# Configuration: project.json and nx.json There are two main types of configuration in every Nx workspace: [project configuration](#project-configuration) and [the global Nx CLI configuration](#cli-configuration). Projects can be configured in `package.json` (if you use npm scripts and not Nx executors) and `project.json` (if you use Nx executors). Both `package.json` and `project.json` files are located in each project's folder. Nx merges the two files to get each project's configuration. This guide covers the `project.json` case. {% callout type="note" title="Using Angular?" %} Angular developers can also configure projects in angular.json. [Read this guide for more information](/getting-started/nx-and-angular#angularjson). {% /callout %} ## Project Configuration The `project.json` file contains configuration specific to its project. This file is often created when you use Nx Plugins. It configures custom executors, which are used instead of npm scripts. Custom executors are typed, toolable and provide a lot more flexibility for running long-live processes. They are also more composable. If you're satisfied with npm scripts though, you will never see a `project.json` file in your workspace. But we encourage you to explore Nx Plugins and the power they bring. Let's look at the following `project.json`: ```json { "root": "libs/mylib/", "sourceRoot": "libs/mylib/src", "projectType": "library", "namedInputs": { "default": ["{projectRoot}/**/*"], "prod": ["!{projectRoot}/**/*.spec.tsx"] }, "targets": { "test": { "executor": "@nrwl/jest:jest", "inputs": ["default", "^prod"], "outputs": [], "dependsOn": ["build"], "options": { "jestConfig": "libs/mylib/jest.config.js", "tsConfig": "libs/mylib/tsconfig.spec.json" } }, "build": { "executor": "@nrwl/js:tsc", "inputs": ["prod", "^prod"], "outputs": ["dist/libs/mylib"], "dependsOn": ["^build"], "options": { "tsConfig": "libs/mylib/tsconfig.lib.json", "main": "libs/mylib/src/main.ts" }, "configurations": { "production": { "tsConfig": "libs/mylib/tsconfig-prod.lib.json" } } } }, "tags": ["scope:myteam"], "implicitDependencies": ["anotherlib"] } ``` - `root` tells Nx the location of the library including its sources and configuration files. - `sourceRoot` tells Nx the location of the library's source files. - `projectType` is either 'application' or 'library'. The project type is used in project graph viz and in a few aux commands. ### inputs & namedInputs The `inputs` array tells Nx what to consider to determine whether a particular invocation of a script should be a cache hit or not. There are three types of inputs: _Filesets_ Examples: - `{projectRoot}/**.*.ts` - same as `{fileset: "{projectRoot}/**/*.ts"}` - `{workspaceRoot}/jest.config.ts` - same as `{fileset: "{workspaceRoot}/jest.config.ts}` _Runtime Inputs_ Examples: - `{runtime: "node -v"}` Node the result value is hashed, so it is never displayed. _Env Variables_ Examples: - `{env: "MY_ENV_VAR"}` Node the result value is hashed, so it is never displayed. _Named Inputs_ Examples: - `inputs: ["prod"]` - same as `inputs: [{input: "prod", projects: "self"}]` Often the same glob will appear in many places (e.g., prod fileset will exclude spec files for all projects). Because keeping them in sync is error-prone, we recommend defining named inputs, which you can then reference in all of those places. #### Using ^ Examples: - `inputs: ["^prod"]` - same as `inputs: [{input: "prod", projects: "dependencies"}]` Similar to `dependsOn`, the "^" symbols means "dependencies". This is a very important idea, so let's illustrate it with an example. ``` "test": { "inputs": [ "default", "^prod" ] } ``` The configuration above means that the test target depends on all source files of a given project and only prod sources (non-test sources) of its dependencies. In other words, it treats test sources as private. ### Targets Let's look at a sample test target: ```json { "test": { "executor": "@nrwl/jest:jest", "outputs": [], "dependsOn": ["build"], "options": { "jestConfig": "libs/mylib/jest.config.js", "tsConfig": "libs/mylib/tsconfig.spec.json" } } } ``` **Target Name** The name of the target `test` means that you can invoke it as