Why does Vite compile a separate jQuery file even when chunking it in the vite.config.js file in Laravel 11 project?

Why does Vite compile a separate jQuery file even when chunking it in the vite.config.js file in Laravel 11 project?

When using Vite in a Laravel 11 project, you may choose to use the vite.config.js file to configure the module bundler for optimizing your application's build process. One common optimization technique is to use chunking, which allows you to split your application's JavaScript code into smaller pieces, improving the loading performance.

However, you might notice that even when you configure Vite to chunk jQuery in your vite.config.js file, it still compiles a separate jQuery file during the build process. This behavior can be a bit confusing, so let's explore the reasons behind it.

First, it's important to understand that Vite is a build tool that uses Rollup under the hood for module bundling. When you configure Vite to chunk your application, it creates separate JavaScript files for each chunk. However, not all dependencies are included in these chunks by default.

jQuery is a popular library that is widely used in web development. It's often included in many projects, and Vite is aware of this. To optimize the build process and reduce the overall bundle size, Vite compiles a separate jQuery file that can be shared among all the chunks in your application. This way, instead of including the same jQuery code multiple times in each chunk, Vite generates a single file that can be imported by all the chunks, saving precious bytes of data.

Moreover, this separate jQuery file is optimized for production builds. It includes only the necessary parts of the library, such as the core functionality and the ajax function, which are commonly used in most web applications. This further reduces the size of the jQuery file and improves the performance of your application.

In summary, Vite compiles a separate jQuery file even when chunking it in the vite.config.js file in a Laravel 11 project to optimize the build process, reduce the overall bundle size, and ensure that only the necessary parts of the library are included in the final build.