Custom Build folder for React

In this article, we will learn how to change the Build path of a React application. Here I'm using a shell script for moving the contents inside the build folder to another location.

1. Create a {file-name}.sh file inside the root directory of your react app.

2. Open to your package.json file.

3. Just beneath the build script, add a new one called "postbuild" with a value "./{file-name}.sh".

if you are using Windows, use bash before executing the script.

This shell script is executed right after the build process, and the actual magic happens inside the shell script.

#If the folder exists, remove it first, then copy the files
if [ -d "./../server/public/${APP_NAME}/" ]; then

    rm -rv ./../server/public/${APP_NAME}/*
    mv -v build/* ./../server/public/${APP_NAME}/

#Else make a new folder and then move the files.
else
    mkdir -p ./../server/public/${APP_NAME}
    mv -v build/* ./../server/public/${APP_NAME}/
fi

In my case, I just wanted to move the build folder contents to my server folder.
Before moving the content inside the build folder, I checked whether the output folder was already exiting. If there is a folder, I want to clean it first and move the contents.

This script can be customized to your need. Just go through some simple shell-script tutorials. Here what is helping us is the 'postbuild' script that will be automatically executed after the build command.

Happy Coding 🥳