🧱 Simple JS Library Builder

Author: Ram Jam
GitHub: https://github.com/ramjam97/simple-js-lib-builder
Version: 1.0.0

A lightweight and reusable Node.js project template for building JavaScript libraries. It automatically generates distributable files (index.js, index.min.js, and documentation) and manages version folders based on your package.json configuration.

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🚀 Features

• 🛠️ Simple structure for developing vanilla JS libraries
• ⚡ Auto-builds and minifies your library using Terser
• 🧾 Auto-generates banner metadata (name, version, author, GitHub, description, and timestamp)
• 🗂️ Automatically creates versioned backups in /versions/<version>
• 📦 Generates a clean /dist folder containing the latest build
• ✅ Works seamlessly with ES Modules

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📁 Project Structure

simple-js-lib-builder/
├── build.js          # The main builder script
├── package.json      # Library metadata and build configuration
├── src/
│   ├── index.js      # Your main source code (editable)
│   └── README.md     # Your library documentation (editable)
├── dist/             # Generated on build — contains the latest build
├── versions/         # Automatically created — stores historical versions
└── node_modules/     # Installed dependencies

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⚙️ Getting Started

1. 🧩 Clone the Builder

git clone https://github.com/ramjam97/simple-js-lib-builder.git
cd simple-js-lib-builder

2. 📦 Install Dependencies

npm install

This installs Terser, which is used for code minification.

3. 🧠 Develop Your Library

Edit your main source file at:

src/index.js

and update the documentation at:

src/README.md

You can use ES Modules syntax since the project is configured with "type": "module" in package.json.

4. 🧰 Update Metadata

Open your package.json and modify these fields to match your library:

{
  "name": "Library Name",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Short description of your library",
  "author": "Your Name",
  "git": "https://github.com/yourusername/your-repo",
}

5. 🏗️ Build Your Library

Run the build command:

npm run build

This will automatically:

• Create /dist and /versions/<version> folders
• Generate:
  • index.js
  • index.min.js
  • README.md
• Add version banner headers
• Copy your documentation

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📤 Output Summary

After building, your project will look like this:

dist/
├── index.js          # Non-minified build
├── index.min.js      # Minified build
└── README.md         # Library documentation

versions/
└── 1.0.0/
    ├── index.js
    ├── index.min.js
    └── README.md

Each build is timestamped and stored under /versions/<version> for easy version tracking.

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🧾 Example Banner

Each generated JS file will begin with:

/*!
 * Library Name v1.0.0
 * Description: Short description of your library
 * Author: Your Name
 * GitHub: https://github.com/yourusername/your-repo
 * License: ISC
 * Build Date: 2025-10-04 18:00:00 (Asia/Manila)
*/

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📌 Tips for Reuse

To use this builder for a new library project:

1. Clone the builder repository:

git clone https://github.com/ramjam97/simple-js-lib-builder.git my-new-library
cd my-new-library

2. Update package.json info (name, version, description, etc.)

3. Write your new code in src/index.js

4. Write your new documentation in src/README.md

5. Run:

npm run build

6. Your distributable files will appear in /dist.

📘 Example Workflow

# Step 1: Clone builder
git clone https://github.com/ramjam97/simple-js-lib-builder.git my-lib
cd my-lib

# Step 2: Install dependencies
npm install

# Step 3: Update package.json and edit src/index.js

# Step 4: Build
npm run build

# Step 5: Check output
ls dist
# => index.js, index.min.js, README.md

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🧩 Dependencies

Package	Purpose
terser	Minify JS files for production

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💡 Bonus Tip: Host Your Library on jsDelivr CDN

Once your library is published on GitHub, you can serve it instantly through jsDelivr CDN — no npm publish or extra configuration required!

This allows developers (and you) to include your library directly in any web project using a simple <script> tag.

🌐 How to Deploy to jsDelivr

Follow these steps after building and committing your latest version:

1. Push your latest code to GitHub

git push origin master

2. Tag your version release

Make sure the tag matches your library’s version in package.json (for example v3.0.0):

git tag v3.0.0

3. Push the tag to GitHub

git push origin v3.0.0

4. Wait about a minute ⏱️

jsDelivr automatically scans GitHub repositories for new tags and hosts your files.

4. Access your CDN link

Once processed, your library will be available using this URL pattern:

https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/<username>/<repository>@<version>/dist/index.min.js

Example (RamStateJs v3.0.0):

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/ramjam97/ram-state-js@v3.0.0/dist/ram-state.min.js"></script>

🧠 How It Works

When you push a Git tag like v3.0.0, jsDelivr:

• Detects the new tag in your public GitHub repo
• Caches the versioned files under that tag
• Makes them globally available through a CDN URL

This means every version you tag (v3.0.1, v3.1.0, etc.) gets its own CDN link that never changes or breaks.

✅ Example Integration

Once hosted, anyone can include your library via CDN:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>Using RamStateJs</title>
  <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/ramjam97/ram-state-js@v3.0.0/dist/ram-state.min.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
  <script>
    console.log('RamStateJs loaded successfully!');
  </script>
</body>
</html>

💡 Tip:
Always tag stable versions (like v1.0.0, v2.1.0, etc.) after running npm run build.
This ensures the /dist folder in that tag contains your latest, production-ready build.

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🧑‍💻 Author

Ram Jam
📍 Philippines
🔗 GitHub: ramjam97

📜 License

This project is licensed under the ISC License — free to use and modify.