SSR with i18n with Angular 9 not working

[joshribb]

🐞 Bug report

What modules are related to this issue?

• aspnetcore-engine
• builders
• common
• express-engine
• hapi-engine
• module-map-ngfactory-loader

Is this a regression?

No, localize is new to Angular 9.

Description

The distFolder is hardcoded in ./server.ts. When the browser server assets are built with localize: true, the assets are placed in a subfolder with the locale name (eg: dist/{appName}/browser/{locale}/ and dist/{appName}/server/{locale}). Now the server can no longer find the correct directory for the browser assets and fails to render.

Is there any way server.ts can know location of the browser assets without hardcoding the path?

Thanks.

🔬 Minimal Reproduction

ng new ng-sample
ng add @angular/localize@next
ng add @nguniversal/express-engine@next

add localize: true to the options of the build and server architect

ng build --prod
ng run ng-sample:server:production
node dist/ng-sample/server/en-US/main.js

browser to http://localhost:4000

🔥 Exception or Error

Error: Failed to lookup view "index" in views directory "/code/ng-sample/dist/ng-sample/browser"
    at Function.render (/code/ng-sample/dist/ng-sample/server/en-US/main.js:1:1122933)
    at ServerResponse.render (/code/ng-sample/dist/ng-sample/server/en-US/main.js:1:1398756)
    at server.get (/code/ng-sample/dist/ng-sample/server/en-US/main.js:1:2259271)
    at Layer.handle [as handle_request] (/code/ng-sample/dist/ng-sample/server/en-US/main.js:1:1144375)
    at next (/code/ng-sample/dist/ng-sample/server/en-US/main.js:1:1131913)
    at Route.dispatch (/code/ng-sample/dist/ng-sample/server/en-US/main.js:1:1131942)
    at Layer.handle [as handle_request] (/code/ng-sample/dist/ng-sample/server/en-US/main.js:1:1144375)
    at /code/ng-sample/dist/ng-sample/server/en-US/main.js:1:2473361
    at param (/code/ng-sample/dist/ng-sample/server/en-US/main.js:1:2474870)
    at param (/code/ng-sample/dist/ng-sample/server/en-US/main.js:1:2475277)

🌍 Your Environment

Angular CLI: 9.0.0-rc.9
Node: 10.16.0
OS: darwin x64

Angular: 9.0.0-rc.9
... animations, cli, common, compiler, compiler-cli, core, forms
... language-service, localize, platform-browser
... platform-browser-dynamic, platform-server, router
Ivy Workspace: Yes

Package                           Version
-----------------------------------------------------------
@angular-devkit/architect         0.900.0-rc.9
@angular-devkit/build-angular     0.900.0-rc.9
@angular-devkit/build-optimizer   0.900.0-rc.9
@angular-devkit/build-webpack     0.900.0-rc.9
@angular-devkit/core              9.0.0-rc.9
@angular-devkit/schematics        9.0.0-rc.9
@ngtools/webpack                  9.0.0-rc.9
@nguniversal/builders             9.0.0-rc.0
@nguniversal/common               9.0.0-rc.0
@nguniversal/express-engine       9.0.0-rc.0
@schematics/angular               9.0.0-rc.9
@schematics/update                0.900.0-rc.9
rxjs                              6.5.4
typescript                        3.6.4
webpack                           4.41.2

[keserwan]

I updated my answer on angular/universal#1497

[keserwan]

I made it work with 2 node apps working on the server.
If anybody can come up with 1 node app serving all locales that would be perfect as we were doing it with webpack.server.config previously.

[MarcusRiemer]

I am in the same boat: Previously I could import multiple bundles and load them dynamically based on the URL that was requested. Now I need to run one server for each language, this is quite tedious.

[ymlsam]

Same here. I adopted same setup for my production site as mentioned by @keserwan in angular/universal#1497, which is now broken.

