How-to guides

Publish a plugin

Build a Kubb plugin as an npm package, inspect the tarball, and publish it.

Package a plugin so other projects can install it from npm. Start from a working plugin with tests, such as the one from Create and extend a plugin.

Build the package

Export the factory from a package entrypoint. Use a .js extension for the relative import so the compiled ESM works in Node:

src/index.ts

export { pluginExample } from './plugin.js'

Create a TypeScript build config:

tsconfig.json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2022",
    "module": "NodeNext",
    "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
    "strict": true,
    "declaration": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "rootDir": "src",
    "outDir": "dist"
  },
  "include": ["src/index.ts", "src/plugin.ts"]
}

Add the following fields to your existing package.json, keeping the development dependencies installed earlier. Replace the package name with an available name you own before publishing:

package.json fields

{
  "name": "kubb-plugin-example",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "type": "module",
  "files": ["dist"],
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsc -p tsconfig.json",
    "test": "vitest run src/plugin.test.ts",
    "prepack": "npm run build && npm test"
  },
  "exports": {
    ".": {
      "types": "./dist/index.d.ts",
      "import": "./dist/index.js"
    }
  },
  "peerDependencies": { "kubb": "^5.0.0" }
}

kubb remains a development dependency so you can build and test locally. The peer dependency asks consumers to supply a compatible Kubb version.

Build, inspect the files npm would include, and create a local tarball:

Terminal

npm run build
npm pack --dry-run
npm pack

The dry run should list dist/index.js, dist/index.d.ts, dist/plugin.js, and dist/plugin.d.ts, along with package.json. The tarball should contain compiled output rather than the fixture, tests, or generated client files. prepack runs the build and both tests before packaging.

Publish

Add a README showing installation and pluginExample({ prefix: 'API: ' }) in a Kubb config. Choose a license and include its file.

Review the tarball and confirm the package name and version before publishing to npm.

When you are ready, sign in to your npm account and publish:

Terminal

npm login
npm publish --access public

Consumers install your package as a development dependency and import its factory from the package name, rather than from ./src/plugin.

Publish a plugin

Build the package

Publish

See also