follows: `nx test mylib` or `nx run mylib:test`. The name isn't significant in any other way. If you rename it to, for example, `mytest`, you will be able to run as follows: `nx mytest mylib` or `nx run mylib:mytest`. **Executor** The `executor` property tells Nx what function to invoke when you run the target. `"@nrwl/jest:jest"` tells Nx to find the `@nrwl/jest` package, find the executor named `jest` and invoke it with the options. **Options** The `options` provides a map of values that will be passed to the executor. The provided command line args will be merged into this map. I.e., `nx test mylib --jestConfig=libs/mylib/another-jest.config.js` will pass the following to the executor: ```json { "jestConfig": "libs/mylib/another-jest.config.js", "tsConfig": "libs/mylib/tsconfig.spec.json" } ``` **Configurations** The `configurations` property provides extra sets of values that will be merged into the options map. ```json { "build": { "executor": "@nrwl/js:tsc", "outputs": ["dist/libs/mylib"], "dependsOn": ["^build"], "options": { "tsConfig": "libs/mylib/tsconfig.lib.json", "main": "libs/mylib/src/main.ts" }, "configurations": { "production": { "tsConfig": "libs/mylib/tsconfig-prod.lib.json" } } } } ``` You can select a configuration like this: `nx build mylib --configuration=production` or `nx run mylib:build:configuration=production`. The following code snippet shows how the executor options get constructed: ```javascript require(`@nrwl/jest`).executors['jest']({ ...options, ...selectedConfiguration, ...commandLineArgs, }); // Pseudocode ``` The selected configuration adds/overrides the default options, and the provided command line args add/override the configuration options. ### inputs & namedInputs The `inputs` array tells Nx what to consider to determine whether a particular invocation of a script should be a cache hit or not. There are three types of inputs: _Filesets_ Examples: - `{projectRoot}/**.*.ts` - same as `{fileset: "{projectRoot}/**/*.ts"}` - `{workspaceRoot}/jest.config.ts` - same as `{fileset: "{workspaceRoot}/jest.config.ts}` _Runtime Inputs_ Examples: - `{runtime: "node -v"}` Node the result value is hashed, so it is never displayed. _Env Variables_ Examples: - `{env: "MY_ENV_VAR"}` Node the result value is hashed, so it is never displayed. _Named Inputs_ Examples: - `inputs: ["prod"]` - same as `inputs: [{input: "prod", projects: "self"}]` Often the same glob will appear in many places (e.g., prod fileset will exclude spec files for all projects). Because keeping them in sync is error-prone, we recommend defining named inputs, which you can then reference in all of those places. #### Using ^ Examples: - `inputs: ["^prod"]` - same as `inputs: [{input: "prod", projects: "dependencies"}]` Similar to `dependsOn`, the "^" symbols means "dependencies". This is a very important idea, so let's illustrate it with an example. ``` "test": { "inputs": [ "default", "^prod" ] } ``` The configuration above means that the test target depends on all source files of a given project and only prod sources (non-test sources) of its dependencies. In other words, it treats test sources as private. ### Outputs Targets may define outputs to tell Nx where the target is going to create file artifacts that Nx should cache. `"outputs": ["dist/libs/mylib"]` tells Nx where the `build` target is going to create file artifacts. #### Basic Example Usually, a target writes to a specific directory or a file. The following instructs Nx to cache `dist/libs/mylib` and `build/libs/mylib/main.js`: ```json { "build": { ..., "outputs": ["dist/libs/mylib", "build/libs/mylib/main.js"], "options": { ... }, } } ``` #### Referencing Options Most commonly, targets have an option for an output file or directory. Rather than duplicating the information as seen above, options can be referenced using the below syntax: > When the `outputPath` option is changed, Nx will start caching the new path as well. ```json { "build": { ..., "outputs": ["{options.outputPath}"], "options": { "outputPath": "dist/libs/mylib" } } } ``` #### Specifying Globs Sometimes, multiple targets might write to the same directory. When possible it is recommended