Creating Schematics in Angular

1. Introduction

Angular Schematics are powerful tools used for generating and modifying files in Angular projects. They help streamline the development process by automating repetitive tasks, ensuring consistency, and enforcing best practices.

2. What are Schematics?

Schematics are templates for creating, modifying, or managing Angular applications, libraries, and components. They allow developers to define blueprints of the project structure and automate tasks such as:

• Creating new components
• Generating services
• Updating existing code

3. Creating Schematics

To create a schematic, follow these steps:

1. Install the Angular CLI globally if you haven't already:

npm install -g @angular/cli

2. Generate a new schematic project:

ng new my-schematic --collection=@schematics/angular

3. Navigate to your schematic project directory:

cd my-schematic

4. Create a new schematic:

ng generate schematic my-schematic

5. Edit the generated files in the src/my-schematic directory to define your schematic’s logic.

3.1 Example of a Simple Schematic

Below is an example of a simple schematic that generates a new Angular component:

import { Rule, SchematicContext, Tree } from '@angular-devkit/schematics';

        export function mySchematic(options: any): Rule {
            return (tree: Tree, _context: SchematicContext) => {
                const content = `import { Component } from '@angular/core';

                @Component({
                    selector: 'app-${options.name}',
                    template: '
${options.name} works!
',
                })
                export class ${options.name.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + options.name.slice(1)}Component {}`;
                
                tree.create(`src/app/${options.name}.component.ts`, content);
                return tree;
            };
        }

4. Best Practices

When working with schematics, consider the following best practices:

• Keep your schematics idempotent, meaning they can be run multiple times without causing issues.
• Use meaningful names for your schematics and options to improve clarity.
• Document your schematics for easier collaboration with your team.

5. FAQ