SvelteKit $lib Import Aliases | Rodney Lab

SvelteKit $lib Import Aliases #

📚 SvelteKit $lib #

SvelteKit code often includes the SvelteKit $lib import alias. If you are new to SvelteKit, you might have seen this and wondered what it does. In the video, you will see SvelteKit $lib is nothing more that an alias for the src/lib folder. Typically you will add a components folder in here as well as folders for other code which you want to share between pages and endpoints. You might also have asked yourself where $lib is defined within the SvelteKit config files as well as how you can create your own custom aliases. In this short video we tackle all of that as well as look at a quick example.

If that’s what you wanted to know then hit play on the video! After that, don’t forget to check links below. You will also find a handy code snippet, below, referenced in the video. Drop a comment below or reach for a chat on Element  as well as Twitter @mention  if you have suggestions for improvements or questions.

📹 SvelteKit $lib: Video #

SvelteKit $lib Import Aliases

🖥 SvelteKit $lib: Code #

Defining your own aliases in jsconfig.json / tsconfig.json #

Here we define a custom $tests alias which maps to the tests directory:

🔗 SvelteKit $lib: Links #

🏁 SvelteKit $lib: Summary #

What is $lib in SvelteKit all about? #

In SvelteKit typically you place code which is shared by multiple pages in a src/lib directory. You might include Svelte components as well as utility functions here. $lib is just an alias for src/lib. In fact, in the config it is defined as an absolute path. When importing code from src/lib, instead of a relative path, you can use $lib. The advantage here is that code looks cleaner when importing from a deeply nested folder. On top it saves you having to count the number of '../' patterns in your path is correct after refactoring. In fact you can just copy a $lib import statement to any other file and have it just work!

Where is the $lib alias defined in SvelteKit config? #

$lib is defined in the tsconfig.json paths object. This is included by default at .svelte-kit/tsconfig.json file. It is included in default config even if you are not using TypeScript.

How can you define your own custom import aliases like $lib in SvelteKit? #

You can edit the jsconfig.json file in the root folder of your project to add your own, custom, import aliases. We have seen you need to edit tsconfig.json instead if you are working in TypeScript. Either way, just define the baseUrl as "." and then add a paths object which defines the paths your aliases reference. Once defined, VSCode will recognise these aliases.

🙏🏽 Feedback #

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