XF 2.3 Problem with js folder not being included in release process

[MFA Baybars]

I added the following content to the src\addons\AAA\BBB\_build\build.json file directory.
When I run the php cmd.php xf-addon:build-release AAA/BBB command, the _build\build.json folder and file are deleted. The js folder and files are not included in the Release zip archive.

I am performing this operation via localhost xampp terminal. Am I doing something wrong or is there a problem or method that I don't know about?

{
  "additional_files": [
    "js/AAA/BBB"
  ],
  "minify": [
    "js/AAA/BBB/aa_nn_aaaaa_aaa_abc.js",
    "js/AAA/BBB/aa_bb_aaaab_cde.js",
    "js/AAA/BBB/aa_bb_aaaac_efg.js"
  ],
  "exec": [
    "echo '{title} version {version_string} ({version_id}) has been built successfully!' > 'src/addons/AAA/BBB/_build/built.txt'"
  ]
}

I followed the steps here: https://xenforo.com/docs/dev/development-tools/#building-an-add-on-release

 

[Jeremy P]

Are these files in the _files/ subdirectory of your add-on directory? That is, src/addons/AAA/BBB/_files/js/AAA/BBB/aa_nn_aaaaa_aaa_abc.js, etc.?

 

[MFA Baybars]

Is this how the directory tree should be?

 

[Jeremy P]

You don't need the files in the root js/ tree at all. In your templates eg. you can use:

<xf:js addon="AAA/BBB" src="AAA/BBB/aa_nn_aaaaa_aaa_abc.js" min="1" />

They'll automatically be served from _files when development mode is enabled, built into your release, and served directly by the web server in production. There isn't currently anything similar for styles/ unfortunately, though I've used symlinks in the past as a work-around.

 

[MFA Baybars]

My problem is that I cannot include the js files in the released zip archive when releasing via cli. I tried many different ways in both the root directory and the _files directory. Maybe it's something related to Xampp, I don't know.

 

[Jeremy P]

I've only just caught this, but build.json should be in your add-on directory and not in the _build sub-directory.

 

[MFA Baybars]

I've only just caught this, but build.json should be in your add-on directory and not in the _build sub-directory.

ahaha thanks, Even getting the error below made me happy

27/27 [============================] 100%
Written successfully.
Attempting to validate addon.json file...
JSON file validates successfully!

Building release ZIP.
Unexpected error while minifying JS: Empty result provided by the compiler.

 

[Jeremy P]

Oops, that's related to the deprecation of the minification service we use. It's been addressed in the next update, but in the meantime you can either manually configure a local Closure Compiler or forgo minification temporarily.

Fixed Post in thread 'REST closure compiler has been deprecated'

Mar 23, 2025

We’ve gone one better than that. Although we are aiming for it to be a somewhat temporary solution as we have plans to change approach down the line (XF 3.0).

We are currently testing an XF.com API endpoint (via the license / upgrade API) that will replace the existing (now broken) Google Closure Compiler web service.

The JS minifier service will now submit the JS code to our server, we will minify it, and return the minified JS back.

That should be available in 2.3.7.

• Chris D

• 
• 

XF 2.3 Post in thread 'Building JavaScript giving me issues once again...'

Mar 18, 2025

This is likely because the closure compiler web service is no longer available.

https://closure-compiler.appspot.com/compile

You will likely need to download the closure compiler binary, place it somewhere on your system and add the following to your src/config.php:

$config['development']['closureCompilerPath'] = '/path/to/clousre/compiler';

• Chris D

•