144 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
144 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
# PostCSS Runner Guidelines
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A PostCSS runner is a tool that processes CSS through a user-defined list
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of plugins; for example, [`postcss-cli`] or [`gulp‑postcss`].
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These rules are mandatory for any such runners.
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For single-plugin tools, like [`gulp-autoprefixer`],
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these rules are not mandatory but are highly recommended.
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See also [ClojureWerkz’s recommendations] for open source projects.
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[ClojureWerkz’s recommendations]: http://blog.clojurewerkz.org/blog/2013/04/20/how-to-make-your-open-source-project-really-awesome/
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[`gulp-autoprefixer`]: https://github.com/sindresorhus/gulp-autoprefixer
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[`gulp‑postcss`]: https://github.com/w0rm/gulp-postcss
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[`postcss-cli`]: https://github.com/postcss/postcss-cli
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## 1. API
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### 1.1. Accept functions in plugin parameters
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If your runner uses a config file, it must be written in JavaScript, so that
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it can support plugins which accept a function, such as [`postcss-assets`]:
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```js
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module.exports = [
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require('postcss-assets')({
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cachebuster: function (file) {
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return fs.statSync(file).mtime.getTime().toString(16);
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}
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})
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];
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```
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[`postcss-assets`]: https://github.com/borodean/postcss-assets
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## 2. Processing
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### 2.1. Set `from` and `to` processing options
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To ensure that PostCSS generates source maps and displays better syntax errors,
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runners must specify the `from` and `to` options. If your runner does not handle
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writing to disk (for example, a gulp transform), you should set both options
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to point to the same file:
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```js
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processor.process({ from: file.path, to: file.path });
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```
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### 2.2. Use only the asynchronous API
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PostCSS runners must use only the asynchronous API.
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The synchronous API is provided only for debugging, is slower,
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and can’t work with asynchronous plugins.
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```js
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processor.process(opts).then(function (result) {
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// processing is finished
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});
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```
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### 2.3. Use only the public PostCSS API
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PostCSS runners must not rely on undocumented properties or methods,
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which may be subject to change in any minor release. The public API
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is described in [API docs].
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[API docs]: http://api.postcss.org/
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## 3. Output
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### 3.1. Don’t show JS stack for `CssSyntaxError`
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PostCSS runners must not show a stack trace for CSS syntax errors,
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as the runner can be used by developers who are not familiar with JavaScript.
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Instead, handle such errors gracefully:
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```js
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processor.process(opts).catch(function (error) {
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if ( error.name === 'CssSyntaxError' ) {
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process.stderr.write(error.message + error.showSourceCode());
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} else {
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throw error;
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}
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});
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```
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### 3.2. Display `result.warnings()`
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PostCSS runners must output warnings from `result.warnings()`:
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```js
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result.warnings().forEach(function (warn) {
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process.stderr.write(warn.toString());
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});
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```
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See also [postcss-log-warnings] and [postcss-messages] plugins.
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[postcss-log-warnings]: https://github.com/davidtheclark/postcss-log-warnings
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[postcss-messages]: https://github.com/postcss/postcss-messages
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### 3.3. Allow the user to write source maps to different files
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PostCSS by default will inline source maps in the generated file; however,
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PostCSS runners must provide an option to save the source map in a different
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file:
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```js
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if ( result.map ) {
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fs.writeFile(opts.to + '.map', result.map.toString());
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}
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```
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## 4. Documentation
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### 4.1. Document your runner in English
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PostCSS runners must have their `README.md` written in English. Do not be afraid
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of your English skills, as the open source community will fix your errors.
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Of course, you are welcome to write documentation in other languages;
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just name them appropriately (e.g. `README.ja.md`).
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### 4.2. Maintain a changelog
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PostCSS runners must describe changes of all releases in a separate file,
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such as `ChangeLog.md`, `History.md`, or with [GitHub Releases].
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Visit [Keep A Changelog] for more information on how to write one of these.
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Of course you should use [SemVer].
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[Keep A Changelog]: http://keepachangelog.com/
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[GitHub Releases]: https://help.github.com/articles/creating-releases/
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[SemVer]: http://semver.org/
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### 4.3. `postcss-runner` keyword in `package.json`
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PostCSS runners written for npm must have the `postcss-runner` keyword
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in their `package.json`. This special keyword will be useful for feedback about
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the PostCSS ecosystem.
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For packages not published to npm, this is not mandatory, but recommended
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if the package format is allowed to contain keywords.
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