Rsbuild Outshines Vite for SystemJS-Based MicroFrontends

In the evolving landscape of web development, selecting the appropriate build tool is crucial, especially when working with microfrontends. For developers utilizing Vue.js and SystemJS within a Single-Spa framework, the choice of build tool can significantly impact development efficiency and application performance.

Other solutions may work with Single-Spa and Vite; however, due to the specific structure and architecture of our project, we opted for the solution outlined in this article.

1- Vite's Limitations with SystemJS and Single-Spa

Vite has gained popularity for its rapid development server and seamless Hot Module Replacement (HMR). However, it presents challenges for projects that rely on SystemJS and Single-Spa. During development, Vite employs Esbuild, which lacks support for the SystemJS output format. This limitation complicates integration with Single-Spa applications that depend on SystemJS for module loading. While plugins like vite-plugin-single-spa exist to bridge this gap, in our case was not possible to use it, so Rsbuild came to the rescue 😃.

Vite and SystemJS · Issue #1049 · single-spa/single-spa

Describe the bug or question I am trying to make a Vite build work in dev mode with single-spa. Since ES modules import maps are not widely supported yet, I wanted to make Vite to build a SystemJS…

GitHubsingle-spa

2- Rsbuild: A Performance-Oriented Alternative

In response to these challenges, Rsbuild emerges as a compelling alternative. Built on Rspack, Rsbuild offers substantial performance improvements over traditional bundlers like Webpack. Notably, Rsbuild provides consistent support for SystemJS in both development and production environments, ensuring compatibility with Single-Spa microfrontend architecture.

GitHub - web-infra-dev/rsbuild: The Rspack powered build tool. It’s fast, out-of-the-box and extensible.

The Rspack powered build tool. It’s fast, out-of-the-box and extensible. - web-infra-dev/rsbuild

GitHubweb-infra-dev

3- Enhanced Hot Module Replacement (HMR)

Rsbuild excels in delivering efficient HMR, a critical feature for developer productivity. The recent release of Rsbuild v1.1 introduces a new incremental rebuild feature, resulting in HMR performance improvements of up to 38%. This enhancement enables developers to experience faster module updates during development, reducing downtime and enhancing the overall development workflow.

Rspack

Fast Rust-based Web Bundler

Rspack

Conclusion

While Vite offers impressive features, its reliance on Esbuild during development poses challenges for projects utilizing SystemJS and Single-Spa. Rsbuild addresses these challenges by providing robust support for SystemJS across all stages of development and production, coupled with superior performance metrics. The advancements in Rsbuild v1.1, including enhanced HMR and faster build times, make it a compelling choice for developers seeking an efficient and compatible build tool for their microfrontend applications.