vite-plugin-gas-react

Deploy React apps to Google Apps Script — with code splitting.

Write a standard React + Vite app. Run one command. Get a working GAS web app with lazy-loaded pages.

Why?

Google Apps Script only serves HTML files via HtmlService. External <script> tags are blocked by the CAJA sanitizer. That means:

• No ES modules, no import(), no <script src="...">
• You normally have to inline everything into a single HTML file
• Code splitting? Lazy loading? Forget it.

This plugin solves all of that. You write a normal React app with React.lazy() and Vite's natural code splitting — the plugin transforms the build output into something GAS can actually serve.

How It Works

React App (Vite) → Build → GAS-compatible output → clasp push → Live web app

The plugin runs at build time and:

1. Stores all JS server-side as .gs string variables (completely bypasses CAJA)
2. Rewrites import() calls to fetch chunks via google.script.run.getPage()
3. Builds a dependency graph so shared chunks load before the pages that need them
4. Generates Code.js with doGet(), getEntryCode(), and getPage() functions
5. Generates appsscript.json with the correct webapp configuration

At runtime, the entry JS is loaded via google.script.run.getEntryCode() and injected into a <script> tag. When you navigate to a lazy page, the chunk loader fetches its code (and any shared dependencies) the same way.

Build Output

dist/
├── index.html           ← Served by doGet() — contains the chunk loader
├── __gas_entry__.js     ← Entry bundle stored as a .gs string variable
├── __gas_chunks__.js    ← All lazy + shared chunks as .gs string variables
├── Code.js              ← Server functions: doGet(), getEntryCode(), getPage()
└── appsscript.json      ← GAS project manifest

Quick Start

1. Install

npm install vite-plugin-gas-react
npm install -D vite @vitejs/plugin-react

2. Configure Vite

// vite.config.ts
import { createGASViteConfig } from 'vite-plugin-gas-react';

export default createGASViteConfig({
  clientRoot: 'src',
  appTitle: 'My App',
});

That's it. createGASViteConfig() sets up React, the GAS plugin, aliases, and dev mode automatically.

3. Write Your App

Use React.lazy() for page-level code splitting — Vite will split them into separate chunks, and the plugin will handle the rest:

// src/App.tsx
import { useState, Suspense, lazy } from 'react';

const Home = lazy(() => import('./pages/Home'));
const Settings = lazy(() => import('./pages/Settings'));

const pages = { Home, Settings };

export default function App() {
  const [page, setPage] = useState('Home');
  const Page = pages[page];

  return (
    <Suspense fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
      <Page />
    </Suspense>
  );
}

// src/pages/Home.tsx
export default function Home() {
  return <h1>Home Page</h1>;
}

4. Set Up Clasp

npm install -g @google/clasp
clasp login
clasp create --type webapp --rootDir dist

5. Build & Deploy

npx vite build
cd dist && clasp push

Open the GAS web app URL and your React app is live.

Configuration

createGASViteConfig(options?)

Returns a complete Vite config. All options are optional:

gasPlugin(options?)

Use this if you're building your own Vite config instead of using createGASViteConfig():

import { gasPlugin } from 'vite-plugin-gas-react';
import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react';

export default {
  plugins: [react(), gasPlugin({ appTitle: 'My App' })],
};

isLocalDev()

Returns true when GAS_LOCAL=true is set in environment. Use to branch behavior between local development and GAS deployment:

if (isLocalDev()) {
  // Local dev: use mock data or local API
} else {
  // Production: use google.script.run
}

How Code Splitting Works

Vite naturally splits your app into chunks:

• Entry chunk — React, your app shell, shared dependencies
• Page chunks — One per React.lazy(() => import('./pages/X')) call
• Shared lib chunks — Common dependencies used by multiple pages (e.g., MUI components)

The plugin transforms these into GAS-compatible form:

Each chunk type gets its own isolated namespace to prevent variable collisions:

• Entry exports → window.__gasEntry__
• Shared lib exports → window.__gasLib_<name>__
• Page exports → window.__gasChunkExports (per-chunk, cleaned up after load)

The plugin automatically builds a dependency graph. When you navigate to Home, the loader first loads lib_Stack (if not cached), then loads page_Home. All subsequent navigations to pages sharing the same libs skip reloading them.

Local Development

Set GAS_LOCAL=true to run your app with Vite's dev server instead of deploying to GAS:

GAS_LOCAL=true npx vite

In local mode, createGASViteConfig():

• Skips the GAS plugin entirely
• Injects window.__GAS_DEV_MODE__ = true
• Injects window.__GAS_DEV_SERVER__ pointing to your local API server
• Enables Vite HMR and hot reload

You can use these globals in your app to switch between google.script.run calls (production) and fetch() calls (local dev).

Requirements

• Node.js ≥ 18
• Vite ≥ 5
• React 18 or 19 (with React.lazy() for code splitting)
• clasp CLI for deployment (npm install -g @google/clasp)

Limitations

• GAS execution time limits still apply (6 min/execution, 30 sec for web app requests)
• Chunk loading adds a round-trip per chunk on first navigation (chunks are cached after first load)
• No SSR — this is a client-side React app served via HtmlService
• File size — GAS has a 50MB total project size limit. Large apps with many dependencies should be fine, but keep an eye on it.

License

MIT