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The nativescript.config.ts is a central place to configure your project. It allows you to configure your project structure, application id, runtime related flags and more.

Note about the .ts extension

You can author the config file as plain .js file as well. We recommend sticking with the .ts extension even if your project doesn't use TypeScript, because most editors will provide autocompletion in the .ts file.

By default a config looks somewhat like the following

ts
import { NativeScriptConfig } from '@nativescript/core'

export default {
  id: 'org.nativescript.app',
  appPath: 'app',
  appResourcesPath: 'App_Resources',
  android: {
    v8Flags: '--expose_gc',
    markingMode: 'none',
  },
} as NativeScriptConfig

Configuration Reference

id

ts
id: string = 'com.mycompany.myapp'

Controls the Application ID of your app, this setting can be overridden per platform via ios.id and android.id.

main

ts
main: string = './src/custom-main.ts'

Sets the entry point to your app. This value is usually set in package.json in the main field.

appPath

ts
appPath: string = 'custom-src'

Specifies where your app source is located, usually src or app.

appResourcesPath

ts
appResourcesPath: string = '../shared/app_resources'

Specifies where your app resources are located, usually App_Resources.

webpackConfigPath

ts
webpackConfigPath: string = 'custom-webpack.config.js'

Specifies the webpack config location. The default is webpack.config.js in the root.

profiling

ts
profiling: 'counters' | 'timeline' | 'lifecycle' = "timeline"

Enable profiler logs. In most cases when profiling, you would use timeline.

cssParser

ts
cssParser: 'rework' | 'nativescript' | 'css-tree' = "css-tree"

Set the default CSS parser that NativeScript will use, by default it uses css-tree.

ignoredNativeDependencies

ts
ignoredNativeDependencies: string[] = ['@nativescript/imagepicker']

A list of npm package names to ignore when attaching native dependencies to the build.

cli

ts
cli: Object = {}

See CLI Configuration Reference

android

ts
android: Object = {}

See Android Configuration Reference

ios

ts
ios: Object = {}

See iOS Configuration Reference

hooks

ts
hooks: Array = []

See Hooks Configuration Reference

CLI Configuration Reference

cli.packageManager

Note

yarn2 is experimental and available in [email protected] or newer.

ts
cli.packageManager: 'npm' | 'yarn' | 'pnpm' | 'yarn2' = 'yarn';

Sets the package manager to use for this project.

Defaults to the package manager set with the CLI (ns package-manager set yarn), or npm if not set.

cli.pathsToClean

ts
pathsToClean?: string[];

Overrides the files or paths to clean when running the ns clean command.

cli.additionalPathsToClean

ts
additionalPathsToClean?: string[];

Additional files or paths to clean when running the ns clean command, the paths are appended to the default list of paths.

Android Configuration Reference

android.id

ts
android.id: string = 'com.mycompany.myapp.android';

Controls the Application ID of your Android app, this setting overrides the value set in id.

See also ios.id.

android.discardUncaughtJsExceptions

ts
android.discardUncaughtJsExceptions: boolean = true;

Discard any uncaught JS exceptions. This can be useful in production environments where you don't want your app to crash in case an unexpected JS exception is thrown.

android.v8Flags

ts
android.v8Flags: string = "--expose_gc --trace=true";

Flags passed to the v8 runtime. --expose_gc is required for the runtime to function properly.

For a list of available v8 flags see this Gist.

android.codeCache

ts
android.codeCache: boolean = true;

Enables the v8 code-cache.

android.gcThrottleTime

ts
android.gcThrottleTime: number = 20; // in ms

Trigger a gc periodically (in ms). Defaults to 0 (disabled).

android.markingMode

ts
android.markingMode: 'none' | 'full';

Sets the default gc marking mode, defaults to none.

Deprecated value

full has been deprecated and it's not recommended.

android.handleTimeZoneChanges

ts
android.handleTimeZoneChanges: boolean = true;

Notify the app when the timezone changes, defaults to false.

android.maxLogcatObjectSize

ts
android.maxLogcatObjectSize: number = 9999;

Sets the max length of a single output string. Defaults to 1024.

android.forceLog

ts
android.forceLog: boolean = true;

Enable logging in Release mode. Defaults to false.

android.memoryCheckInterval

ts
android.memoryCheckInterval: number; // in ms

Sets the frequency of the freeMemoryRatio check.

android.freeMemoryRatio

ts
android.freeMemoryRatio: number;

Percentage of memory (0.0 to 1.0) before it forces a GC. Defaults to 0 (disabled).

When set, it also requires memoryCheckInterval to be set.

android.enableLineBreakpoints

ts
android.enableLineBreakpoints: boolean;

Used for advanced debugging.

android.enableMultithreadedJavascript

ts
android.enableMultithreadedJavascript: boolean;

Enable the multithreaded JavaScript engine. Defaults to false.

iOS Configuration Reference

ios.id

ts
ios.id: string = 'com.mycompany.myapp.ios';

Controls the Bundle Identifier of your iOS app, this setting overrides the value set in id.

See also android.id.

ios.discardUncaughtJsExceptions

ts
ios.discardUncaughtJsExceptions: boolean = true;

Discard any uncaught JS exceptions. This can be useful in production environments where you don't want your app to crash in case an unexpected JS exception is thrown.

ios.SPMPackages

Experimental

SPM packages are available in [email protected] or newer and are experimental.

ts
ios.SPMPackages: Array<{
  name: string;
  libs: Array<string>;
  repositoryURL: string;
  version: string;
}>

Allows defining Swift Package Manager dependencies that should be installed into the project. Any dependencies listed here, similar to Cocoapods dependencies will be built with the project. This means you can generate typings for them via ns typings ios for TypeScript usage.

Example

ts
// ...
ios: {
  SPMPackages: [
    {
      name: 'swift-numerics',
      libs: ['Numerics'],
      repositoryURL: 'https://github.com/apple/swift-numerics.git',
      version: '1.0.0',
    },
  ]
}

Hooks Configuration Reference

ts
hooks: [
  {
    type: 'before-<hookName>' | 'after-<hookName>',
    script: './path/to/script.js',
  },
]

Allows defining project-persistent hooks.

Available hooks (prefix with before- or after-):

  • buildAndroidPlugin - Builds aar file for Android plugin, runs during prepareNativeApp
  • buildAndroid - Builds Android app
  • buildIOS - Builds iOS app
  • checkEnvironment - Validate project env, runs during ns doctor, ns clean, and most build commands
  • checkForChanges - Changes occurred during watch
  • install - Application installed to device/emulator
  • prepare - Compiles webpack and prepares native app in platforms folder
  • prepareNativeApp - Preparing the actual native app, runs during prepare/watch hook
  • resolveCommand - Resolves command and arguments, runs before all CLI commands
  • watch - Set up watchers for live sync, runs during prepare hook
  • watchPatterns - Set up watch patterns, runs during watch hook