@tailor-platform/app-shell-vite-plugin

Vite plugin for file-based routing in AppShell applications. Define pages by placing components in a directory structure instead of assembling explicit module/resource hierarchies.

Installation

pnpm add @tailor-platform/app-shell-vite-plugin

Usage

// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from "vite";
import react from "@vitejs/plugin-react";
import { appShellRoutes } from "@tailor-platform/app-shell-vite-plugin";

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [react(), appShellRoutes()],
});

Options

appShellRoutes({
  pagesDir: "src/pages",
  generateTypedRoutes: true, // outputs to src/routes.generated.ts
  entrypoint: "src/App.tsx", // recommended: only intercept imports from this file
});

For comprehensive usage guide including page conventions, path rules, guards, typed routes, and migration from the legacy API, see the File-Based Routing documentation.

Technical Design

Overview

This plugin enables file-based routing for AppShell by scanning the filesystem and generating a virtual module. It intercepts @tailor-platform/app-shell imports to automatically inject discovered pages.

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ User Code: import { AppShell } from "@tailor-platform/app-shell"        │
└────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                             │
                             ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Auto-Inject Plugin (enforce: "pre")                                     │
│ - Intercepts @tailor-platform/app-shell imports                         │
│ - Resolves to virtual:app-shell-proxy                                   │
└────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                             │
                             ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ virtual:app-shell-proxy                                                 │
│ 1. import { pages } from "virtual:app-shell-pages"                      │
│ 2. import { AppShell as _Original } from "@tailor-platform/app-shell"   │
│ 3. export * from "@tailor-platform/app-shell"                           │
│ 4. export const AppShell = _Original.WithPages(pages)                   │
└────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                             │
                             ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Wrapped AppShell Component                                              │
│ - modules and rootGuards are pre-configured via WithPages               │
│ - User can still override rootComponent and rootGuards via props        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Plugin Composition

appShellRoutes() returns Plugin[] consisting of the following plugins:

1. app-shell-virtual-pages: Provides virtual:app-shell-pages virtual module
2. app-shell-auto-pages-inject: Intercepts @tailor-platform/app-shell imports
3. app-shell-typed-routes: Generates typed routes file (when generateTypedRoutes is enabled)

Virtual Module Specification

The plugin generates a virtual module virtual:app-shell-pages:

// virtual:app-shell-pages (generated)
import Page0 from "/src/pages/page.tsx";
import Page1 from "/src/pages/dashboard/page.tsx";
import Page2 from "/src/pages/dashboard/orders/page.tsx";
import Page3 from "/src/pages/dashboard/orders/[id]/page.tsx";

export const pages = [
  { path: "/", component: Page0 },
  { path: "/dashboard", component: Page1 },
  { path: "/dashboard/orders", component: Page2 },
  { path: "/dashboard/orders/:id", component: Page3 },
];

export default pages;

Auto-Inject Proxy Module

The generated proxy module that replaces @tailor-platform/app-shell imports:

import { pages } from "virtual:app-shell-pages";
import { AppShell as _OriginalAppShell } from "@tailor-platform/app-shell";

// Re-export everything from the original package
export * from "@tailor-platform/app-shell";

// Override AppShell with pages pre-configured via WithPages
export const AppShell = _OriginalAppShell.WithPages(pages);

Entrypoint mode (recommended)

When entrypoint is set, only imports from that specific file are intercepted. All other files (including page components) import directly from the real package, so there is no circular module dependency.

Global mode (entrypoint not set)

All user-code imports of @tailor-platform/app-shell are intercepted. This creates a circular dependency (proxy → pages → page components → proxy) which works in practice but requires that page components do not import AppShell directly.

Why enforce: "pre" is Required

Vite resolves node_modules packages first by default. To intercept @tailor-platform/app-shell imports, the plugin must use enforce: "pre" to run before other resolvers (especially workspace package resolution).

AppShell.WithPages (Internal)

// packages/core/src/components/appshell.tsx

/**
 * @internal
 * This method is used internally by the vite-plugin to inject pages.
 * Users should not call this directly.
 */
AppShell.WithPages = (pages: PageEntry[]): FC<AppShellProps> => {
  // Convert pages to modules at component creation time
  const allModules = convertPagesToModules(pages);
  const rootModule = allModules.find((m) => m.path === "");
  const otherModules = allModules.filter((m) => m.path !== "");

  return (props) => (
    <AppShell
      {...props}
      modules={otherModules}
      rootComponent={props.rootComponent ?? rootModule?.component}
      rootGuards={props.rootGuards ?? rootModule?.guards}
    />
  );
};

Why AppShell.WithPages over Alternatives

Path Conversion

HMR Support

The plugin watches pagesDir for file additions/deletions and triggers automatic reload when the page structure changes.