# Grafana frontend packages

## Exporting code conventions

`@grafana/ui`, `@grafana/data` and `@grafana/runtime` makes use of `exports` in package.json to define three entrypoints that Grafana core and Grafana plugins can access. Before exposing anything in these packages please consider the table below to better understand the use case of each export.

| Export Name  | Import Path            | Description                                                                                                                                                                     | Available to Grafana | Available to plugins |
| ------------ | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------- | -------------------- |
| `./`         | `@grafana/ui`          | The public API entrypoint. If the code is stable and you want to share it everywhere, this is the place to export it.                                                           | ✅                   | ✅                   |
| `./unstable` | `@grafana/ui/unstable` | The public API entrypoint for all experimental code. If you want to iterate and test code from Grafana and plugins, this is the place to export it.                             | ✅                   | ✅                   |
| `./internal` | `@grafana/ui/internal` | The private API entrypoint for internal code shared with Grafana. If you need to import code in Grafana but don't want to expose it to plugins, this is the place to export it. | ✅                   | ❌                   |

## Versioning

We use [Lerna](https://github.com/lerna/lerna) for packages versioning and releases.

All packages are versioned according to the current Grafana version:

- Grafana v6.3.0-alpha1 -> @grafana/\* packages @ 6.3.0-alpha.1
- Grafana v6.2.5 -> @grafana/\* packages @ 6.2.5
- Grafana - main branch version (based on package.json, i.e. 6.4.0-pre) -> @grafana/\* packages @ 6.4.0-pre-<COMMIT-SHA> (see details below about packages publishing channels)

> Please note that @grafana/ui, @grafana/data, and @grafana/runtime packages are considered ALPHA even though they are not released as alpha versions.

### Stable releases

> **Even though packages are released under a stable version, they are considered ALPHA until further notice!**

Stable releases are published under the `latest` tag on npm. If there was alpha/beta version released previously, the `next` tag is updated to stable version.

### Alpha and beta releases

Alpha and beta releases are published under the `next` tag on npm.

### Automatic prereleases

Every commit to main that has changes within the `packages` directory is a subject of npm packages release. _ALL_ packages must be released under version from lerna.json file with the drone build number added to it:

```
<lerna.json version>-<DRONE_BUILD_NUMBER>
```

### Manual release

> All of the steps below must be performed on a release branch, according to Grafana Release Guide.

> You must be logged in to NPM as part of Grafana NPM org before attempting to publish to the npm registry.

1. Run `yarn packages:clean` script from the root directory. This will delete any previous builds of the packages.
2. Run `yarn packages:prepare` script from the root directory. This performs tests on the packages and prompts for the version of the packages. The version should be the same as the one being released.
   - Make sure you use semver convention. So, _place a dot between prerelease id and prerelease number_, i.e. 6.3.0-alpha.1
   - Make sure you confirm the version bump when prompted!
3. Run `yarn packages:build` script that compiles distribution code in `packages/grafana-*/dist`.
4. Run `yarn packages:pack` script to compress each package into `npm-artifacts/*.tgz` files. This is required for yarn to replace properties in the package.json files declared in the `publishConfig` property.
5. Depending on whether or not it's a prerelease:

   - When releasing a prerelease run `./scripts/publish-npm-packages.sh --dist-tag 'next' --registry 'https://registry.npmjs.org/'` to publish new versions.
   - When releasing a stable version run `./scripts/publish-npm-packages.sh --dist-tag 'latest' --registry 'https://registry.npmjs.org/'` to publish new versions.
   - When releasing a test version run `./scripts/publish-npm-packages.sh --dist-tag 'test' --registry 'https://registry.npmjs.org/'` to publish test versions.

6. Revert any changes made by the `packages:prepare` script.

### Building individual packages

To build individual packages, run:

```
yarn packages:build --scope=@grafana/<data|e2e|e2e-selectors|runtime|schema|ui>
```

### Setting up @grafana/\* packages for local development

A known issue with @grafana/\* packages is that a lot of times we discover problems on canary channel(see [versioning overview](#Versioning)) when the version was already pushed to npm.

We can easily avoid that by setting up a local packages registry and test the packages before actually publishing to npm.

In this guide you will set up [Verdaccio](https://verdaccio.org/) registry locally to fake npm registry. This will enable testing @grafana/\* packages without the need for pushing to main.

#### Setting up local npm registry

From your terminal:

1. Navigate to `devenv/local-npm` directory.
2. Run `docker compose up`. This will start your local npm registry, available at http://localhost:4873/.
3. To test `@grafana` packages published to your local npm registry uncomment `npmScopes` and `unsafeHttpWhitelist` properties in the `.yarnrc` file.

#### Publishing packages to local npm registry

You need to follow [manual packages release procedure](#manual-release). The only difference is the last command in order to publish to you local registry.

From your terminal:

1. Run `yarn packages:clean`.
2. Run `yarn packages:prepare`.
3. Run `yarn packages:build`.
4. Run `yarn packages:pack`.
5. Run `NPM_TOKEN=NONE ./scripts/publish-npm-packages.sh`.
6. Navigate to http://localhost:4873 and verify the version was published

Locally published packages will be published under `dev` or `canary` channel, so in your plugin package.json file you can use that channel. For example:

```
// plugin's package.json

dependencies: {
  //... other dependencies
  "@grafana/data": "dev" // or canary
}
```

or you can instruct npm to install directly the specific version you published.

#### Using your local package in another package (e.g. a plugin)

To use your local published package in another package you'll have to create an `.npmrc` file in that repository and add the following line:

```
@grafana:registry=http://localhost:4873/
```

Make sure there is no other line already defined for `@grafana`.