Grunt: have package.json and Gruntfile.js on different folders

Question

I'm having problems trying to implement grunt on different folders, in my root I have:

<root>/package.json <root>/node_modules

And inside another folder, my gruntfile with different subfolders and files which I work:

<root>/apps/static/Gruntfile.js

If I go to root and execute

grunt --gruntfile /apps/static/Gruntfile.js MyTaskName

I get:

Local Npm module "grunt-contrib-concat" not found. Is it installed?

Local Npm module "grunt-contrib-cssmin" not found. Is it installed?

Local Npm module "grunt-contrib-clean" not found. Is it installed?

Local Npm module "grunt-contrib-watch" not found. Is it installed?

Local Npm module "grunt-contrib-uglify" not found. Is it installed?

And I run npm install several times.

On my gruntfile.js I have

grunt.loadNpmTasks('grunt-contrib-concat');

grunt.loadNpmTasks('grunt-contrib-cssmin');

grunt.loadNpmTasks('grunt-contrib-clean');

grunt.loadNpmTasks('grunt-contrib-watch');

grunt.loadNpmTasks('grunt-contrib-uglify');

I triple check and folders are ok (in fact, originally gruntfile and package where in the same folder and everything was working perfectly, run several task and everything is ok). I really need to have a common package.json and node_modules on root and the Gruntfile.js on a specific project folder

Any idea what's going on? Thanks in advance

cartant · Accepted Answer · 2016-10-07 13:38:20Z

Grunt makes certain assumptions regarding the location of gruntfile.js.

When you specify the location of gruntfile.js using the --gruntfile option, Grunt sets the current directory to the directory containing the specified file:

// Change working directory so that all paths are relative to the // Gruntfile's location (or the --base option, if specified). process.chdir(grunt.option('base') || path.dirname(gruntfile));

And when Grunt loads NPM tasks, it does so relative to the current directory:

var root = path.resolve('node_modules'); var pkgfile = path.join(root, name, 'package.json');

There is a --base option with which the current directory can be specifed, but whether or not that will solve your problem (without introducing other problems) I do not know. The simplest solution is likely to locate gruntfile.js where it wants and expects to be located.

I read about --base, but i still have problems, im in the root folder and i get: A valid Gruntfile could not be found. Please see the getting started guide for more information on how to configure grunt: gruntjs.com/getting-started Fatal error: Unable to find Gruntfile. And the gruntfile is there. My problem is that this is a big project, and having everything on the same file it can be complicated. Im working 8 websites with this, and each one must have his specific grunt in order to make it easy
I think that in trying to locate gruntfile.js someplace it doesn't really want to be located, you're entering a world of pain. This looks like an XY problem. If your problem is complexity, Grunt has some other mechanisms that might offer less painful solutions (e.g. grunt.config.merge). I would suggest asking another question that asks how your complexity problem can be solved. I think the why-doesn't-this-work question has been answered.

Vaibhav Nigam · Accepted Answer · 2019-08-25 05:24:19Z

Sometimes, it may be the need of project to have Gruntfile.js in a different folder than package.json.

I had a very similar use-case where there were multiple submodules each with its own build process, one of them was Grunt. But at the same time I wanted to have a common package.json just to avoid multiple node_modules folders being created, so that common dependencies (including transitive) use to install once. It helped in reducing install time as well as disk usage.

I was expecting a solution in Grunt itself. But as @cartant mentioned, Grunt has made certain assumptions.

So, here is what I did:

In Gruntfile.js,

Define a function:

function loadExternalNpmTasks(grunt, name) { const tasksdir = path.join(root, 'node_modules', name, 'tasks'); if (grunt.file.exists(tasksdir)) { grunt.loadTasks(tasksdir); } else { grunt.log.error('Npm module "' + name + '" not found. Is it installed?'); } }

And instead of

grunt.loadNpmTasks('grunt-contrib-concat');

do:

loadExternalNpmTasks(grunt, 'grunt-contrib-concat');

Reference: https://github.com/gruntjs/grunt/blob/master/lib/grunt/task.js#L396

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