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</div>
[![npm][npm]][npm-url]
[![node][node]][node-url]
[![deps][deps]][deps-url]
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# less-loader
A Less loader for webpack. Compiles Less to CSS.
## Getting Started
To begin, you'll need to install `less` and `less-loader`:
```console
$ npm install less less-loader --save-dev
```
Then add the loader to your `webpack` config. For example:
**webpack.config.js**
```js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.less$/,
loader: 'less-loader', // compiles Less to CSS
},
],
},
};
```
And run `webpack` via your preferred method.
## Options
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
| :---------------------------------------: | :------------------: | :----------------------: | :----------------------------------------------------- |
| **[`lessOptions`](#lessoptions)** | `{Object\|Function}` | `{ relativeUrls: true }` | Options for Less. |
| **[`additionalData`](#additionalData)** | `{String\|Function}` | `undefined` | Prepends/Appends `Less` code to the actual entry file. |
| **[`sourceMap`](#sourcemap)** | `{Boolean}` | `compiler.devtool` | Enables/Disables generation of source maps. |
| **[`webpackImporter`](#webpackimporter)** | `{Boolean}` | `true` | Enables/Disables the default Webpack importer. |
### `lessOptions`
Type: `Object|Function`
Default: `{ relativeUrls: true }`
You can pass any Less specific options to the `less-loader` through the `lessOptions` property in the [loader options](https://webpack.js.org/configuration/module/#rule-options-rule-query). See the [Less documentation](http://lesscss.org/usage/#command-line-usage-options) for all available options in dash-case. Since we're passing these options to Less programmatically, you need to pass them in camelCase here:
#### `Object`
Use an object to pass options through to Less.
**webpack.config.js**
```js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.less$/,
use: [
{
loader: 'style-loader',
},
{
loader: 'css-loader',
},
{
loader: 'less-loader',
options: {
lessOptions: {
strictMath: true,
},
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
```
#### `Function`
Allows setting the options passed through to Less based off of the loader context.
```js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.less$/,
use: [
'style-loader',
'css-loader',
{
loader: 'less-loader',
options: {
lessOptions: (loaderContext) => {
// More information about available properties https://webpack.js.org/api/loaders/
const { resourcePath, rootContext } = loaderContext;
const relativePath = path.relative(rootContext, resourcePath);
if (relativePath === 'styles/foo.less') {
return {
paths: ['absolute/path/c', 'absolute/path/d'],
};
}
return {
paths: ['absolute/path/a', 'absolute/path/b'],
};
},
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
```
### `additionalData`
Type: `String|Function`
Default: `undefined`
Prepends `Less` code before the actual entry file.
In this case, the `less-loader` will not override the source but just **prepend** the entry's content.
This is especially useful when some of your Less variables depend on the environment:
> Since you're injecting code, this will break the source mappings in your entry file. Often there's a simpler solution than this, like multiple Less entry files.
#### `String`
```js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.less$/,
use: [
'style-loader',
'css-loader',
{
loader: 'less-loader',
options: {
additionalData: `@env: ${process.env.NODE_ENV};`,
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
```
#### `Function`
```js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.less$/,
use: [
'style-loader',
'css-loader',
{
loader: 'less-loader',
options: {
additionalData: (content, loaderContext) => {
// More information about available properties https://webpack.js.org/api/loaders/
const { resourcePath, rootContext } = loaderContext;
const relativePath = path.relative(rootContext, resourcePath);
if (relativePath === 'styles/foo.less') {
return '@value: 100px;' + content;
}
return '@value: 200px;' + content;
},
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
```
#### `String`
```js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.less$/,
use: [
'style-loader',
'css-loader',
{
loader: 'less-loader',
options: {
appendData: `@env: ${process.env.NODE_ENV};`,
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
```
#### `Function`
```js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.less$/,
use: [
'style-loader',
'css-loader',
{
loader: 'less-loader',
options: {
appendData: (loaderContext) => {
// More information about available properties https://webpack.js.org/api/loaders/
const { resourcePath, rootContext } = loaderContext;
const relativePath = path.relative(rootContext, resourcePath);
if (relativePath === 'styles/foo.less') {
return '@value: 100px;';
}
return '@value: 200px;';
},
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
```
### `sourceMap`
Type: `Boolean`
Default: depends on the `compiler.devtool` value
By default generation of source maps depends on the [`devtool`](https://webpack.js.org/configuration/devtool/) option. All values enable source map generation except `eval` and `false` value.
**webpack.config.js**
```js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.less$/i,
use: [
'style-loader',
{
loader: 'css-loader',
options: {
sourceMap: true,
},
},
{
loader: 'less-loader',
options: {
sourceMap: true,
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
```
### `webpackImporter`
Type: `Boolean`
Default: `true`
Enables/Disables the default Webpack importer.
This can improve performance in some cases. Use it with caution because aliases and `@import` at-rules starting with `~` will not work.
**webpack.config.js**
```js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.less$/i,
use: [
'style-loader',
'css-loader',
{
loader: 'less-loader',
options: {
webpackImporter: false,
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
```
## Examples
### Normal usage
Chain the `less-loader` with the [`css-loader`](https://github.com/webpack-contrib/css-loader) and the [`style-loader`](https://github.com/webpack-contrib/style-loader) to immediately apply all styles to the DOM.
**webpack.config.js**
```js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.less$/,
use: [
{
loader: 'style-loader', // creates style nodes from JS strings
},
{
loader: 'css-loader', // translates CSS into CommonJS
},
{
loader: 'less-loader', // compiles Less to CSS
},
],
},
],
},
};
```
Unfortunately, Less doesn't map all options 1-by-1 to camelCase. When in doubt, [check their executable](https://github.com/less/less.js/blob/3.x/bin/lessc) and search for the dash-case option.
