WebStorm 2016.3 Help

Minifying JavaScript

The term minification or compression in the context of JavaScript means removing all unnecessary characters, such as spaces, new lines, comments without affecting the functionality of the source code.

These characters facilitate working with the code at the development and debugging stage by improving the code readability. However at the production stage these characters become extraneous: being insignificant for code execution, they increase the size of code to be transferred. Therefore it is considered good practice to remove them before deployment.

WebStorm supports integration with the following JavaScript minification tools:

In WebStorm, minifier configurations are called File Watchers. For each supported minifier, WebStorm provides a predefined File Watcher template. Predefined File Watcher templates are available at the WebStorm level. To run a minifier against your project files, you need to create a project-specific File Watcher based on the relevant template, at least, specify the path to the minifier to use on your machine.

On this page:

Installing and configuring the Closure Compiler minification tool

  1. Download and install the Node.js runtime environment because the JavaScript minifier is started through Node.js.
  2. Make sure the Node.js plugin is enabled. The plugin is bundled with WebStorm and activated by default. If the plugin is not activated, enable it on the Plugins page of the Settings / Preferences Dialog as described in Enabling and Disabling Plugins.
  3. Make sure the File Watchers plugin is enabled. The plugin is bundled with WebStorm and activated by default. If it is not, enable the plugin. See Enabling and Disabling Plugins for details.
  4. Download the compiled tool at http://dl.google.com/closure-compiler/compiler-latest.zip.
  5. Extract the archive to the folder under the Node.js. This ensures that Node.js, which is required for starting the tool, will be specified in the path to it.

Installing and configuring the YUI Compressor JS or UglifyJS minification tool

  1. Download and install Node.js. The runtime environment is required for two reasons:
    • The JavaScript minifier is started through Node.js.
    • NPM, which is a part of the runtime environment, is also the easiest way to download the JavaScript minifier.

    If you are going to use the command line mode, make sure the path to the parent folder of the Node.js executable file and the path to the npm folder are added to the PATH variable. This enables you to launch the JavaScript minifier and npm from any folder.

  2. Make sure the Node.js plugin is enabled. The plugin is bundled with WebStorm and activated by default. If the plugin is not activated, enable it on the Plugins page of the Settings / Preferences Dialog as described in Enabling and Disabling Plugins.
  3. Make sure the File Watchers plugin is enabled. The plugin is bundled with WebStorm and activated by default. If it is not, enable the plugin. See Enabling and Disabling Plugins for details.
  4. Download and install the JavaScript minification tool. The easiest way is to use the Node Package Manager (npm), which is a part of Node.js.
    1. Switch to the directory where the Node Package Manager (npm) is stored or define a path variable for it so it is available from any folder.
    2. Depending on the tool you want to use, type one of the following commands at the command line prompt:
      • To have the YUI Compressor JS installed, type:
        npm install yuicompressor
      • To have the UglifyJS installed, type:
        npm install uglify-js

    If you use the Node Package Manager (npm), the tools are installed under Node.js so Node.js, which is required for starting the tool, will be specified in the path to it.

Creating a file watcher

WebStorm provides a common procedure and user interface for creating File Watchers of all types. The only difference is in the predefined templates you choose in each case.

  1. To start creating a File Watcher, open the Settings/Preferences dialog box by choosing File | Settings for Windows and Linux or WebStorm | Preferences for OS X on the main menu, and then click File Watchers under the Tools node. The File Watchers page that opens, shows the list of File Watchers that are already configured in the project.
  2. Click the Add button new.png or press Alt+Insert. Depending on the tool you are going to use, choose the appropriate predefined template from the pop-up list:
    • Closure Compiler
    • UglifyJS
    • YUI Compressor JS
  3. In the Program text box, specify the path to the compiler executable file or archive depending on the chosen predefined template:
    • compiler.jar for Closure Compiler
    • yuicompressor-<version>.jar for YUI Compressor JS
    • uglifyjs.cmd for UglifyJS
    If you installed the tool through the Node Package Manager, WebStorm locates the required file itself and fills in the field automatically. Otherwise, type the path manually or click the Browse button browseButton.png and choose the file location in the dialog box that opens.
  4. Proceed as described on page Using File Watchers.

Minifying the code

When a Minification File Watcher is enabled (see Enabling and disabling File Watchers), minification starts automatically as soon as a file to which transpilation is applicable is changed or saved, see Configuring the behaviour of the File Watcher.

WebStorm creates a separate file with the generated output. The file has the name of the source JavaScript file and the extension min.js. The location of the generated file is defined in the Output paths to refresh text box of the New Watcher dialog. However, in the Project Tree, it is shown under the source JavaScript file which is now displayed as a node.

See Also

Last modified: 22 March 2017