to direct these targets into separate directories. ```json { "build-js": { ..., "outputs": ["dist/libs/mylib/js"], "options": { "outputPath": "dist/libs/mylib/js" } }, "build-css": { ..., "outputs": ["dist/libs/mylib/css"], "options": { "outputPath": "dist/libs/mylib/css" } } } ``` But if the above is not possible, globs can be specified as outputs to only cache a set of files rather than the whole directory. ```json { "build-js": { ..., "outputs": ["dist/libs/mylib/**/*.js"], "options": { "outputPath": "dist/libs/mylib" } }, "build-css": { ..., "outputs": ["dist/libs/mylib/**/*.css"], "options": { "outputPath": "dist/libs/mylib" } } } ``` ### dependsOn Targets can depend on other targets. This is the relevant portion of the configuration file: ```json "build": { "dependsOn": ["^build"] }, "test": { "dependsOn": ["build"] } ``` A common scenario is having to build dependencies of a project first before building the project. This is what the `"dependsOn": ["^build"]` property of the `build` target configures. It tells Nx that before it can build `mylib` it needs to make sure that `mylib`'s dependencies are built as well. This doesn't mean Nx is going to rerun those builds. If the right artifacts are already in the right place, Nx will do nothing. If they aren't in the right place, but they are available in the cache, Nx will retrieve them from the cache. Another common scenario is for a target to depend on another target of the same project. For instance, `"dependsOn": ["build"]` of the `test` target tells Nx that before it can test `mylib` it needs to make sure that `mylib` is built, which will result in `mylib`'s dependencies being built as well. You can also express the same configuration using: ```json "build": { "dependsOn": [{ "projects": "dependencies", "target": "build" }] }, "test": { "dependsOn": [{ "projects": "self", "target": "build" }] } ``` With the expanded syntax, you also have a third option available to configure how to handle the params passed to the target. You can either forward them or you can ignore them (default). ```json "build": { // forward params passed to this target to the dependency targets "dependsOn": [{ "projects": "dependencies", "target": "build", "params": "forward" }] }, "test": { // ignore params passed to this target, won't be forwarded to the dependency targets "dependsOn": [{ "projects": "dependencies", "target": "build", "params": "ignore" }] } "lint": { // ignore params passed to this target, won't be forwarded to the dependency targets "dependsOn": [{ "projects": "dependencies", "target": "build" }] } ``` Obviously this also works when defining a relation for the target of the project itself using `"projects": "self"`: ```json "build": { // forward params passed to this target to the project target "dependsOn": [{ "projects": "self", "target": "pre-build", "params": "forward" }] } ``` This configuration is usually not needed. Nx comes with reasonable defaults (imported in `nx.json`) which implement the configuration above. ### tags You can annotate your projects with `tags` as follows: ```jsonc { "tags": ["scope:myteam"] } ``` You can [configure lint rules using these tags](/structure/monorepo-tags) to, for instance, ensure that libraries belonging to `myteam` are not depended on by libraries belong to `theirteam`. ### implicitDependencies Nx uses powerful source-code analysis to figure out your workspace's project graph. Some dependencies cannot be deduced statically, so you can set them manually like this: ```json { "root": "libs/mylib/", "sourceRoot": "libs/mylib/src", "projectType": "library", "targets": {}, "implicitDependencies": ["anotherlib"] } ``` You can also remove a dependency as follows: ```jsonc { "root": "libs/mylib/", "sourceRoot": "libs/mylib/src", "projectType": "library", "targets": {}, "implicitDependencies": ["!anotherlib"] # regardless of what Nx thinks, "mylib" doesn't depend on "anotherlib" } ``` ### workspace json The `workspace.json` file in the root directory is optional. It's used if you want to list the projects in your workspace explicitly instead of Nx scanning the file tree for all `project.json` and `package.json` files. ```json { "version": 2, "projects": { "myapp": "apps/myapp" } } ``` - `"version": 2` tells Nx that we are using Nx's format for the `workspace.json` file. - `projects` is a map of project names to their locations. You could inline `project.json` files into `workspace.json`. This used to be the default, but it's no longer recommended. If you have an existing workspace where the configuration is inlined, run `nx g convert-to-nx-project --all`. If you have an old workspace where the configuration version is set to 1, change the version number to 2 and run `nx format`. ## CLI Configuration The `nx.json` file configures the Nx CLI and project defaults. The following is an expanded version showing all options. Your `nx.json` will likely be much shorter. ```json { "npmScope": "happyorg", "affected": { "defaultBase": "main" }, "workspaceLayout": { "appsDir": "demos", "libsDir": "packages" }, "implicitDependencies": { "workspace.json": "*", "package.json": { "dependencies": "*", "devDependencies": "*" }, "tsconfig.base.json": "*", "nx.json": "*" }, "namedInputs": { "default": ["{projectRoot}/**/*"], "prod": ["!{projectRoot}/**/*.spec.tsx"] }, "targetDefaults": { "build": { "inputs": ["prod", "^prod"], "dependsOn": ["^build"] } }, "cli": { "defaultCollection": "@nrwl/js" }, "generators": { "@nrwl/js:library": { "buildable": true } }, "tasksRunnerOptions": { "default": { "runner": "nx/tasks-runners/default", "options": { "cacheableOperations": ["build", "lint", "test", "e2e"] } } } } ``` ### NPM Scope Tells Nx what prefix to use when generating library imports. ### Affected Tells Nx which branch and HEAD to use when calculating affected projects. - `defaultBase` defines the default base branch, defaulted to `main`. ### Workspace Layout You can add a `workspaceLayout` property to modify where libraries and apps are located. ```json { "workspaceLayout": { "appsDir": "demos", "libsDir": "packages" } } ``` These settings would store apps in `/demos/` and libraries in `/packages/`. The paths specified are relative to the workspace root. ### Files & Implicit Dependencies Nx performs advanced source-code analysis to figure out the project graph of the workspace. So when you make a change, Nx can deduce what can be broken by this change. Some dependencies between projects and shared files cannot be inferred statically. You can configure those using `implicitDependencies`. ```json { "implicitDependencies": { "workspace.json": "*", "package.json": { "dependencies": "*", "devDependencies": { "mypackage": ["mylib"] }, "scripts": { "check:*": "*" } }, "globalFile": ["myapp"], "styles/**/*.css": ["myapp"] } } ``` In the example above: - Changing `workspace.json` affects every project. - Changing the `dependencies` property in `package.json` affects every project. - Changing the `mypackage` property in `package.json` only affects `mylib`. - Changing any of the custom check `scripts` in `package.json` affects every project. - Changing `globalFile` only affects `myapp`. - Changing any CSS file inside the `styles` directory only affects `myapp`. ### inputs & namedInputs Named inputs defined in `nx.json` are merged with the named inputs defined in each project's project.json. In other words, every project has a set of named inputs, and it's defined as: `{...namedInputsFromNxJson, ...namedInputsFromProjectsProjectJson}`. Defining `inputs` for a given target would replace the set of inputs for that target name defined in `nx.json`. Using pseudocode `inputs = projectJson.targets.build.inputs || nxJson.targetDefaults.build.inputs`. You can also define and redefine named inputs. This enables one key use case, where your `nx.json` can define things like this (which applies to every project): ``` "test": { "inputs": [ "default", "^prod" ] } ``` And projects can define their prod fileset, without having to redefine the inputs for the `test` target. ```json title="project.json" { "namedInputs": { "prod": ["!