Building and Serving Angular Apps with CLI

Introduction

The Angular Command Line Interface (CLI) is a powerful tool that simplifies the development of Angular applications. It provides commands to create, build, serve, and test Angular apps, enhancing productivity and standardization across projects.

Angular CLI Installation

To use Angular CLI, you need to have Node.js installed. Once Node.js is installed, you can install Angular CLI globally via npm:

npm install -g @angular/cli

Verify the installation by checking the version:

ng version

Creating an Angular App

Creating a new Angular application is straightforward with the CLI. Use the following command:

ng new my-angular-app

Follow the prompts to select options such as routing and stylesheet format.

Building an Angular App

To build your Angular application for production, run:

ng build --prod

This command generates a dist folder containing the compiled files optimized for deployment.

Serving an Angular App

To serve your application locally, use:

ng serve

By default, your app will be accessible at http://localhost:4200. You can specify a different port with:

ng serve --port 4300

Best Practices

• Keep your CLI updated: npm update -g @angular/cli
• Use environment configurations for different stages (development, production).
• Regularly build and test your application to catch errors early.
• Utilize Angular's built-in tools for optimization during the build process.

FAQ