Configuration: A Glossary

A guide to the configuration files for projects: where they live and what they do.

The root folder

.editorconfig: Sets the default configuration for certain files across editors. (e.g. indentation)
.gitattributes: Normalizes how git, the version control system this boilerplate uses, handles certain files.
.gitignore: Tells git to ignore certain files and folders which don't need to be version controlled, like the build folder.
.travis.yml and appveyor.yml: Continuous Integration configuration
This boilerplate uses Travis CI for Linux environments and AppVeyor for Windows platforms, but feel free to swap either out for your own choice of CI.
package.json: Our npm configuration file has three functions:
1. It's where Babel and ESLint are configured
2. It's the API for the project: a consistent interface for all its controls
3. It lists the project's package dependencies
Baking the config in is a slightly unusual set-up, but it allows us to keep the project root as uncluttered and grokkable-at-a-glance as possible.