Besides, look like this block of code is wrong. "req.baseUrl" causes app routing on server side to fail:

server.get('*', (req, res) => {
	res.render(indexHtml, {req, providers: [{provide: APP_BASE_HREF, useValue: req.baseUrl}]});
\});

I changed it as follows, and the routing works again:

const baseHref = '/en/';
server.get(baseHref + '*', (req, res) => {
	res.render(indexHtml, {req, providers: [{provide: APP_BASE_HREF, useValue: baseHref}]});
});

[squelix]

Any update about this ?

[ftanrisevdi]

Hi,
Is there any progress about this issue?

[piotrbrzuska]

I add args to my server.ts :
server.ts:

var args = process.argv.splice(process.execArgv.length + 2);
var local = args[0];
const distFolder = join(__dirname, '../../browser', local);

and run it with:

    "serve:ssr:pl": "node dist/app/server/pl/main.js pl",

but I have a problem with build configuration in angular.json. What is a proper way to build ssr with many configurations at once - production and some locale
?

[piotrbrzuska]

Ok, I spend about a one work day, but I'm do it.

a idea:
to have files like ~/dist/app-name/server/{locale}/main.js
and one main ~/server.js, which start all locales servers as modules:

var express = require('express')
const server = express();

var locals = ["en", "pl", "fr", "de"]; 
for (let idx = 0; idx < locals.length; idx++) {
    const local = locals[idx];
    var localModule = require(`./dist/app-name/server/${local}/main.js`);
    server.use('/'+local, localModule.app(local));
    idx == 0 && server.use('/', localModule.app(local)); // use first locale as main locale
}
const port = process.env.PORT || 4000;
server.listen(port, () => {
    console.log(`Node Express server listening on http://localhost:${port}`);
});

other things i must change is pass Locale_ID to APP_BASE_HREF in my (Browser) AppModule.

@NgModule({
  declarations: [
    AppComponent,
  ],
  imports: [
 // ...
  ],
  providers: [
// ....
    { provide: APP_BASE_HREF, useFactory: (locale: string) => locale, deps: [LOCALE_ID] },
// ...
  ],
  bootstrap: [AppComponent]
})
export class AppModule { 

[Fafnur]

@piotrbrzuska

For server localize build, you can use parameter localize on server task on angular.json:

"server": {
    "builder": "@angular-devkit/build-angular:server",
     "options": {
         ...
            "localize": ["en", "ru"]
         ...  
     }
}

[squelix]

Ok, I spend about a one work day, but I'm do it.

a idea:
to have files like ~/dist/app-name/server/{locale}/main.js
and one main ~/server.js, which start all locales servers as modules:

var express = require('express')
const server = express();

var locals = ["en", "pl", "fr", "de"]; 
for (let idx = 0; idx < locals.length; idx++) {
    const local = locals[idx];
    var localModule = require(`./dist/app-name/server/${local}/main.js`);
    server.use('/'+local, localModule.app(local));
    idx == 0 && server.use('/', localModule.app(local)); // use first locale as main locale
}
const port = process.env.PORT || 4000;
server.listen(port, () => {
    console.log(`Node Express server listening on http://localhost:${port}`);
});

other things i must change is pass Locale_ID to APP_BASE_HREF in my (Browser) AppModule.

@NgModule({
  declarations: [
    AppComponent,
  ],
  imports: [
 // ...
  ],
  providers: [
// ....
    { provide: APP_BASE_HREF, useFactory: (locale: string) => locale, deps: [LOCALE_ID] },
// ...
  ],
  bootstrap: [AppComponent]
})
export class AppModule { 

Can i have your full config please ?

[baj9032]

any solution to run application (with multiple language) on single express port?????

[marcmarcet]

@piotrbrzuska solution worked for me.

