Split up theme Javascript into multiple files

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Complex theme javascript can be split into multiple files, to keep things nicely organised.

To use this functionality, simply add files to the /javascripts folder in your theme directory. Currently, these files can not be edited from the Discourse UI, so you must use the Theme CLI or source the theme from git.

Javascript files are treated exactly the same as they are in core/plugins, so you should follow the same file/folder structure. Theme files are loaded after core/plugins, so if the filenames match, the theme version will take precedence.

As an example, you can now accomplish Using Plugin Outlet Connectors from a Theme or Plugin by adding a single file to your theme:

/javascripts/my-theme/connectors/discovery-list-container-top/add-header-message.hbs

Welcome
{{currentUser.username}}. Please visit
<a class="nav-link" href="http://google.com" target="_blank">My Site</a>

To add a connector class, add another file

/javascripts/my-theme/connectors/discovery-list-container-top/add-header-message.js

import { isAppleDevice } from "discourse/lib/utilities";

export default {
  shouldRender(args, component) {
    return isAppleDevice();
  },
};

If you want to simply move some existing theme javascript out of a <script type="text/discourse-plugin" block, you should wrap it in an initializer like this:

/javascripts/my-theme/initializers/initialize-stuff.js

import { withPluginApi } from "discourse/lib/plugin-api";
export default {
  name: "my-initializer",
  initialize() {
    withPluginApi("0.8.7", (api) => {
      // Do something with the API here
    });
  },
};

If you need a totally different .js asset (e.g. for a web worker), check out this topic.

This document is version controlled - suggest changes on github.

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