My proposal for the "Front-end tools and existing projects" issue / problem.

By Tom Lane

---

Project.json

A common hook for front end tools to access project structure and information.

What is it?

A simple JSON file that states essential information for front-end tools to be able to just drop in to an existing project and begin working straight away.

Why is it needed?

Most front-end tools (such as Yeoman) are only compatible if the project is created using the tool itself and has no support for existing projects.

How will it be implemented?

Implementation will need to happen in 2 stages:

• Tools need to check for the existence of this file and work accordingly.
• Existing projects need to create a project.json file in order for it to be used and processed by the tools.

What would a typical project.json file include?

• Directory information.
  • CSS
    • Pre-processor input directory.
    • CSS output directory.
    • Linting?
    • Minifying?
  • Javascript
    • Pre-processor input directory (e.g. coffeescript).
    • JS output directory.
    • Linting?
    • Minifying?
  • HTML
    • Pre-processor input directory.
    • HTML output directory.
    • Linting?
    • Minifying?
  • Project server directory
    • Where to serve files from for local server testing.
• Existing tools used.

Would it be extensible?

Yes, being JSON the contents and uses can be very flexible. For example, existing JSON such as Bower's component.json can easily be integrated.