### Source maps
To enable sourcemaps for CSS, you'll need to pass the `sourceMap` property in the loader's options. If this is not passed, the loader will respect the setting for webpack source maps, set in `devtool`.
**webpack.config.js**
```javascript
module.exports = {
devtool: 'source-map', // any "source-map"-like devtool is possible
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.less$/,
use: [
'style-loader',
{
loader: 'css-loader',
options: {
sourceMap: true,
},
},
{
loader: 'less-loader',
options: {
sourceMap: true,
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
```
If you want to edit the original Less files inside Chrome, [there's a good blog post](https://medium.com/@toolmantim/getting-started-with-css-sourcemaps-and-in-browser-sass-editing-b4daab987fb0). The blog post is about Sass but it also works for Less.
### In production
Usually, it's recommended to extract the style sheets into a dedicated file in production using the [MiniCssExtractPlugin](https://github.com/webpack-contrib/mini-css-extract-plugin). This way your styles are not dependent on JavaScript.
### Imports
Starting with `less-loader` 4, you can now choose between Less' builtin resolver and webpack's resolver. By default, webpack's resolver is used.
#### webpack resolver
webpack provides an [advanced mechanism to resolve files](https://webpack.js.org/configuration/resolve/). The `less-loader` applies a Less plugin that passes all queries to the webpack resolver. Thus you can import your Less modules from `node_modules`. Just prepend them with a `~` which tells webpack to look up the [`modules`](https://webpack.js.org/configuration/resolve/#resolve-modules).
```css
@import '~bootstrap/less/bootstrap';
```
It's important to only prepend it with `~`, because `~/` resolves to the home-directory. webpack needs to distinguish between `bootstrap` and `~bootstrap`, because CSS and Less files have no special syntax for importing relative files. Writing `@import "file"` is the same as `@import "./file";`
##### Non-Less imports
Using webpack's resolver, you can import any file type. You just need a loader that exports valid Less code. Often, you will also want to set the `issuer` condition to ensure that this rule is only applied on imports originating from Less files:
```js
// webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.js$/,
issuer: /\.less$/,
use: [
{
loader: 'js-to-less-loader',
},
],
},
],
},
};
```
#### Less resolver
If you specify the `paths` option, modules will be searched in the given `paths`. This is Less' default behavior. `paths` should be an array with absolute paths:
**webpack.config.js**
```js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.less$/,
use: [
{
loader: 'style-loader',
},
{
loader: 'css-loader',
},
{
loader: 'less-loader',
options: {
lessOptions: {
paths: [path.resolve(__dirname, 'node_modules')],
},
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
```
### Plugins
In order to use [plugins](http://lesscss.org/usage/#plugins), simply set the `plugins` option like this:
```js
// webpack.config.js
const CleanCSSPlugin = require('less-plugin-clean-css');
module.exports = {
...
{
loader: 'less-loader',
options: {
lessOptions: {
plugins: [
new CleanCSSPlugin({ advanced: true }),
],
},
},
},
...
};
```
> Access to the [loader context](https://webpack.js.org/api/loaders/#the-loader-context) inside the custom plugin can be done using the `less.webpackLoaderContext` property.
```js
module.exports = {
install: function (less, pluginManager, functions) {
functions.add('pi', function () {
// Loader context is available in `less.webpackLoaderContext`
return Math.PI;
});
},
};
```
### Extracting style sheets
Bundling CSS with webpack has some nice advantages like referencing images and fonts with hashed urls or [hot module replacement](https://webpack.js.org/concepts/hot-module-replacement/) in development. In production, on the other hand, it's not a good idea to apply your style sheets depending on JS execution. Rendering may be delayed or even a [FOUC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_of_unstyled_content) might be visible. Thus it's often still better to have them as separate files in your final production build.
There are two possibilities to extract a style sheet from the bundle:
- [`extract-loader`](https://github.com/peerigon/extract-loader) (simpler, but specialized on the css-loader's output)
- [MiniCssExtractPlugin](https://github.com/webpack-contrib/mini-css-extract-plugin) (more complex, but works in all use-cases)
### CSS modules gotcha
There is a known problem with Less and [CSS modules](https://github.com/css-modules/css-modules) regarding relative file paths in `url(...)` statements. [See this issue for an explanation](https://github.com/webpack-contrib/less-loader/issues/109#issuecomment-253797335).
## Contributing
Please take a moment to read our contributing guidelines if you haven't yet done so.
[CONTRIBUTING](./.github/CONTRIBUTING.md)
## License
[MIT](./LICENSE)
[npm]: https://img.shields.io/npm/v/less-loader.svg
[npm-url]: https://npmjs.com/package/less-loader
[node]: https://img.shields.io/node/v/less-loader.svg
[node-url]: https://nodejs.org
[deps]: https://david-dm.org/webpack-contrib/less-loader.svg
[deps-url]: https://david-dm.org/webpack-contrib/less-loader
[tests]: https://github.com/webpack-contrib/less-loader/workflows/less-loader/badge.svg
[tests-url]: https://github.com/webpack-contrib/less-loader/actions
[cover]: https://codecov.io/gh/webpack-contrib/less-loader/branch/master/graph/badge.svg
[cover-url]: https://codecov.io/gh/webpack-contrib/less-loader
[chat]: https://img.shields.io/badge/gitter-webpack%2Fwebpack-brightgreen.svg
[chat-url]: https://gitter.im/webpack/webpack
[size]: https://packagephobia.now.sh/badge?p=less-loader
[size-url]: https://packagephobia.now.sh/result?p=less-loader