webpack-contrib
copy-webpack-plugin
Copies existing individual files or entire directories to the build directory.
Getting Started
To begin, you'll need to install copy-webpack-plugin:
npm install copy-webpack-plugin --save-dev
or
yarn add -D copy-webpack-plugin
or
pnpm add -D copy-webpack-plugin
Then add the plugin to your webpack configuration. For example:
webpack.config.js
const CopyPlugin = require("copy-webpack-plugin");
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{ from: "source", to: "dest" },
{ from: "other", to: "public" },
],
}),
],
};
[!NOTE]
copy-webpack-pluginis not designed to copy files generated during the build process. Instead, it is meant to copy files that already exist in the source tree, as part of the build process.[!NOTE]
If you want
webpack-dev-serverto write files to the output directory during development, you can enable thewriteToDiskoption or use thewrite-file-webpack-plugin.[!NOTE]
You can get the original source filename from the Asset Objects in the webpack stats API.
Options
The plugin's usage:
webpack.config.js
const CopyPlugin = require("copy-webpack-plugin");
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{ from: "source", to: "dest" },
"path/to/source", // Absolute or relative path, can be files, directories or globs. See examples below.
],
options: {
concurrency: 100,
},
}),
],
};
Patterns
fromtocontextglobOptionsfiltertoTypeforceprioritytransformtransformAllnoErrorOnMissinginfo
from
Type:
type from = string;
Default: undefined
Glob or path from where we copy files.
Globs follow the fast-glob pattern-syntax.
Note: Globs must be a string.
[!WARNING]
Don't use directly
\\infromoption if it is aglob(i.epath\to\file.ext) option, as backslashes are treated as regular characters on UNIX systems(not as path separators). On Windows, both forward slashes and backslashes act as separators. Use/instead, or use Node'spathutilities to normalize paths.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
"relative/path/to/file.ext",
"relative/path/to/dir",
path.resolve(__dirname, "src", "file.ext"),
path.resolve(__dirname, "src", "dir"),
"**/*",
{
from: "**/*",
},
// If absolute path is a `glob` we replace backslashes with forward slashes, because only forward slashes can be used in the `glob`
path.posix.join(
path.resolve(__dirname, "src").replaceAll("\\", "/"),
"*.txt",
),
],
}),
],
};
For windows
If you're using an absolute file or folder path in the from option on Windows, you can use windows path segment (\\)
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: path.resolve(__dirname, "file.txt"),
},
],
}),
],
};
However, when writing glob expressions, always use forward slashes.
See the fast-glob manual for more details.
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
// If absolute path is a `glob` we replace backslashes with forward slashes, because only forward slashes can be used in the `glob`
from: path.posix.join(
path.resolve(__dirname, "fixtures").replaceAll("\\", "/"),
"*.txt",
),
},
],
}),
],
};
The behavior of the context option varies depending on whether the from value is a glob, file or dir.
See more examples.
to
Type:
type to =
| string
| ((pathData: { context: string; absoluteFilename?: string }) => string);
Default: compiler.options.output
string
Specifies the output path.
[!WARNING]
Don't use directly
\\in thetopath (i.epath\to\dest) option, as backslashes are treated as regular characters on UNIX systems(not as path separators). On Windows, both forward slashes and backslashes act as separators. Use/instead, or use Node'spathutilities to normalize paths.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "**/*",
to: "relative/path/to/dest/",
},
{
from: "**/*",
to: "/absolute/path/to/dest/",
},
{
from: "**/*",
to: "[path][name].[contenthash][ext]",
},
],
}),
],
};
function
Allows to modify the writing path.
[!WARNING]
Don't use directly
\\into(i.epath\to\newFile) option, as backslashes are treated as regular characters on UNIX systems(not as path separators). On Windows, both forward slashes and backslashes act as separators. Use/instead, or use Node'spathutilities to normalize paths.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to({ context, absoluteFilename }) {
return "dest/newPath/[name][ext]";
},
},
],
}),
],
};
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to({ context, absoluteFilename }) {
return Promise.resolve("dest/newPath/[name][ext]");
},
},
],
}),
],
};
context
Type:
type context = string;
Default: options.context|compiler.options.context
Defines the base directory used for two purposes:
It is prepended to the
frompath.It is removed from the beginning of the result path(s).