{projectRoot}/**/*.test.js", "{workspacRoot}/jest.config.js"] } } ``` In this case Nx will use the right `prod` input for each project. ### Target Defaults Targets can depend on other targets. A common scenario is having to build dependencies of a project first before building the project. The `dependsOn` property in `project.json` can be used to define the list of dependencies of an individual target. Often the same `dependsOn` configuration has to be defined for every project in the repo, and that's when defining `targetDefaults` in `nx.json` is helpful. ```json { "targetDefaults": { "build": { "dependsOn": ["^build"] } } } ``` The configuration above is identical to adding `{"dependsOn": ["^build"]}` to every build target of every project. Another target default you can configure is `outputs`: ```json { "targetDefaults": { "build": { "outputs": ["./custom-dist"] } } } ``` ### CLI Options The following command generates a new library: `nx g @nrwl/js:lib mylib`. After setting the `defaultCollection`property, the lib is generated without mentioning the collection name: `nx g lib mylib`. ```json { "cli": { "defaultCollection": "@nrwl/js" } } ``` ### Generators Default generator options are configured in `nx.json` as well. For instance, the following tells Nx to always pass `--buildable=true` when creating new libraries. ```json { "generators": { "@nrwl/js:library": { "buildable": true } } } ``` ### Tasks Runner Options > A task is an invocation of a target. Tasks runners are invoked when you run `nx test`, `nx build`, `nx run-many`, `nx affected`, and so on. The tasks runner named "default" is used by default. Specify a different one like this `nx run-many --target=build --all --runner=another`. Tasks runners can accept different options. The following are the options supported by `"nx/tasks-runners/default"` and `"@nrwl/nx-cloud"`. | Property | Descrtipion | | ----------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | cacheableOperations | defines the list of targets/operations that are cached by Nx | | parallel | defines the max number of targets ran in parallel (in older versions of Nx you had to pass `--parallel --maxParallel=3` instead of `--parallel=3`) | | captureStderr | defines whether the cache captures stderr or just stdout | | skipNxCache | defines whether the Nx Cache should be skipped (defaults to `false`) | | cacheDirectory | defines where the local cache is stored (defaults to `node_modules/.cache/nx`) | | encryptionKey | (when using `"@nrwl/nx-cloud"` only) defines an encryption key to support end-to-end encryption of your cloud cache. You may also provide an environment variable with the key `NX_CLOUD_ENCRYPTION_KEY` that contains an encryption key as its value. The Nx Cloud task runner normalizes the key length, so any length of key is acceptable | | runtimeCacheInputs | defines the list of commands that are run by the runner to include into the computation hash value | | selectivelyHashTsConfig | only hash the path mapping of the active project in the `tsconfig.base.json` (e.g., adding/removing projects doesn't affect the hash of existing projects) (defaults to `false`) | `runtimeCacheInputs` are set as follows: ```json { "tasksRunnerOptions": { "default": { "runner": "nx/tasks-runners/default", "options": { "cacheableOperations": ["build", "lint", "test", "e2e"], "runtimeCacheInputs": ["node -v"] } } } } ``` You can configure `parallel` in `nx.json`, but you can also pass them in the terminal `nx run-many --target=test --parallel=5`. ## .nxignore You may optionally add an `.nxignore` file to the root. This file is used to specify files in your workspace that should be completely ignored by Nx. The syntax is the same as a [`.gitignore` file](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Basics-Recording-Changes-to-the-Repository#_ignoring). **When a file is specified in the `.nxignore` file:** 1. Changes to that file are not taken into account in the `affected` calculations. 2. Even if the file is outside an app or library, `nx workspace-lint` won't warn about it. ## Validating the configuration If at any point in time you want to check if your configuration is in sync, you can use the [workspace-lint](/nx/workspace-lint) executor: ```bash nx workspace-lint ``` This will identify any projects with no files in the configured project root folder, as well as any file that's not part of any project configured in the workspace.