Exploring the functionalities of command line arguments in Vue.js

Question

Exploring the functionalities of command line arguments in Vue.js

Is there a way to set command line arguments for a Vue.js application? I am utilizing Vue 3 on the frontend which interacts with a Python backend (Flask) using Axios. Currently, I am defining the baseURL for Axios in my main.js file as follows:

import axios from 'axios'
axios.defaults.baseURL ='http://localhost:1234/';

For more versatility, I aim to retrieve the path ('http://localhost:1234/') from the command line, but I am unsure of how to accomplish this.

I start the frontend using npm in the following manner, specifying the host and port for the frontend:

npm run --prefix frontend dev -- --host frontendHostName --port frontendPortNumber

How can I enhance this process by introducing custom command line parameters for backend communication, such as --backendHost backendHostName etc.? And how can I access these parameters within my JavaScript code?

I am still new to JavaScript and Vue, and although I have reviewed some suggestions, I am struggling to find a solution to this issue.

javascript vue.js command-line-arguments

Answer 1

Answer №1

One way to pass variables into your code is by setting them in the command line, but it's recommended to use an .env file instead.

While the .env file can have different suffixes for various environments, it's not commonly used because typically, you'll set up these variables on a docker, on the platform itself (like netlify, versel, ...).

Using the .env file method

To implement this method, create an .env file at the root of your project and access the variable values correctly with process.env.VariableName.

For example

const apiHostIp = process.env.VITE_API_HOST;
const apiHostPort = process.env.VITE_API_PORT;

axios.defaults.baseURL = "http://" + apiHostIp + ":" + apiHostPort + "/";

Using the command line method

If you prefer setting variables from the command line, install the library cross-env and modify your command as follows:

cross-env VITE_API_HOST=127.0.0.1 VITE_API_PORT=5000 YourCommand

Note: Remember that YourCommand represents the script to start the application found in package.json. If you are using vite, it should look similar to what's shown in package.json

"scripts": {
  "dev": "vite",
  "build": "vite build"
}

After updating, it will appear like this

"scripts": {
  "dev": "cross-env VITE_API_HOST=127.0.0.1 VITE_API_PORT=5000 vite",
  "build": "vite build"
}

In certain operating systems, there may be issues reading the defined variables as explained above (mostly in windows), which is why this method is essential.

For more information about the library cross-env, refer to this comment and the npm documentation of the library itself.

Answer 2

One way to pass variables into your code is by setting them in the command line, but it's recommended to use an .env file instead.

While the .env file can have different suffixes for various environments, it's not commonly used because typically, you'll set up these variables on a docker, on the platform itself (like netlify, versel, ...).

Using the .env file method

To implement this method, create an .env file at the root of your project and access the variable values correctly with process.env.VariableName.

For example

const apiHostIp = process.env.VITE_API_HOST;
const apiHostPort = process.env.VITE_API_PORT;

axios.defaults.baseURL = "http://" + apiHostIp + ":" + apiHostPort + "/";

Using the command line method

If you prefer setting variables from the command line, install the library cross-env and modify your command as follows:

cross-env VITE_API_HOST=127.0.0.1 VITE_API_PORT=5000 YourCommand

Note: Remember that YourCommand represents the script to start the application found in package.json. If you are using vite, it should look similar to what's shown in package.json

"scripts": {
  "dev": "vite",
  "build": "vite build"
}

After updating, it will appear like this

"scripts": {
  "dev": "cross-env VITE_API_HOST=127.0.0.1 VITE_API_PORT=5000 vite",
  "build": "vite build"
}

In certain operating systems, there may be issues reading the defined variables as explained above (mostly in windows), which is why this method is essential.

For more information about the library cross-env, refer to this comment and the npm documentation of the library itself.

Answer 3

Answer №2

Here is my solution:

For my project, I decided to create a .env file at the root level alongside my index.html.

I specified the environment variables (which I believed should be treated as command line arguments) in this format:

VITE_API_HOST=127.0.0.1
VITE_API_PORT=5000

Then, accessing them in my main.js was straightforward:

const apiHostIp = import.meta.env.VITE_API_HOST;
const apiHostPort = import.meta.env.VITE_API_PORT;

axios.defaults.baseURL = "http://" + apiHostIp + ":" + apiHostPort + "/";

Answer 4

Here is my solution:

For my project, I decided to create a .env file at the root level alongside my index.html.

I specified the environment variables (which I believed should be treated as command line arguments) in this format:

VITE_API_HOST=127.0.0.1
VITE_API_PORT=5000

Then, accessing them in my main.js was straightforward:

const apiHostIp = import.meta.env.VITE_API_HOST;
const apiHostPort = import.meta.env.VITE_API_PORT;

axios.defaults.baseURL = "http://" + apiHostIp + ":" + apiHostPort + "/";

Exploring the functionalities of command line arguments in Vue.js

Answer №1

Using the .env file method

Using the command line method

Answer №2

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