npm install --save-dev webpack-cli

yarn add webpack-cli --dev

Supported arguments and commands

Usage

All interactions with webpack-cli are of the form

npx webpack-cli [command] [options]

If no command is specified then bundle command is used by default

Help Usage

To display basic commands and arguments -

npx webpack-cli --help

To display all supported commands and arguments -

npx webpack-cli --help=verbose

npx webpack-cli --help verbose

Available Commands

  build|bundle|b [entries...] [options]  Run webpack (default command, can be omitted).
  configtest|t [config-path]             Validate a webpack configuration.
  help|h [command] [option]              Display help for commands and options.
  info|i [options]                       Outputs information about your system.
  serve|server|s [entries...] [options]  Run the webpack dev server and watch for source file changes while serving.
  version|v [options]                    Output the version number of 'webpack', 'webpack-cli' and 'webpack-dev-server' and commands.
  watch|w [entries...] [options]         Run webpack and watch for files changes.

Available Options

Options:
  -c, --config <pathToConfigFile...>     Provide path to one or more webpack configuration files to process, e.g. "./webpack.config.js".
  --config-name <name...>                Name(s) of particular configuration(s) to use if configuration file exports an array of multiple configurations.
  -m, --merge                            Merge two or more configurations using 'webpack-merge'.
  --disable-interpret                    Disable interpret for loading the config file.
  --env <value...>                       Environment variables passed to the configuration when it is a function, e.g. "myvar" or "myvar=myval".
  --node-env <value>                     Sets process.env.NODE_ENV to the specified value for access within the configuration.(Deprecated: Use '--config-node-env' instead)
  --config-node-env <value>              Sets process.env.NODE_ENV to the specified value for access within the configuration.
  --analyze                              It invokes webpack-bundle-analyzer plugin to get bundle information.
  --progress [value]                     Print compilation progress during build.
  -j, --json [pathToJsonFile]            Prints result as JSON or store it in a file.
  --fail-on-warnings                     Stop webpack-cli process with non-zero exit code on warnings from webpack.
  -d, --devtool <value>                  A developer tool to enhance debugging (false | eval | [inline-|hidden-|eval-][nosources-][cheap-[module-]]source-map).
  --no-devtool                           Negative 'devtool' option.
  --entry <value...>                     A module that is loaded upon startup. Only the last one is exported.
  -e, --extends <value...>               Path to the configuration to be extended (only works when using webpack-cli).
  --mode <value>                         Enable production optimizations or development hints.
  --name <value>                         Name of the configuration. Used when loading multiple configurations.
  -o, --output-path <value>              The output directory as **absolute path** (required).
  --stats [value]                        Stats options object or preset name.
  --no-stats                             Negative 'stats' option.
  -t, --target <value...>                Environment to build for. Environment to build for. An array of environments to build for all of them when possible.
  --no-target                            Negative 'target' option.
  -w, --watch                            Enter watch mode, which rebuilds on file change.
  --no-watch                             Negative 'watch' option.
  --watch-options-stdin                  Stop watching when stdin stream has ended.
  --no-watch-options-stdin               Negative 'watch-options-stdin' option.

Global options:
  --color                                Enable colors on console.
  --no-color                             Disable colors on console.
  -v, --version                          Output the version number of 'webpack', 'webpack-cli' and 'webpack-dev-server' and commands.
  -h, --help [verbose]                   Display help for commands and options.

Checkout OPTIONS.md to see list of all available options.

Exit codes and their meanings

Exit Code	Description
`0`	Success
`1`	Errors from webpack
`2`	Configuration/options problem or an internal error

CLI Environment Variables

Environment Variable	Description
`WEBPACK_CLI_SKIP_IMPORT_LOCAL`	when `true` it will skip using the local instance of `webpack-cli`.
`WEBPACK_CLI_FORCE_LOAD_ESM_CONFIG`	when `true` it will force load the ESM config.
`WEBPACK_PACKAGE`	Use a custom webpack version in CLI.
`WEBPACK_DEV_SERVER_PACKAGE`	Use a custom webpack-dev-server version in CLI.
`WEBPACK_CLI_HELP_WIDTH`	Use custom width for help output.

Configuration Environment Variables

You can use the following environment variables inside your webpack configuration:

Environment Variable	Description
`WEBPACK_SERVE`	`true` if `serve\|s` is being used.
`WEBPACK_BUILD`	`true` if `build\|bundle\|b` is being used.
`WEBPACK_WATCH`	`true` if `--watch\|watch\|w` is being used.

Checkout webpack.js.org for more detailed documentation of webpack-cli.