Basically, I did the following:

server.ts:

export function app(locale) {
    const server = express();

    server.engine(
        'html',
        ngExpressEngine({
            bootstrap: AppServerModule,
        })
    );

    const distPath = join(process.cwd(), `dist/my-app/browser/${locale}`);

    //server.set('views', distPath);
    //server.set('view engine', 'html');

    server.get(
        '*.*',
        express.static(distPath, {
            maxAge: '1y',
        })
    );

    server.get('*', (req, res) => {
        res.render(join(distPath, 'index.html'), {
            req,
            providers: [{ provide: APP_BASE_HREF, useValue: req.baseUrl }],
        });
    });

    return server;
}

export * from './src/main.server';

Then I created a separate server.run.js with this:

function app() {
    const server = express();

    ['ca', 'en', 'en-gb', 'es'].forEach((locale) => {
        const appServerModule = require(path.join(__dirname, 'dist', 'my-app', 'server', locale, 'main.js'));
        server.use(`/${locale}`, appServerModule.app(locale));
    });

    return server;
}

function run() {
    app().listen(4200, () => {
        console.log(`Node Express server listening on http://localhost:4200`);
    });
}

run();

[p3x-robot]

@piotrbrzuska solution worked for me.

Basically, I did the following:

server.ts:

export function app(locale) {
    const server = express();

    server.engine(
        'html',
        ngExpressEngine({
            bootstrap: AppServerModule,
        })
    );

    const distPath = join(process.cwd(), `dist/my-app/browser/${locale}`);

    //server.set('views', distPath);
    //server.set('view engine', 'html');

    server.get(
        '*.*',
        express.static(distPath, {
            maxAge: '1y',
        })
    );

    server.get('*', (req, res) => {
        res.render(join(distPath, 'index.html'), {
            req,
            providers: [{ provide: APP_BASE_HREF, useValue: req.baseUrl }],
        });
    });

    return server;
}

export * from './src/main.server';

Then I created a separate server.run.js with this:

function app() {
    const server = express();

    ['ca', 'en', 'en-gb', 'es'].forEach((locale) => {
        const appServerModule = require(path.join(__dirname, 'dist', 'my-app', 'server', locale, 'main.js'));
        server.use(`/${locale}`, appServerModule.app(locale));
    });

    return server;
}

function run() {
    app().listen(4200, () => {
        console.log(`Node Express server listening on http://localhost:4200`);
    });
}

run();

wow this is awesome!!! perfect solution! thanks!

[panki]

@marcmarcet-codinghumans thanks for the solution, but how you build your server.run.ts?

If I build it the same way as the angular server webpack warns me:
Critical dependency: the request of a dependency is an expression.

I think it's because of using dynamic require.

[p3x-robot]

@marcmarcet-codinghumans thanks for the solution, but how you build your server.run.ts?

If I build it the same way as the angular server webpack warns me:
Critical dependency: the request of a dependency is an expression.

I think it's because of using dynamic require.

nope, for me it works, and i am using multiple languages with 1 express app.

[panki]

@marcmarcet-codinghumans thanks for the solution, but how you build your server.run.ts?
If I build it the same way as the angular server webpack warns me:
Critical dependency: the request of a dependency is an expression.
I think it's because of using dynamic require.

nope, for me it works, and i am using multiple languages with 1 express app.

do you use custom webpack config to build server.run.ts?

[p3x-robot]

@marcmarcet-codinghumans thanks for the solution, but how you build your server.run.ts?
If I build it the same way as the angular server webpack warns me:
Critical dependency: the request of a dependency is an expression.
I think it's because of using dynamic require.

nope, for me it works, and i am using multiple languages with 1 express app.

do you use custom webpack config to build server.run.ts?

server.ts

/***************************************************************************************************
 * Load `$localize` onto the global scope - used if i18n tags appear in Angular templates.
 */
import '@angular/localize/init';
import 'zone.js/dist/zone-node';

import { ngExpressEngine } from '@nguniversal/express-engine';
import * as express from 'express';
import { join } from 'path';

import { AppServerModule } from './src/main.server';
import { APP_BASE_HREF } from '@angular/common';
//import { existsSync } from 'fs';

// The Express app is exported so that it can be used by serverless Functions.
export function app(locale) {
  const server = express();

//  const distFolder = join(process.cwd(), 'dist/backwash-ai/browser');

