The repository contains several packages and apps:
tns-core-modules- The core NativeScript TypeScript modules used to develop NativeScript apps.apps- UI app used for manual testing and automation.tests- Unit tests app for thetns-core-modules.tns-platform-declarations- TypeScript definitions for Android and iOS native APIs.
Working with the repo is organized with npm scripts,
go and read through the scripts section in the package.json.
Managing dependencies:
tns-core-modulesdepends on:tns-platform-declarations
appsdepends on:tns-platform-declarationstns-core-modules
testsdepends on:tns-platform-declarationstns-core-modules
NOTE:
tns-core-modulesdepends ontns-core-modules-widgets, this dependency contains native code and is rarely modified so for now it remains outside this repo.
Clone (or fork/clone) the repo:
git clone https://github.com/NativeScript/NativeScript.gitInstall devDependencies:
npm installRun setup script. This will npm link the tns-core-modules and tns-core-modules-declarations dependencies inside the tests and apps projects.
npm run setupThe following commands are commonly used to compile the tns-core-modules:
# Full tsc with type checking ~22.2s.
tsc
# Fast tsc ~11.2s.
tsc --skipLibCheck
# Fast watcher, ~4s. on save
tsc --skipLibCheck -wThe modules have typescript as a devDependency so you should also be able to use the locally installed TypeScript compiler from node_modules:
./node_modules/.bin/tscYou can compile the TypeScript files in the tns-core-modules, tns-platform-declarations, apps and tests at once at the root of the repo:
npm run tscThe test app is an ordinary NativeScript app that logs the test results as it go. After the initial setup you can run the tests with:
# Make sure TypeScript is transpiled
tsc
# Run the tests app
tns run ios --path tests
tns run android --path testsThe test app is an ordinary NativeScript app that logs the test results as it go. After the initial setup you can run the tests with:
# Make sure TypeScript is transpiled
tsc
# Run the app
tns run ios --path apps
tns run android --path apps
The initial setup will npm-link the tns-core-modules globally. You can use it in any local project:
# Run once: Link tns-core-modules in your project
npm link tns-core-modules
# Run the app
tns run ios
tns run androidNote: You still have to rebuild the TypeScript if you have made changes in the code of the core-modules.
To update the platform declarations (the ios.d.ts-es) you can run:
npm install
npm run dev-declarations
This script will update the iOS declarations. Android tools are not integrated yet. The declarations are generated from the test app and will include the native code from tns-core-modules-widgets.
The following will build the API reference pages in bin/dist/apiref:
npm run typedoc
If you want to improve on the documentation you can also build and start up dev web server:
npm run dev-typedoc
The terminal will point the address you can open in your web browsed.