[!WARNING]
Don't use directly
\\into(i.epath\to\newFile) option, as backslashes are treated as regular characters on UNIX systems(not as path separators). On Windows, both forward slashes and backslashes act as separators. Use/instead, or use Node'spathutilities to normalize paths.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.txt",
to: "dest/",
context: "app/",
},
],
}),
],
};
The context can be an absolute or relative path. If it's relative, then it will be converted to an absolute path based on compiler.options.context.
You should explicitly define context when from uses a glob pattern. Otherwise, the plugin sets it automatically based on the nature of from:
If
fromis a file, thencontextdefaults to the file’s directory. The result path will be just the filename alone.If
fromis a directory,contextis set to the same directory. The result paths include the directory’s contents (including subdirectories), relative to it.
The use of context is illustrated by these examples.
globOptions
[!WARNING]
The onlyDirectories does not work because the plugin is designed to copy files, not directories alone.
Type:
type globOptions = import("tinyglobby").GlobOptions;
Default: undefined
Allows you to configure the glob pattern matching library used by the plugin. See the list of supported options To exclude files from being copied, use the globOptions.ignore option
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "public/**/*",
globOptions: {
dot: true,
gitignore: true,
ignore: ["**/file.*", "**/ignored-directory/**"],
},
},
],
}),
],
};
filter
Type:
type filter = (filepath: string) => boolean;
Default: undefined
[!NOTE]
To ignore files by path (e.g., by extension or name), prefer using the [
globOptions.ignore] option.
webpack.config.js
const fs = require("node:fs").promise;
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "public/**/*",
filter: async (resourcePath) => {
const data = await fs.promises.readFile(resourcePath);
const content = data.toString();
if (content === "my-custom-content") {
return false;
}
return true;
},
},
],
}),
],
};
toType
Type:
type toType = "dir" | "file" | "template";
Default: undefined
Determines the type of the to option — whether it's a directory, file, or template.
Sometimes it is hard to say what is to, example path/to/dir-with.ext.
If you want to copy files in directory you should explicitly set the type to dir.
In most cases, the plugin will automatically determine the correct type, so you typically don't need to set this option manually.
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
'dir' |
string |
undefined |
Used to has no extension or ends with a '/'. |
'file' |
string |
undefined |
Used when to is a file path that is not a directory or template. |
'template' |
string |
undefined |
Used when to contains a template pattern |
'dir'
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "path/to/file.txt",
to: "directory/with/extension.ext",
toType: "dir",
},
],
}),
],
};
'file'
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "path/to/file.txt",
to: "file/without/extension",
toType: "file",
},
],
}),
],
};
'template'
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/",
to: "dest/[name].[contenthash][ext]",
toType: "template",
},
],
}),
],
};
force
Type:
type force = boolean;
Default: false
Overwrites files that already exist in compilation.assets (typically added by other plugins or loaders).
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/**/*",
to: "dest/",
force: true,
},
],
}),
],
};
priority
Type:
type priority = number;
Default: 0
Allows to specify the priority of copying files with the same destination name.
Files for patterns with higher priority will be copied later.
