@ticatec/script-loader

A powerful TypeScript dynamic script loading and management library with real-time script updates, caching management, and timestamp persistence.

Features

• 🚀 Dynamic Script Loading - Runtime dynamic loading and updating of JavaScript scripts
• ⏰ Timestamp Persistence - Automatically save and restore last update timestamp
• 🔄 Real-time Updates - Periodically check for script updates and apply them automatically
• 💾 Smart Caching - In-memory caching of script modules with require cache management
• 🔥 Hot Reload - Support for script hot reloading without application restart
• 🧩 Singleton Manager - Centralized script management with DynaModuleManager
• 🛡️ Error Handling - Comprehensive error handling and logging with log4js
• 🔒 Concurrency Protection - Prevent race conditions in duplicate loading operations
• 📝 TypeScript Support - Complete type definitions and interfaces

Installation

npm install @ticatec/script-loader

Quick Start

Step 1: Implement BaseScriptLoader

Create your custom script loader by extending BaseScriptLoader and implementing the getUpdatedScripts method:

import BaseScriptLoader from '@ticatec/script-loader';
import { DynaScript } from '@ticatec/script-loader/lib/DynaModuleManager';

class MyScriptLoader extends BaseScriptLoader {

  /**
   * Fetch updated scripts from your data source
   * @param anchor - Get scripts updated after this timestamp
   * @returns Array of DynaScript objects
   */
  protected async getUpdatedScripts(anchor: Date): Promise<DynaScript[]> {
    // Example: Fetch from database
    const scripts = await db.query(
      'SELECT * FROM scripts WHERE updated_at > ?',
      [anchor]
    );

    return scripts.map(script => ({
      keyCode: script.id,           // Unique identifier
      fileName: script.name,         // Filename without extension
      active: script.status === 'active',
      latestUpdated: script.updated_at,
      scriptCode: script.content     // JavaScript code
    }));
  }
}

Step 2: Initialize the DynaModuleManager

import DynaModuleManager from '@ticatec/script-loader/lib/DynaModuleManager';

// Initialize the singleton manager
const manager = await DynaModuleManager.getInstance(
  MyScriptLoader,           // Your loader class
  './scripts',              // Script storage directory
  5000                      // Poll interval in milliseconds
);

Step 3: Use Loaded Scripts

// Get a script module by its keyCode
const myScript = manager.get('script-key-123');

if (myScript) {
  // Use the loaded module
  // If your script exports functions/classes, use them directly
  myScript.someFunction();

  // Or if it exports default
  const result = myScript.default();
}

API Documentation

DynaScript Interface

The DynaScript interface defines the structure for script metadata:

interface DynaScript {
  keyCode: string;        // Unique identifier for the script
  fileName: string;       // Script filename (without .js extension)
  active: boolean;        // Whether the script is active
  latestUpdated: Date;    // Last update timestamp
  scriptCode: string;     // JavaScript code content
}

DynaModuleManager

Static Methods

getInstance(loaderConstructor, scriptDir, pollIntervalMs): Promise<DynaModuleManager>

Get or create the singleton instance of DynaModuleManager.

• Parameters:
  • loaderConstructor - Constructor of your BaseScriptLoader subclass
  • scriptDir - Directory path for storing scripts
  • pollIntervalMs - Polling interval in milliseconds
• Returns: Promise that resolves to the DynaModuleManager instance

Instance Methods

get(key: string): any | null

Retrieve a loaded script module by its keyCode.

• Parameters: key - Script's unique identifier (keyCode)
• Returns: The loaded module, or null if not found

BaseScriptLoader

Constructor

protected constructor(
  scriptHome: string,      // Script storage directory
  pollIntervalMs: number   // Polling interval in milliseconds
)

Abstract Method (Must Implement)

getUpdatedScripts(anchor: Date): Promise<Array<DynaScript>>

Fetch updated scripts from your data source.

• Parameters: anchor - Timestamp to fetch scripts updated after this time
• Returns: Promise resolving to an array of DynaScript objects

Public Methods

init(): Promise<void>

Initialize the script loader. This is called automatically by DynaModuleManager.

getModule(key: string): any | null

Get a loaded module by its keyCode.

