Inconsistency in externalizing dependencies between v0.10.2 and v0.10.3

[Vages]

Hi! Thank you for making the plugin. Would not be able to use Vite for my Electron project without it.

Problem

Upgrading from v0.10.2 to v0.15.5, the contents of dist-electron changed unexpectedly. I pinpointed the change to v0.10.2, and have created a minimal example to demonstrate it.

• With 0.10.2, chalk is externalized because it is in dependencies: Vages/vite-plugin-electron-dependencies@46e5749#diff-3c248a1f76d3f4ef3b5a2a57cd5aa6da56a705a28bf5bf7190c93ddc40c3f2f2
• With 0.10.3, chalk dependency is inlined, making the app crash: Vages/vite-plugin-electron-dependencies@2c4987f#diff-3c248a1f76d3f4ef3b5a2a57cd5aa6da56a705a28bf5bf7190c93ddc40c3f2f2
• I have been able to fix the problem by adding my package.json dependencies to vite.build.rollupOptions.external: Vages/vite-plugin-electron-dependencies@da3a5f4

I have found that this is due to the following code change:

• In 0.10.2, the dependencies listed in package.json are automatically included in build.rollupOptions.external in the function createWithExternal: https://github.com/electron-vite/vite-plugin-electron/blob/v0.10.2/packages/electron/src/config.ts#L41-L42
• In 0.10.3, createWithExternal is superseded by withExternalBuiltins, which does not include dependencies build.rollupOptions.external: https://github.com/electron-vite/vite-plugin-electron/blob/v0.10.3/src/config.ts#L43-L70

The fact that the README changed between 0.10.2 and 0.10.3 makes me suspect that the change was intentional:

• https://github.com/electron-vite/vite-plugin-electron/tree/v0.10.2/packages/electron#put-nodejs-packages-in-dependencies
• https://github.com/electron-vite/vite-plugin-electron/tree/v0.10.3#be-aware

Suggested fixes

I’d be willing to help by clarifying the README – as I suspect the change was intentional. I would like the sentence that currently says “So, put your Node.js package in dependencies.” to say something like this:

In general, Vite may not correctly build Node.js packages, especially C/C++ native modules, but Vite can load them as external packages.

1. Add the names of any dependencies that should be externalized to the plugin configuration’s `vite.build.rollupOptions.external` field
2. Make sure that they are available to your Electron application at runtime. Electron build tools such as `electron-builder` and `electron-forge` will by default only make a dependency available by default if it is listed under `dependencies` in `package.json`[^1]

[^1]: This behavior is documented by the following sentence in the @electron/packager README: “Be careful not to include `node_modules` you don't want into your final app. If you put them in the `devDependencies` section of `package.json`, by default none of the modules related to those dependencies will be copied in the app bundles.” See https://github.com/electron/packager/tree/d829dbef09b4c106f59ea545254fef498ecc6731#from-the-command-line

If the change was unintentional, I would like to contribute code which makes the plugin behave as in v0.10.2.

Why I am confused by the README

In its current state, the README misleads me to think that it’s enough to put the dependencies you want to externalize in dependencies:

• The instruction to “put your Node.js package in dependencies” makes me believe that the plugin will externalize the dependencies listed in dependencies.
• The code example makes me believe the opposite by showing the packages listed in vite.build.rollupOptions.external.

In general, Vite may not correctly build Node.js packages, especially C/C++ native modules, but Vite can load them as external packages

So, put your Node.js package in dependencies. Unless you know how to properly build them with Vite

export default {
  plugins: [
    electron({
      entry: "electron/main.ts",
      vite: {
        build: {
          rollupOptions: {
            // Here are some C/C++ modules them can't be built properly
            external: ["serialport", "sqlite3"],
          },
        },
      },
    }),
  ],
};

[Andrew-web-coder]

@Vages Thank you! Your workaround helped me to fix this issue.

Also, I wonder if this project is dead :/

[caoxiemeihao]

@Andrew-web-coder If you think that way, you should use another project instead.

[Vages]

Thanks for fixing, @caoxiemeihao!

I do not think @Andrew-web-coder intended to make a judgment on the quality of your work, so don’t lose heart. I like it a lot 😄