To enable overwriting, the force option must be set to true.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
// Copied second and will overwrite "dir_2/file.txt"
{
from: "dir_1/file.txt",
to: "newfile.txt",
force: true,
priority: 10,
},
// Copied first
{
from: "dir_2/file.txt",
to: "newfile.txt",
priority: 5,
},
],
}),
],
};
transform
Type:
type transform =
| {
transformer: (input: string, absoluteFilename: string) => string | Buffer;
cache?: boolean | TransformerCacheObject | undefined;
}
| ((input: string, absoluteFilename: string) => string | Buffer);
Default: undefined
Allows you to modify the contents of a file before it is written to the output directory.
function
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to: "dest/",
// The `content` argument is a [`Buffer`](https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html) object, it could be converted to a `String` to be processed using `content.toString()`
// The `absoluteFrom` argument is a `String`, it is absolute path from where the file is being copied
transform(content, absoluteFrom) {
return optimize(content);
},
},
],
}),
],
};
object
| Name | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
transformer |
undefined |
Allows you to modify the contents of the file. |
cache |
false |
Enables caching for transform. You can use transform: { cache: { key: 'my-cache-key' } } to manually invalidate the cache when needed. |
transformer
Type:
type transformer = (input: string, absoluteFilename: string) => string;
Default: undefined
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to: "dest/",
// The `content` argument is a [`Buffer`](https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html) object, it could be converted to a `String` to be processed using `content.toString()`
// The `absoluteFrom` argument is a `String`, it is absolute path from where the file is being copied
transform: {
transformer(content, absoluteFrom) {
return optimize(content);
},
},
},
],
}),
],
};
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to: "dest/",
transform: {
transformer(content, path) {
return Promise.resolve(optimize(content));
},
},
},
],
}),
],
};
cache
Type:
type cache =
| boolean
| {
keys: Record<string, any>;
}
| {
keys: (
defaultCacheKeys: Record<string, any>,
absoluteFilename: string,
) => Promise<Record<string, any>>;
}
| undefined;
Default: false
webpack.config.js
Enable or disable caching and configure its behavior.
By default, the cache directory is located at: node_modules/.cache/copy-webpack-plugin.
boolean
Enables/Disable transform caching.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to: "dest/",
transform: {
transformer(content, path) {
return optimize(content);
},
cache: true,
},
},
],
}),
],
};
object
Enables transform caching and setup invalidation keys.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to: "dest/",
transform: {
transformer(content, path) {
return optimize(content);
},
cache: {
keys: {
// May be useful for invalidating cache based on external values
// For example, you can invalid cache based on `process.version` - { node: process.version }
key: "value",
},
},
},
},
],
}),
],
};
You can setup invalidation keys using a function.
Simple function:
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to: "dest/",
transform: {
transformer(content, path) {
return optimize(content);
},
cache: {
keys: (defaultCacheKeys, absoluteFrom) => {
const keys = getCustomCacheInvalidationKeysSync();
return {
...defaultCacheKeys,
keys,
};
},
},
},
},
],
}),
],
};
Async function:
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/*.png",
to: "dest/",
transform: {
transformer(content, path) {
return optimize(content);
},
cache: {
keys: async (defaultCacheKeys, absoluteFrom) => {
const keys = await getCustomCacheInvalidationKeysAsync();
return {
...defaultCacheKeys,
keys,
};
},
},
},
},
],
}),
],
};
transformAll
Type:
type transformAll = (
data: {
data: Buffer;
sourceFilename: string;
absoluteFilename: string;
}[],
) => string[];
Default: undefined
Allows you to modify the contents of multiple files and save the combined result into a single file.
[!NOTE]
The
tooption must be specified and point to a file. Only the[contenthash]and[fullhash]template strings are allowed in the filename.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/**/*.txt",
to: "dest/file.txt",
// The `assets` argument is an array of assets matched by the pattern `from` ("src/**/*.txt")
transformAll(assets) {
const result = assets.reduce((accumulator, asset) => {
// The asset content can be obtained from `asset.source` using `source` method.
// The asset content is a [`Buffer`](https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html) object, it could be converted to a `String` to be processed using `content.toString()`
const content = asset.data;
accumulator = `${accumulator}${content}\n`;
return accumulator;
}, "");
return result;
},
},
],
}),
],
};
noErrorOnMissing
Type:
type noErrorOnMissing = boolean;
Default: false
Doesn't generate an error if file(s) are missing.
