Add automatic precompile hook coordination in bin/dev

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -23,6 +23,15 @@ After a release, please make sure to run `bundle exec rake update_changelog`. Th
 
 Changes since the last non-beta release.
 
+#### Improved
+
+- **Automatic Precompile Hook Coordination in bin/dev**: The `bin/dev` command now automatically runs Shakapacker's `precompile_hook` once before starting development processes and sets `SHAKAPACKER_SKIP_PRECOMPILE_HOOK=true` to prevent duplicate execution in spawned webpack processes.
+  - Eliminates the need for manual coordination, sleep hacks, and duplicate task calls in Procfile.dev
+  - Users can configure expensive build tasks (like locale generation or ReScript compilation) once in `config/shakapacker.yml` and `bin/dev` handles coordination automatically
+  - Includes warning for Shakapacker versions below 9.4.0 (the `SHAKAPACKER_SKIP_PRECOMPILE_HOOK` environment variable is only supported in 9.4.0+)
+  - The `SHAKAPACKER_SKIP_PRECOMPILE_HOOK` environment variable is set for all spawned processes, making it available for custom scripts that need to detect when `bin/dev` is managing the precompile hook
+  - Addresses [2091](https://github.com/shakacode/react_on_rails/issues/2091) by [justin808](https://github.com/justin808)
+
 ### [v16.2.0.beta.12] - 2025-11-20
 
 #### Added

docs/building-features/i18n.md

@@ -21,10 +21,31 @@ You can use [Rails internationalization (i18n)](https://guides.rubyonrails.org/i
 
 3. The locale files must be generated before `yarn build` using `rake react_on_rails:locale`.
 
-   For development, you should adjust your startup scripts (`Procfile`s) so that they run `bundle exec rake react_on_rails:locale` before running any Webpack watch process (`yarn run build:development`).
+   **Recommended: Use Shakapacker's precompile_hook with bin/dev** (React on Rails 16.2+, Shakapacker 9.3+)
 
-   If you are not using the React on Rails test helper,
-   you may need to configure your CI to run `bundle exec rake react_on_rails:locale` before any Webpack process as well.
+   The locale generation task is idempotent and can be safely called multiple times. Configure it in Shakapacker's `precompile_hook` and `bin/dev` will handle coordination automatically:
+
+   ```yaml
+   # config/shakapacker.yml
+   default: &default
+     # Run locale generation before webpack compilation
+     # Safe to run multiple times - will skip if already built
+     precompile_hook: 'bundle exec rake react_on_rails:locale'
+   ```
+
+   With this configuration, `bin/dev` will:
+
+   - Run the precompile hook **once** before starting development processes
+   - Set `SHAKAPACKER_SKIP_PRECOMPILE_HOOK=true` to prevent duplicate execution
+   - Pass the environment variable to all spawned processes (Rails, webpack, etc.)
+
+   This eliminates the need for sleep hacks and manual coordination in `Procfile.dev`. See the [Process Managers documentation](./process-managers.md#precompile-hook-integration) for details.
+
+   **Alternative: Manual coordination**
+
+   For development, you can adjust your startup scripts (`Procfile`s) so that they run `bundle exec rake react_on_rails:locale` before running any Webpack watch process (`yarn run build:development`).
+
+   If you are not using the React on Rails test helper, you may need to configure your CI to run `bundle exec rake react_on_rails:locale` before any Webpack process as well.
 
