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Angular CLI: The Definitive Guide

Angular CLI: The Definitive Guide

The Angular Command Line Interface (CLI) is a powerful tool that facilitates the development of Angular applications. From setting up a new project to generating code scaffolds and building optimized production bundles, the Angular CLI streamlines many tasks for developers.

1. What is Angular CLI?

The Angular CLI is a command-line tool that helps developers initialize, develop, scaffold, and maintain Angular applications. It provides commands to create applications, components, services, and other building blocks.

2. Setting up Angular CLI:

To install Angular CLI globally, use npm:

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npm install -g @angular/cli

3. Creating a New Angular Application:

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ng new my-app

This command sets up a new Angular application with a recommended project structure and essential configuration.

4. Generating Code Scaffolds:

The CLI can generate various blueprints:

  • Component: ng generate component my-component
  • Service: ng generate service my-service
  • Module: ng generate module my-module
  • And many more (e.g., directives, pipes, guards)

5. Serving the Application:

You can start a local development server with:

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ng serve

By default, the app will be accessible at http://localhost:4200/.

6. Building for Production:

For optimized and minified production builds:

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ng build --prod

7. Testing:

Angular CLI comes with a testing setup out of the box:

  • Unit Tests: ng test
  • End-to-end Tests: ng e2e

8. Angular.json:

angular.json is the CLI configuration file. It allows developers to customize build and project configuration settings.

9. Adding Support for Features:

The CLI provides easy integration of Angular features:

  • Add Angular Material: ng add @angular/material
  • Add Progressive Web App (PWA) capabilities: ng add @angular/pwa

10. Updating Angular:

The CLI assists with updating Angular and its dependencies:

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ng update

Specific packages can be updated using:

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ng update @angular/core @angular/cli

11. Other Notable Features:

  • Linting: ng lint
  • Internationalization (i18n): Tools to localize your app.
  • Schematics: A workflow tool for applying transforms to your project.

Conclusion:

The Angular CLI is an indispensable tool for Angular developers. It abstracts away complex configurations and provides a streamlined workflow, enabling developers to focus on writing code. Familiarity with its capabilities significantly boosts productivity in Angular development.

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