Exporting #

bwplay-cli allows you to export your project to different platforms. This makes it easy to distribute your game to other (non-technical) people.

bwplay-cli export

There is no cross-compilation - different targets will runs your JavaScript as-is, just in different contexts. Your code in the exports is the same as it was in your project.

Before Exporting #

The export process will include the assets and JavaScript specified in your project settings. It is up to you to convert your TypeScript into JavaScript, bundle your code together, minify your code, etc. The export process performs no modifications to your JavaScript code.

A very simple build-and-export process may look something like:

# compile your TypeScript
tsc main.ts
# minify the resulting JavaScript
babel-minify main.js
# export the project
bwplay-cli export

Export Environment #

The export process creates its own index.html file that contains all of your project’s JavaScript in-line. The index.html has a body with no padding or margins that contains only <script> tags containing your JavaScript. This HTML file is similar to the one used by the development server.

Types of Exports #

Exports are located in the export/ directory in the root of your project. Each type of export will be in its own subdirectory (e.g. export/web/).

Web (PWA) #

Exporting will always create a Progressive Web App - an HTML file along with a web app manifest and some metadata. Outputting the project with this structure makes it easy to distribute your game as a simple website that can be “installed” on a mobile device.

Since all of your JavaScript is inlined into the index.html, you could even distribute your game as a single .html file. However, this is not recommended if you’re serving your game over a network, as it limits how users can interact with your game.

Android #

If the androidApplicationId setting is specified, exporting will generate an Android app module.

A module is only part of the file structure necessary to build a complete Android app - to use the exported module, place it inside a new or existing Android Studio project.

Why export a module and not a project?

Due to differences between development environments (SDK versions, installation paths, etc), bwplay-cli does not know enough about your specific setup to generate an entire Android Studio project.

Under the hood, the Android module renders the generated index.html file in an Android WebView. By using this strategy, the Android module stays simple while still supporting browser JavaScript features (localStorage, fetch, etc).