    > [!NOTE]
    > If you try to lint before running tests, and you depend on the test helper to build your locales, linting will fail because the translations won't be built yet.

docs/building-features/process-managers.md

@@ -16,9 +16,46 @@ React on Rails includes `bin/dev` which automatically uses Overmind or Foreman:
 
 This script will:
 
-1. Try to use Overmind (if installed)
-2. Fall back to Foreman (if installed)
-3. Show installation instructions if neither is found
+1. Run Shakapacker's `precompile_hook` once (if configured in `config/shakapacker.yml`)
+2. Set `SHAKAPACKER_SKIP_PRECOMPILE_HOOK=true` to prevent duplicate execution
+3. Try to use Overmind (if installed)
+4. Fall back to Foreman (if installed)
+5. Show installation instructions if neither is found
+
+### Precompile Hook Integration
+
+If you have configured a `precompile_hook` in `config/shakapacker.yml`, `bin/dev` will automatically:
+
+- Execute the hook **once** before starting development processes
+- Set the `SHAKAPACKER_SKIP_PRECOMPILE_HOOK` environment variable
+- Pass this environment variable to all spawned processes (Rails, webpack, etc.)
+- Prevent webpack processes from re-running the hook independently
+
+**Note:** The `SHAKAPACKER_SKIP_PRECOMPILE_HOOK` environment variable is supported in Shakapacker 9.4.0 and later. If you're using an earlier version, `bin/dev` will display a warning recommending you upgrade to avoid duplicate hook execution.
+
+This eliminates the need for manual coordination in your `Procfile.dev`. For example:
+
+**Before (manual coordination with sleep hacks):**
+
+```procfile
+# Procfile.dev
+wp-server: sleep 15 && bundle exec rake react_on_rails:locale && bin/shakapacker --watch
+```
+
+**After (automatic coordination via bin/dev):**
+
+```procfile
+# Procfile.dev
+wp-server: bin/shakapacker --watch
+```
+
+```yaml
+# config/shakapacker.yml
+default: &default
+  precompile_hook: 'bundle exec rake react_on_rails:locale'
+```
+
+See the [i18n documentation](./i18n.md#internationalization) for more details on configuring the precompile hook.
 
 ## Installing a Process Manager
 

lib/react_on_rails/dev/server_manager.rb

@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@
 module ReactOnRails
   module Dev
     class ServerManager
+      HELP_FLAGS = ["-h", "--help"].freeze
+
       class << self
         def start(mode = :development, procfile = nil, verbose: false, route: nil, rails_env: nil)
           case mode
@@ -145,10 +147,17 @@ def show_help
           puts help_troubleshooting
         end
 
-        # rubocop:disable Metrics/AbcSize
+        # rubocop:disable Metrics/AbcSize, Metrics/CyclomaticComplexity
         def run_from_command_line(args = ARGV)
           require "optparse"
 
+          # Get the command early to check for help/kill before running hooks
+          # We need to do this before OptionParser processes flags like -h/--help
+          command = args.find { |arg| !arg.start_with?("--") && !arg.start_with?("-") }
+
+          # Check if help flags are present in args (before OptionParser processes them)
+          help_requested = args.any? { |arg| HELP_FLAGS.include?(arg) }
+
           options = { route: nil, rails_env: nil, verbose: false }
 
           OptionParser.new do |opts|
@@ -172,8 +181,15 @@ def run_from_command_line(args = ARGV)
             end
           end.parse!(args)
 
-          # Get the command (anything that's not parsed as an option)
-          command = args[0]
+          # Run precompile hook once before starting any mode (except kill/help)
+          # Then set environment variable to prevent duplicate execution in spawned processes.
+          # Note: We always set SHAKAPACKER_SKIP_PRECOMPILE_HOOK=true (even when no hook is configured)
+          # to provide a consistent signal that bin/dev is managing the precompile lifecycle.
+          # This allows custom scripts to detect bin/dev's presence and adjust behavior accordingly.
+          unless %w[kill help].include?(command) || help_requested
+            run_precompile_hook_if_present
+            ENV["SHAKAPACKER_SKIP_PRECOMPILE_HOOK"] = "true"
+          end
 