  //const indexHtml = existsSync(join(distFolder, 'index.original.html')) ? 'index.original.html' : 'index';

  // Our Universal express-engine (found @ https://github.com/angular/universal/tree/master/modules/express-engine)
  server.engine('html', ngExpressEngine({
    bootstrap: AppServerModule,
  }));

  const distPath = join(process.cwd(), `dist/backwash-ai/browser/${locale}`);

//  server.set('view engine', 'html');
//  server.set('views', distFolder);

  // Example Express Rest API endpoints
  // server.get('/api/**', (req, res) => { });
  // Serve static files from /browser
  server.get('*.*', express.static(distPath, {
    maxAge: '1y'
  }));

  // All regular routes use the Universal engine
  server.get('*', (req, res) => {
    res.render(join(distPath, 'index.html'),  { req, providers: [{ provide: APP_BASE_HREF, useValue: req.baseUrl }] });
  });

  return server;
}

/*
function run() {
  const port = process.env.PORT || 1978;

  // Start up the Node server
  const server = app();
  server.listen(port, () => {
    console.log(`Node Express server listening on http://localhost:${port}`);
  });
}

// Webpack will replace 'require' with '__webpack_require__'
// '__non_webpack_require__' is a proxy to Node 'require'
// The below code is to ensure that the server is run only when not requiring the bundle.
declare const __non_webpack_require__: NodeRequire;
const mainModule = __non_webpack_require__.main;
const moduleFilename = mainModule && mainModule.filename || '';
if (moduleFilename === __filename || moduleFilename.includes('iisnode')) {
  run();
}
 */

export * from './src/main.server';

server.run.js

const path = require('path')
const apiService = require('./api/src/service/boot')

function runApps(appWithOptions) {

  const server = appWithOptions.express.app

  const locales = appWithOptions.config.locales

  locales.forEach((locale) => {
    const appServerModule = require(path.join(__dirname, 'dist', 'backwash-ai', 'server', locale, 'main.js'));
    server.use(`/${locale}`, appServerModule.app(locale));
  });

}

function run() {
  process.env.NODE_ENV = process.env.NODE_ENV || 'development'
  const appWithOptions = apiService({
    express: {
      cors: false
    }
  })

  const app = appWithOptions.express.app

  if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production' || process.env.NODE_ENV === 'ssr') {
    runApps(appWithOptions)

    const findOutLocale = (cookieLocale) => {
      if (appWithOptions.config.locales.includes(cookieLocale)) {
        return cookieLocale
      }
      return appWithOptions.config.defaultLocale
    }

    app.get('/', function(req, res) {
      res.redirect(`/${findOutLocale(req.cookies['bw-lang'])}`);
    });

    app.get('*', function(req, res) {
      res.redirect(`/${findOutLocale(req.cookies['bw-lang'])}` + req.url);
    });
  }

  const port = process.env.PORT || appWithOptions.config.port;

  appWithOptions.express.app.listen(port, () => {
    console.log(`backwash-ai listening on http://localhost:${port} on ${process.env.NODE_ENV}`);
  });
}

run();