• Parameters: key - Script's unique identifier
• Returns: The loaded module, or null if not found

stopWatching(): void

Stop the periodic script update monitoring.

How It Works

Initialization Flow

1. Directory Setup: Creates plugins directory under scriptHome
2. Timestamp Loading: Reads .last_update_timestamp file or starts from Unix epoch
3. Initial Load: Fetches and loads all scripts updated since the last timestamp
4. Watch Start: Begins periodic polling for script updates

Script Lifecycle

┌─────────────────┐
│  getUpdatedScripts  │
│  (from your DB/API) │
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│  Process Scripts    │
│  • active=true      │──► Write to file & cache module
│  • active=false     │──► Delete file & clear cache
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│ Update Timestamp    │
│ Save to .last_      │
│ update_timestamp    │
└─────────────────┘

Directory Structure

scriptHome/
├── .last_update_timestamp    # Timestamp persistence file
└── plugins/                  # Script files directory
    ├── script1.js
    ├── script2.js
    └── ...

Module Caching

• Scripts are written as .js files in the plugins directory
• Modules are loaded using Node.js require()
• Require cache is cleared before reloading to ensure fresh module load
• Inactive scripts are removed from both filesystem and require cache

Advanced Usage

Custom Polling Interval

// Check for updates every 10 seconds
const manager = await DynaModuleManager.getInstance(
  MyScriptLoader,
  './scripts',
  10000  // 10 seconds
);

Implementing Script Versioning

class VersionedScriptLoader extends BaseScriptLoader {
  protected async getUpdatedScripts(anchor: Date): Promise<DynaScript[]> {
    const scripts = await this.fetchScripts(anchor);

    return scripts.map(script => ({
      keyCode: `${script.id}-v${script.version}`,
      fileName: `${script.name}-v${script.version}`,
      active: script.active,
      latestUpdated: script.updated_at,
      scriptCode: script.code
    }));
  }
}

Handling Script Exports

Your dynamic scripts can export in various ways:

// Option 1: Named exports
module.exports = {
  execute: function() { /* ... */ },
  config: { /* ... */ }
};

// Option 2: Default export
module.exports = function() { /* ... */ };

// Option 3: ES6-style (transpiled)
exports.default = class MyPlugin { /* ... */ };

Then use them:

const script = manager.get('my-script');

// For named exports
script.execute();

// For default export
script();

// For ES6 default
new script.default();

Error Handling

The library includes comprehensive error handling:

• Timestamp Errors: Falls back to Unix epoch if timestamp file is corrupted
• File Operations: Logs errors and continues operation
• Script Loading: Catches and logs require() errors, returns null on failure
• Concurrency: Prevents simultaneous loading operations with isLoading flag

Requirements

• Node.js: >= 16.0.0
• TypeScript: ^5.0.0 (for development)
• log4js: ^6.7.0 (optional peer dependency)

Development

# Build the library
npm run build

# Type checking
npm run typecheck

# Clean build artifacts
npm run clean

# Publish to npm
npm run publish-public

Best Practices

1. Implement Error Handling: Always handle potential null returns from manager.get()
2. Script Format: Ensure your scripts follow Node.js module format
3. Unique Keys: Use unique and stable keyCode values
4. Active Status: Properly manage the active flag to enable/disable scripts
5. Timestamps: Ensure your data source provides accurate update timestamps

Troubleshooting

Scripts Not Loading

• Check that getUpdatedScripts() returns valid DynaScript objects
• Verify scriptCode contains valid JavaScript
• Check log4js output for error messages

Module Returns Null

• Ensure the script file was created in the plugins directory
• Check for syntax errors in your script code
• Verify the keyCode matches exactly

Hot Reload Not Working

• Confirm pollIntervalMs is set appropriately
• Verify latestUpdated timestamps are increasing
• Check that require cache is being cleared

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Author

Henry Feng

• Email: huili.f@gmail.com
• GitHub: @ticatec

Repository

• GitHub: https://github.com/ticatec/scripts-loader
• Issues: https://github.com/ticatec/scripts-loader/issues

Support

If this project helps you, please consider:

• ⭐ Star the project on GitHub
• 🐛 Report issues
• 💖 Sponsor the project