Should I use app/javascript without webpacker?

[fugee_ohu]

My rails 7 app has app/javascript and also app/assets/javascript The build script in package.json uses app/javascript for js files but I’m not using webpacker Is that ok?

[brenogazzola]

Short answer: You don’t need both. app/assets/javascript is for the sprockets based asset pipeline, and app/javascript is for the webpacker/bundler/import maps based one.

Long answer: Check my other post here:

Guide to Rails 7 and the Asset Pipeline

Intro Rails 7 brought with it an overhaul of the Asset Pipeline in the form of multiple new gems that either introduced a new way of handling assets (importmaps-rails), or broke down existing gems (propshaft, jsbundling-rails, cssbundling-rails) into smaller parts that make use of existing standalone tools and therefore support modern features that were previously unavailable. While a few of these gems are still in pre-release status, their maintainers, contributors and early adopters have alr…

[fugee_ohu]

I didn’t ask if I needed both

[brenogazzola]

Yup. I was complementing the answer. To make make it clearer:

“I’m not using webpacker, is that ok?”

Answer: Webpacker is deprecated and you should avoid it. Check the post I’ve linked, it explains what you should be using.

“I have two javascript folders”

Suggestion: You don’t need both. In fact, you should only have one.

[fugee_ohu]

Although it outputs to the asset pipeline app/assets/builds in this rails 7 js bundling app the script points to the app/javascipt folder instead of the app/assets/javascript folder when there’s no webpacker This is from package.json which should still be in use even though I’m not using webpacker As far as I can remember I created the app in rails 7 with js bundling (esbuild) and bootstrap

“scripts”: { “build”: “esbuild app/javascript/. --bundle --sourcemap --outdir=app/assets/builds --public-path=assets”, “build:css”: “sass ./app/assets/stylesheets/application.bootstrap.scss:./app/assets/builds/application.css --no-source-map --load-path=node_modules” }

[IanLeonardo (Leonardo)]

Yes, it is perfectly fine to have both app/javascript and app/assets/javascript directories in your Rails 7 application, even if you are not using Webpacker.

In Rails 7, the default JavaScript bundler is ESBuild, which is a fast and lightweight JavaScript bundler. The app/javascript directory is the default location for JavaScript files in Rails 7 applications using ESBuild. This directory is intended for modern JavaScript modules and is compatible with ES6 imports and exports.

[OnyxRemy (Remy)]

If you’re not using Webpacker, make sure that your deployment pipeline is set up to handle assets from both the Asset Pipeline and Webpacker-style assets, depending on where they’re located.