In today's development landscape, creating a micro frontend architecture has become a popular approach for building scalable and modular applications. Nx Workspace offers a robust platform for implementing such architectures efficiently. In this tutorial, we'll walk through the process of setting up a micro frontend architecture using Nx Workspace, creating host and remote applications, and sharing code between them.
Link for Final Implementation
The final implementation of the micro frontend architecture can be found in the following repository commits:
- Micro Front end Setup
- Update remote URL for 'info' module for production on Netlify
- Add redirect rule to netlify.toml and Cors error on Netlify
Live Demo: Micro Frontend Architecture
Introduction
This tutorial will guide you through the process of creating a micro frontend architecture using Nx Workspace. We will create a host and remote application using Nx Workspace, and use packages for sharing code between applications. By the end of this tutorial, you will have a solid understanding of how to create a micro frontend architecture.
Prerequisites
Before we begin, make sure you have the following:
- Base Repository for creating Nx Workspace with ESLint, Prettier, and Husky Configuration.
Setting Up the Workspace
- Clear any existing applications in the
appsfolder by running the following command:
rm -rf apps/*
- Ensure that your
package.jsonfile is configured as follows:
Note: You are
package.jsonfile must be like this. Note if you are using differentnxand related nx packages version set17.0.1version.
{
"name": "@mfe-tutorial/source",
"version": "0.0.0",
"license": "MIT",
"scripts": {
"lint": "pnpm exec nx run-many --target=lint --all",
"prepare": "husky"
},
"private": true,
"dependencies": {
"react": "18.2.0",
"react-dom": "18.2.0",
"react-router-dom": "6.11.2",
"tslib": "^2.3.0"
},
"devDependencies": {
"@babel/core": "^7.14.5",
"@babel/preset-react": "^7.14.5",
"@nx/cypress": "17.0.1",
"@nx/devkit": "17.0.1",
"@nx/eslint-plugin": "17.0.1",
"@nx/jest": "17.0.1",
"@nx/js": "17.0.1",
"@nx/linter": "17.0.1",
"@nx/playwright": "17.0.1",
"@nx/react": "17.0.1",
"@nx/vite": "17.0.1",
"@nx/web": "17.0.1",
"@nx/webpack": "17.0.1",
"@nx/workspace": "17.0.1",
"@playwright/test": "^1.36.0",
"@pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin": "^0.5.7",
"@svgr/webpack": "^8.0.1",
"@swc-node/register": "~1.6.7",
"@swc/cli": "~0.1.62",
"@swc/core": "~1.3.85",
"@swc/helpers": "~0.5.2",
"@testing-library/react": "14.0.0",
"@types/jest": "^29.4.0",
"@types/node": "18.14.2",
"@types/react": "18.2.24",
"@types/react-dom": "18.2.9",
"@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin": "^5.60.1",
"@typescript-eslint/parser": "^5.60.1",
"@vitejs/plugin-react": "~4.0.0",
"@vitest/coverage-c8": "~0.32.0",
"@vitest/ui": "~0.32.0",
"babel-jest": "^29.4.1",
"cypress": "^13.0.0",
"eslint": "~8.46.0",
"eslint-config-airbnb": "^19.0.4",
"eslint-config-airbnb-typescript": "^17.1.0",
"eslint-config-prettier": "8.1.0",
"eslint-plugin-cypress": "^2.13.4",
"eslint-plugin-import": "2.27.5",
"eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y": "6.7.1",
"eslint-plugin-playwright": "^0.15.3",
"eslint-plugin-prettier": "^5.1.3",
"eslint-plugin-react": "7.32.2",
"eslint-plugin-react-hooks": "4.6.0",
"eslint-plugin-simple-import-sort": "^12.0.0",
"husky": "^9.0.11",
"jest": "^29.4.1",
"jest-environment-jsdom": "^29.4.1",
"jsdom": "~22.1.0",
"netlify-cli": "^16.6.1",
"nx": "17.0.1",
"prettier": "^2.6.2",
"react-refresh": "^0.10.0",
"tailwindcss": "3.2.7",
"ts-jest": "^29.1.0",
"ts-node": "10.9.1",
"typescript": "~5.1.3",
"url-loader": "^4.1.1",
"vite": "~4.3.9",
"vite-plugin-dts": "~2.3.0",
"vitest": "~0.32.0"
}
}
- Install the dependencies by running the following command:
- You must be delete
package-lock.json|yarn.lock|pnpm-lock.yamlandnode_modulesfolder. You can use the following command to delete these files and folders.
rm -rf package-lock.json yarn.lock pnpm-lock.yaml node_modules
- Now, you can install the dependencies using the following command.
# using pnmp
pnpm install
# using yarn
yarn install
# using npm
npm install
Congratulations! You have successfully installed the dependencies.
Creating the Host Application
- Create a host and remote application by running the following command:
Reference: Nx Module Federation
You can follow this script for
hostapplication we called name ascontainerand Thecontainerapplication is used remote application calledinfo.With Script:
pnpm exec nx generate @nx/react:host --name=container --devServerPort=3000 --directory=apps/container --remotes=info --projectNameAndRootFormat=as-provided --no-interactive --dry-run
With Nx Console:
- After creating the host and remote applications, run linting using the following command.
// package.json
"scripts": {
"lint": "pnpm exec nx run-many --target=lint --all"
},
pnpm run lint
# or
yarn lint
# or
npm run lint
Note: You can use the following command to fix or disable the basic eslint errors and warnings. ESLint Rules, Prettier Rules
pnpm run lint --fix
Congratulations! You have successfully fixed the linting errors and warnings.
 Hot Reload and Development
This is the next step to run the host and remote applications. You can add the following scripts in the package.json file.
"scripts": {
"dev:container": "pnpm exec nx run container:serve --configuration=development",
"dev:info": "pnpm exec nx run info:serve --configuration=development",
},
- Now, you can run the host and remote applications using the following command. If you can do development on
remoteapplication first rundev:infoand then rundev:containerfor host application. It's automatically connected to the remote application and hot refresh on changes.
pnpm run dev:info
pnpm run dev:container
Production Build
This is the final step to run the host and remote applications. You can add the following scripts in the package.json file.
"scripts": {
"serve:container": "pnpm exec nx run container:serve-static --configuration=production",
"serve:info": "pnpm exec nx run info:serve-static --configuration=production",
},
- Now, you can run the host and remote applications using the following command.
pnpm run serve:info
pnpm run serve:container
Note: You can use Nx Console for running the host and remote applications. Nx Console
🎉 Congratulations! You have successfully created your React application.
Conclusion
In this tutorial, we have learned how to create a micro frontend architecture using Nx Workspace. We have created a host and remote application using Nx Workspace, and shared code between them. By following the steps outlined in this tutorial, you can create a scalable and modular micro frontend architecture for your applications.
This tutorial has provided you with a solid foundation for building modular architecture using Nx Workspace. You can now explore more advanced features and configurations to enhance your micro frontend architecture further.
Thank you for reading! 🚀
Top comments (2)
Well, I'd argue it's not. MF is a runtime concept, so unless you make it possible to have multi-repository it will never be a solid foundation. It's a start - but it's not a scalable foundation. If you really want to stay within a monorepo then there are better (easier to manage) alternatives.
With micro frontends you want to be able to scale development - independent if you remain in a single repository or not.
So I'd prefer if you rephrase those things. Maybe call it "modular architecture" instead?
Thank you your feedback. You are right, I may have difficulty defining them because they are technologies I have just gained experience with. Thank you for your suggestion, I will change it. <3