Formkit

Description

auro-formkit is a collection of web components that can be used to build forms.

It is a monorepo that contains the following components:

• @auro-formkit/auro-checkbox
• @auro-formkit/auro-combobox
• @auro-formkit/auro-counter
• @auro-formkit/auro-datepicker
• @auro-formkit/auro-dropdown
• @auro-formkit/auro-form
• @auro-formkit/auro-input
• @auro-formkit/auro-menu
• @auro-formkit/auro-radio
• @auro-formkit/auro-select

Install

$ npm i @auro-formkit/-formkit/-formkit/build-tools

Installing as a direct, dev or peer dependency is up to the user installing the package. If you are unsure as to what type of dependency you should use, consider reading this stack overflow answer.

Development

Filtering

Running the dev command will open a localhost development server for all components in the monorepo at once.

To only develop a single component, use the --filter flag:

turbo dev --filter=@auro-formkit/auro-input

Start development environment

Local Development

Testing

npm run test

Port configuration

Turbo will attempt to test components in parallel which will lead to port conflicts.

Setting the concurrency to 1 will prevent Turbo from running tests in parallel:

"test": "turbo run test --concurrency=1",

turbo.jsondoes not support --concurrency yet. See this issue.

Turborepo Overview

This monorepo is managed using Turborepo.

Managing dependencies

Best practices for dependency installation

When you install a dependency in a component or package in auro-formkit, you should install it directly in the package that uses it.

The package's package.json will have every dependency that it needs. This is true for both external and internal dependencies.

Types of Dependencies by Source

External Dependencies

• These are packages fetched from the npm registry (e.g., Lit, Rollup, Sass)
• Declared in package.json using exact versions or version ranges
• Installed in node_modules during npm install or yarn install

Internal Dependencies

• These are packages from within the auro-formkit monorepo
• Allow sharing code between different packages in your repository
• Example: The @auro-formkit/combobox package might depend on @auro-formkit/input
• Must be declared in package.json just like external dependencies
• Use workspace protocols (e.g., "workspace:*" or "workspace:^1.0.0")

Types of Dependencies by Purpose

Dependencies (dependencies)

• Required for the package to function in production
• Example:

  {
    "dependencies": {
      "lit.js": "^3.0.0",                    // External dependency
      "@auro-formkit/input": "workspace:*"  // Internal dependency
    }
  }

Peer Dependencies (peerDependencies)

• Packages that your library expects the consuming application to provide
• Common for plugins or UI component libraries
• Example:

  {
    "peerDependencies": {
      "react": "^16.8.0 || ^17.0.0 || ^18.0.0",
      "react-dom": "^16.8.0 || ^17.0.0 || ^18.0.0"
    }
  }

Development Dependencies (devDependencies)

• Only needed during development, testing, or building
• Not included in the production bundle
• Example:

  {
    "devDependencies": {
      "typescript": "^5.0.0",
      "@open-wc/testing": "^4.0.0"  // Internal dev dependency
    }
  }

Example: Component Dependencies

Let's use @auro-formki/combobox as an example to illustrate these concepts:

{
  "name": "@auro-formkit/combobox",
  "dependencies": {
    // Internal dependencies
    "@auro-formkit/auro-dropdown": "*",     // Required UI component
    "@auro-formkit/auro-input": "*",        // Required UI component

    // External dependencies
    "@alaskaairux/icons": "^4.44.1",  // Required UI component
    "lit": "^3.2.1"                   // Framework
  },
  "peerDependencies": {
    "@aurodesignsystem/design-tokens": "^4.12.1",
    "@aurodesignsystem/webcorestylesheets": "^5.1.2"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    // Build utilities
    "rollup": "^4.24.4",
    "@auro-formkit/build-tools": "*",
  }
}

This structure ensures that:

1. The package explicitly declares all its dependencies
2. Internal dependencies are properly tracked and versioned
3. Development tools are separated from production dependencies
4. Peer dependencies are clearly communicated to consumers

• External dependencies come from the npm registry.

• Internal dependencies let you share functionality within your repository.

This practice has several benefits:

• Improved clarity: It's easier to understand what a package depends on when its dependencies are listed in its package.json. Developers working in the repository can see at a glance what dependencies are used within the package.

• Enhanced flexibility: In a monorepo at scale, it can be unrealistic to expect each package to use the same version of an external dependency.

• Better caching ability: If you install too many dependencies in the root of your repository, you'll be changing the workspace root whenever you add, update, or delete a dependency, leading to unnecessary cache misses.

• Pruning unused dependencies: When dependencies are installed in the packages that they are meant for, Turborepo can read your lockfile and remove dependencies that aren't used in the packages you need.

For more information, see the Turborepo docs.

Root package.json

The only dependencies that belong in the root package.json are tools for managing the repository.

Some examples of dependencies that make sense to install in the root are turbo, husky, or stylelint.

Conversely, dependencies Auro components rely on should be installed in their respective packages, such as Lit, Rollup, or other auro-formkit dependencies.