i have a hack that is described here:
angular/universal#1689

angular.json

{
  "$schema": "./node_modules/@angular/cli/lib/config/schema.json",
  "version": 1,
  "newProjectRoot": "projects",
  "projects": {
    "backwash-ai": {
      "i18n": {
        "sourceLocale": "en",
        "locales": {
          "hu": "messages.hu.xlf"
        }
      },
      "projectType": "application",
      "schematics": {
        "@schematics/angular:component": {
          "skipTests": true,
          "style": "scss"
        }
      },
      "root": "",
      "sourceRoot": "src",
      "prefix": "bw",
      "architect": {
        "build": {
          "builder": "@angular-devkit/build-angular:browser",
          "options": {
            "localize": ["en", "hu"],
            "outputPath": "dist/backwash-ai/browser",
            "index": "src/index.html",
            "main": "src/main.ts",
            "polyfills": "src/polyfills.ts",
            "tsConfig": "tsconfig.app.json",
            "aot": true,
            "assets": [
              "src/favicon.ico",
              "src/assets"
            ],
            "styles": [
              "src/styles.scss"
            ],
            "scripts": []
          },
          "configurations": {
            "en": {
              "localize": ["en"],
              "baseHref": "/en/"
            },
            "production": {
              "i18nMissingTranslation": "error",
              "fileReplacements": [
                {
                  "replace": "src/environments/environment.ts",
                  "with": "src/environments/environment.prod.ts"
                }
              ],
              "optimization": true,
              "outputHashing": "all",
              "sourceMap": false,
              "extractCss": true,
              "namedChunks": false,
              "extractLicenses": true,
              "vendorChunk": false,
              "buildOptimizer": true,
              "budgets": [
                {
                  "type": "initial",
                  "maximumWarning": "2mb",
                  "maximumError": "5mb"
                },
                {
                  "type": "anyComponentStyle",
                  "maximumWarning": "6kb",
                  "maximumError": "10kb"
                }
              ]
            }
          }
        },
        "serve": {
          "builder": "@angular-devkit/build-angular:dev-server",
          "options": {
            "browserTarget": "backwash-ai:build"
          },
          "configurations": {
            "production": {
              "browserTarget": "backwash-ai:build:production"
            },
            "en": {
              "browserTarget": "backwash-ai:build:en"
            }
          }
        },
        "extract-i18n": {
          "builder": "@angular-devkit/build-angular:extract-i18n",
          "options": {
            "browserTarget": "backwash-ai:build"
          }
        },
        "test": {
          "builder": "@angular-devkit/build-angular:karma",
          "options": {
            "main": "src/test.ts",
            "polyfills": "src/polyfills.ts",
            "tsConfig": "tsconfig.spec.json",
            "karmaConfig": "karma.conf.js",
            "assets": [
              "src/favicon.ico",
              "src/assets"
            ],
            "styles": [
              "src/styles.scss"
            ],
            "scripts": []
          }
        },
        "lint": {
          "builder": "@angular-devkit/build-angular:tslint",
          "options": {
            "tsConfig": [
              "tsconfig.app.json",
              "tsconfig.spec.json",
              "e2e/tsconfig.json"
            ],
            "exclude": [
              "**/node_modules/**"
            ]
          }
        },
        "e2e": {
          "builder": "@angular-devkit/build-angular:protractor",
          "options": {
            "protractorConfig": "e2e/protractor.conf.js",
            "devServerTarget": "backwash-ai:serve"
          },
          "configurations": {
            "production": {
              "devServerTarget": "backwash-ai:serve:production"
            }
          }
        },
        "server": {
          "builder": "@angular-devkit/build-angular:server",
          "options": {
            "outputPath": "dist/backwash-ai/server",
            "main": "server.ts",
            "localize": ["en", "hu"],
            "tsConfig": "tsconfig.server.json"
          },
          "configurations": {
            "production": {
              "outputHashing": "media",
              "fileReplacements": [
                {
                  "replace": "src/environments/environment.ts",
                  "with": "src/environments/environment.prod.ts"
                }
              ],
              "sourceMap": false,
              "optimization": true
            }
          }
        },
        "serve-ssr": {
          "builder": "@nguniversal/builders:ssr-dev-server",
          "options": {
            "browserTarget": "backwash-ai:build",
            "serverTarget": "backwash-ai:server"
          },
          "configurations": {
            "production": {
              "browserTarget": "backwash-ai:build:production",
              "serverTarget": "backwash-ai:server:production"
            }
          }
        },
        "prerender": {
          "builder": "@nguniversal/builders:prerender",
          "options": {
            "browserTarget": "backwash-ai:build:production",
            "serverTarget": "backwash-ai:server:production",
            "routes": [
              "/"
            ]
          },
          "configurations": {
            "production": {}
          }
        }
      }
    }},
  "defaultProject": "backwash-ai"
}

[Blunderchips]

I see this issue has been open since 2020, are there any plans to fix it?