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webdac build — TypeScript Compilation Pipeline

webdac build is the primary build command for Webda applications. It compiles TypeScript, generates the module manifest, and produces JSON Schemas — all in one step.

What it does​

Step-by-step:

  1. Incremental check — computes a digest of the source tree; if nothing changed since the last build (and webda.module.json is intact), skips recompilation.
  2. TypeScript compilation — runs @webda/tsc-esm to emit ES module JavaScript into lib/.
  3. Module analysis — ModuleGenerator walks the compiled TypeScript program to discover:
    • Models (Model, UuidModel, or any subclass)
    • Services (beans, moddas)
    • Deployers
    • Operations (@Operation() methods)
  4. Schema generation — @webda/content-mapper's SchemaGenerator produces JSON Schemas for each model (input, output, stored views) and each service's parameters.
  5. Module merge — walks node_modules for webda.module.json files from Webda dependencies and merges their moddas, deployers, and schemas sections into the local manifest.
  6. Write outputs — writes webda.module.json and .webda-config-schema.json.

Usage​

# One-shot build
webdac build

# Watch mode — rebuilds on file changes
webdac build --watch

# Specify a different app directory
webdac build --appPath /path/to/my-app

Options​

FlagDefaultDescription
--watch / -wfalseWatch for file changes and rebuild
--force / -ffalseRecompile even when the cache reports nothing changed
--appPath.Path to the application root (must contain tsconfig.json)

Real build output (blog-system)​

Running webdac build in sample-apps/blog-system:

2026-04-26T14:06:03.932Z [ INFO] Adding schema for WebdaSample/Post.publish.input
2026-04-26T14:06:03.932Z [ INFO] Adding schema for WebdaSample/Post.publish.output
2026-04-26T14:06:03.935Z [ INFO] Adding schema for WebdaSample/User.follow.input
2026-04-26T14:06:03.935Z [ INFO] Adding schema for WebdaSample/User.follow.output
...
2026-04-26T14:06:03.938Z [ INFO] Generating schemas 9
2026-04-26T14:06:03.939Z [ INFO] Generating schema for BinaryFile
2026-04-26T14:06:03.939Z [ INFO] Generating model schemas for Comment
2026-04-26T14:06:03.942Z [ INFO] Generating model schemas for Post
2026-04-26T14:06:03.947Z [ INFO] Generating model schemas for PostTag
2026-04-26T14:06:03.949Z [ INFO] Generating schema for Publisher
2026-04-26T14:06:03.951Z [ INFO] Generating model schemas for Tag
2026-04-26T14:06:03.952Z [ INFO] Generating schema for TestBean
2026-04-26T14:06:03.953Z [ INFO] Generating model schemas for User
2026-04-26T14:06:03.955Z [ INFO] Generating model schemas for UserFollow

Generated files​

After a successful build, the following files are created or updated:

my-app/
├── lib/                        # compiled JavaScript (gitignore)
│   └── models/
│       └── post.js
├── webda.module.json           # module manifest (commit this)
└── .webda/
    └── config.schema.json      # VS Code autocomplete schema

Watch mode​

webdac build --watch

In watch mode, the compiler listens for TypeScript file changes using the TypeScript watch API. When source files change, it re-runs the full pipeline (compilation + module generation). Useful during development alongside webda debug.

Incremental builds​

The compiler stores a cache in .webda/cache:

{
  "sourceDigest": "abc123",
  "moduleDigest": "def456"
}

If sourceDigest matches the current source tree, moduleDigest matches webda.module.json on disk and every emitted file it references exists, the build is skipped entirely. The digests stay in this cache (which is not committed) rather than in webda.module.json, so the generated module only changes when its content does. This makes subsequent builds in watch mode very fast.

Integration with pnpm run build​

In the Webda monorepo, pnpm run build in a package typically runs:

{
  "scripts": {
    "build": "webdac build"
  }
}

Verify​

cd sample-apps/blog-system
node ../../packages/compiler/lib/shell.js build
2026-04-26T14:06:03.932Z [ INFO] Adding schema for WebdaSample/Post.publish.input
...
2026-04-26T14:06:03.955Z [ INFO] Generating model schemas for UserFollow

Check that webda.module.json was updated:

ls -la sample-apps/blog-system/webda.module.json

See also​