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: path.resolve(__dirname, "missing-file.txt"),
noErrorOnMissing: true,
},
],
}),
],
};
info
Type:
type info =
| Record<string, any>
| ((item: {
absoluteFilename: string;
sourceFilename: string;
filename: string;
toType: ToType;
}) => Record<string, any>);
Default: undefined
Allows to add assets info.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
"relative/path/to/file.ext",
{
from: "**/*",
// Terser skip this file for minification
info: { minimized: true },
},
],
}),
],
};
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
"relative/path/to/file.ext",
{
from: "**/*",
// Terser skip this file for minimization
info: (file) => ({ minimized: true }),
},
],
}),
],
};
Options
concurrency
type:
type concurrency = number;
Default: 100
Limits the number of simultaneous requests to fs.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [...patterns],
options: { concurrency: 50 },
}),
],
};
Examples
Different variants of from (glob, file or dir).
Consider the following file structure:
src/directory-nested/deep-nested/deepnested-file.txt
src/directory-nested/nested-file.txt
From is a Glob
Everything that you specify in from will be included in the result:
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/directory-nested/**/*",
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
src/directory-nested/deep-nested/deepnested-file.txt,
src/directory-nested/nested-file.txt
If you don't want the result paths to start with src/directory-nested/, then you should move src/directory-nested/ to context, such that only the glob pattern **/* remains in from:
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "**/*",
context: path.resolve(__dirname, "src", "directory-nested"),
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
deep-nested/deepnested-file.txt,
nested-file.txt
From is a Dir
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: path.resolve(__dirname, "src", "directory-nested"),
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
deep-nested/deepnested-file.txt,
nested-file.txt
Technically, this is equivalent to using **/* with a predefined context set to the specified directory
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "**/*",
context: path.resolve(__dirname, "src", "directory-nested"),
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
deep-nested/deepnested-file.txt,
nested-file.txt
From is a File
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: path.resolve(
__dirname,
"src",
"directory-nested",
"nested-file.txt",
),
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
nested-file.txt
Technically, this is a filename with a predefined context equal to the file's directory path.dirname(pathToFile).
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "nested-file.txt",
context: path.resolve(__dirname, "src", "directory-nested"),
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
nested-file.txt
Ignoring files
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: path.posix.join(
path.resolve(__dirname, "src").replaceAll("\\", "/"),
"**/*",
),
globOptions: {
ignore: [
// Ignore all `txt` files
"**/*.txt",
// Ignore all files in all subdirectories
"**/subdir/**",
],
},
},
],
}),
],
};
Flatten copy
Removes all directory references and copies only file names.
[!WARNING]
If files have the same name, the result is non-deterministic.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: "src/**/*",
to: "[name][ext]",
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
file-1.txt
file-2.txt
nested-file.txt
Copy in new directory
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
// When copying files starting with a dot, must specify the toType option
// toType: "file",
to({ context, absoluteFilename }) {
return `newdirectory/${path.relative(context, absoluteFilename)}`;
},
from: "directory",
},
],
}),
],
};
Result:
"newdirectory/file-1.txt",
"newdirectory/nestedfile.txt",
"newdirectory/nested/deep-nested/deepnested.txt",
"newdirectory/nested/nestedfile.txt",
Skip running JavaScript files through a minimizer
Useful if you need to simply copy *.js files to destination "as is" without evaluating and minimizing them using Terser.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
"relative/path/to/file.ext",
{
from: "**/*",
// Terser skip this file for minimization
info: { minimized: true },
},
],
}),
],
};
yarn workspaces and monorepos
When using yarn workspaces ormonorepos, relative copy paths from node_modules can be broken due to the way packages are hoisting.
To avoid this, you should explicitly specify where to copy the files from; by using require.resolve.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
from: `${path.dirname(
require.resolve(`${moduleName}/package.json`),
)}/target`,
to: "target",
},
],
}),
],
};
Contributing
We welcome all contributions!
If you are new here, please take a moment to review our contributing guidelines before submitting issues or pull requests.