           # Main execution
           case command
@@ -184,7 +200,7 @@ def run_from_command_line(args = ARGV)
             start(:static, "Procfile.dev-static-assets", verbose: options[:verbose], route: options[:route])
           when "kill"
             kill_processes
-          when "help", "--help", "-h"
+          when "help"
             show_help
           when "hmr", nil
             start(:development, "Procfile.dev", verbose: options[:verbose], route: options[:route])
@@ -194,10 +210,86 @@ def run_from_command_line(args = ARGV)
             exit 1
           end
         end
-        # rubocop:enable Metrics/AbcSize
+        # rubocop:enable Metrics/AbcSize, Metrics/CyclomaticComplexity
 
         private
 
+        def run_precompile_hook_if_present
+          require "open3"
+          require "shellwords"
+
+          hook_value = PackerUtils.shakapacker_precompile_hook_value
+          return unless hook_value
+
+          # Warn if Shakapacker version doesn't support SHAKAPACKER_SKIP_PRECOMPILE_HOOK
+          warn_if_shakapacker_version_too_old
+
+          puts Rainbow("🔧 Running Shakapacker precompile hook...").cyan
+          puts Rainbow("   Command: #{hook_value}").cyan
+          puts ""
+
+          # Capture stdout and stderr for better error reporting
+          # Use Shellwords.split for safer command execution (prevents shell metacharacter interpretation)
+          command_args = Shellwords.split(hook_value.to_s)
+          stdout, stderr, status = Open3.capture3(*command_args)
+
+          if status.success?
+            puts Rainbow("✅ Precompile hook completed successfully").green
+            puts ""
+          else
+            handle_precompile_hook_failure(hook_value, stdout, stderr)
+          end
+        end
+
+        # rubocop:disable Metrics/AbcSize
+        def handle_precompile_hook_failure(hook_value, stdout, stderr)
+          puts ""
+          puts Rainbow("❌ Precompile hook failed!").red.bold
+          puts Rainbow("   Command: #{hook_value}").red
+          puts ""
+
+          if stdout && !stdout.strip.empty?
+            puts Rainbow("   Output:").yellow
+            stdout.strip.split("\n").each { |line| puts Rainbow("   #{line}").yellow }
+            puts ""
+          end
+
+          if stderr && !stderr.strip.empty?
+            puts Rainbow("   Error:").red
+            stderr.strip.split("\n").each { |line| puts Rainbow("   #{line}").red }
+            puts ""
+          end
+
+          puts Rainbow("💡 Fix the hook command in config/shakapacker.yml or remove it to continue").yellow
+          exit 1
+        end
+        # rubocop:enable Metrics/AbcSize
+
+        # rubocop:disable Metrics/AbcSize
+        def warn_if_shakapacker_version_too_old
+          # Only warn for Shakapacker versions in the range 9.0.0 to 9.3.x
+          # Versions below 9.0.0 don't use the precompile_hook feature
+          # Versions 9.4.0+ support SHAKAPACKER_SKIP_PRECOMPILE_HOOK environment variable
+          has_precompile_hook_support = PackerUtils.shakapacker_version_requirement_met?("9.0.0")
+          has_skip_env_var_support = PackerUtils.shakapacker_version_requirement_met?("9.4.0")
+
+          return unless has_precompile_hook_support
+          return if has_skip_env_var_support
+
+          puts ""
+          puts Rainbow("⚠️  Warning: Shakapacker #{PackerUtils.shakapacker_version} detected").yellow.bold
+          puts ""
+          puts Rainbow("   The SHAKAPACKER_SKIP_PRECOMPILE_HOOK environment variable is not").yellow
+          puts Rainbow("   supported in Shakapacker versions below 9.4.0. This may cause the").yellow
+          puts Rainbow("   precompile_hook to run multiple times (once by bin/dev, and again").yellow
+          puts Rainbow("   by each webpack process).").yellow
+          puts ""
+          puts Rainbow("   Recommendation: Upgrade to Shakapacker 9.4.0 or later:").cyan
+          puts Rainbow("   bundle update shakapacker").cyan.bold
+          puts ""
+        end
+        # rubocop:enable Metrics/AbcSize
+
         def help_usage
           Rainbow("📋 Usage: bin/dev [command] [options]").bold
         end