Webpack-encore: babel-loader cache is not invalidated when browserslist's config changes

[wujekbogdan]

I found that since webpack 4 upgrade Babel should respect .browserslistrc config and browserslist settings from package.json. Neither of these seem to work.

The output JS file is always the same, no matter what browserslist settings I use.

If I edit the @symfony/webpack-encore/lib/loaders/babel.js file and change the targets entry for @babel/preset-env then the JS output looks as expected.

I know that I could use Encore.configureBabel(), but I would prefer to use more standard configuration techniques.

[Lyrkan]

Hi @wujekbogdan,

I think that it does work, but you don't see any change because Encore sets the cacheDirectory option of babel-loader to true by default.

Could you try disabling that cache to see if that's the case?

Encore.configureBabel(options => {
  options.cacheDirectory = false;
});

[wujekbogdan]

I think that it does work, but you don't see any change because Encore sets the cacheDirectory option of babel-loader to true by default.

Thanks, it works!

But I don't fully understand it - if the problem was caused by caching, then why changing the setting in the babel config directly (@symfony/webpack-encore/lib/loaders/babel.js) has an immediate effect? I guess that the cache is invalidated after the settings are changed. But if it works this way then the cache should be also invalidated in case of editorconfig changes.

---

UPDATE
One more thing: IMO the cache should be disabled if Encore runs in production mode.

[Lyrkan]

But I don't fully understand it - if the problem was caused by caching, then why changing the setting in the babel config directly (@symfony/webpack-encore/lib/loaders/babel.js) has an immediate effect? I guess that the cache is invalidated after the settings are changed. But if it works this way then the cache should be also invalidated in case of editorconfig changes.

It probably only checks if the direct settings of the loader have been changed, not the external ones parsed by browserslist.

IMO the cache should be disabled if Encore runs in production mode.

Sounds like a reasonable thing to do :)

[wujekbogdan]

It probably only checks if the direct settings of the loader have been changed, not the external ones parsed by browserslist.

So it's an issue to resolve on the Babel side, not on the Encore side. Am I right?

[Lyrkan]

Actually the way it works is documented in the loader's README:

cacheIdentifier: Default is a string composed by the babel-core's version, the babel-loader's version, the contents of .babelrc file if it exists, and the value of the environment variable BABEL_ENV with a fallback to the NODE_ENV environment variable. This can be set to a custom value to force cache busting if the identifier changes.

It's be a bit outdated since the code that generates this cacheIdentifier can be found here and doesn't seem to exactly match that description, but the idea is kinda the same.

So, the thing is... the loader doesn't use browserslist at all, this is done by @babel/preset-env based on the options passed by the loader (for instance if targets is empty).

This means that from the loader's point of view, Babel's config doesn't change if you modify a .browserslistrc file or your package.json.

There is an issue opened on babel-loader's repository about that: https://github.com/babel/babel-loader/issues/690

In the meantime your suggestion of disabling that cache for production in Encore seems a good trade-off to me.

[wujekbogdan]

@Lyrkan

Thanks for the comprehensive answer. I think we can close this issue then.

[seyfer]

@Lyrkan to do the same as

Encore.configureBabel(options => {
  options.cacheDirectory = false;
});

but with .bablerc
I have found only this way

config.module.rules[0].use[0].options = {
        ...config.module.rules[0].use[0].options,
        cacheDirectory: true,
        cacheCompression: false,
    };

[Lyrkan]

@seyfer AFAIK you can't, cacheDirectory is a loader-specific option whereas the .babelrc file is intepreted by Babel (which is called by the loader).

We should probably add an option that allows users to say "I know what I'm doing, apply the callback even if there is a .babelrc file"... but in the meantime your workaround is probably the easiest way to do it (maybe you could improve it a bit using Encore.configureLoaderRule(...))