In an Angular project, "tsconfig.api-extractor.json" is a configuration file used to configure the API Extractor tool. API Extractor is a tool for generating and managing API documentation for TypeScript libraries. It extracts public API from TypeScript code and generates clear documentation so that developers can better understand how the library is used, functions, classes, interfaces, etc.
The "tsconfig.api-extractor.json" file is a configuration file used to guide the workflow and behavior of API Extractor. It defines the source code location for generating API documentation, the output directory, file filtering rules, lists of included and excluded files, and other related options.
This configuration file is usually located in the root directory of the project and is saved with the name "tsconfig.api-extractor.json". In Angular projects, it usually exists alongside other TypeScript configuration files (such as "tsconfig.json").
Here is an example "tsconfig.api-extractor.json" configuration file content:
{
"$schema": "https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/api-extractor/v7/api-extractor.schema.json",
"mainEntryPointFilePath": "<path_to_entry_point_file>",
"dtsRollup": {
"enabled": true,
"publicTrimmedFilePath": "<path_to_public_trimmed_file>",
"betaTrimmedFilePath": "<path_to_beta_trimmed_file>",
"alphaTrimmedFilePath": "<path_to_alpha_trimmed_file>"
},
"apiReport": {
"enabled": true,
"reportFileName": "<api_report_filename>"
},
"docModel": {
"enabled": true
},
"docModelJson": {
"enabled": true,
"outputFolder": "<output_folder_path>"
},
"compiler": {
"configType": "tsconfig",
"rootFolder": ".",
"overrideTsconfig": {
"extends": "./tsconfig.json",
"compilerOptions": {
"outDir": "./dist"
}
}
}
}
In the above configuration file, you can see the following important configuration options:
- "mainEntryPointFilePath": Specifies the entry file path of the library, from which the API Extractor will start extracting the API.
- "dtsRollup": Configure the path and options for the generated API file.
- "apiReport": Configure whether to generate an API report and the name of the report file.
- "docModel" and "docModelJson": Configure whether to enable the generation of API document models and corresponding output folder paths.
- "compiler": Configuration related to the TypeScript compiler, specifying compiler options and paths.
By configuring the "tsconfig.api-extractor.json" file, developers can customize the behavior of the API Extractor tool according to project requirements, and generate clear API documents for developers to use and refer to.
Note that "tsconfig.api-extractor.json" is an API Extractor-specific configuration file in an Angular project that is used to generate API documentation. At the same time, there are other TypeScript configuration files (such as "tsconfig.json") that control the behavior of the TypeScript compiler.