TLDR; Native Federation for Angular 17.1 leverages the CLI's Application Builder and Dev Server to stay aligned with the innovations and performance optimizations introduced by the CLI team.
We are pleased to announce Native Federation 17.1 for Angular 17.1. Although it is only a minor release, it delivers a substantial advancement: for the first time, Native Federation adopts the Angular CLI's new and remarkably fast Application Builder, relying on esbuild for both the client-side and server-side bundles. Previously, the esbuild Builder—designed as a stopgap during the migration from webpack—was in use.
Furthermore, this iteration of Native Federation is constructed on top of the CLI's dev server. As a result, all familiar configuration options remain accessible within your angular.json.
By adopting the Application Builder and the Dev Server, we also unlock access to all the new and upcoming capabilities along with the efficient performance enhancements currently being developed by the Angular CLI team.
My gratitude goes to the Angular CLI team for offering the necessary hooks that enabled this significant achievement. Special thanks to Charles Lyding from the CLI team and Minko Gechev, Head of Developer Relations and Product for Angular.
The Core Principle
This release embodies the fundamental principle behind Native Federation: acting as a lean wrapper that delegates to the Angular CLI. This guarantees that applications powered by Native Federation remain up to date with all Angular developments:
This approach is equally evident when executing ng build or ng serve. These commands clearly indicate the additional responsibilities Native Federation manages and the CLI's standard operations:
Upgrading to 17.1
Once you have npm-installed version 17.1, you must modify your angular.json (or project.json when using Nx). The command below automates this process:
ng g @angular-architects/native-federation:appbuilderFurther details and instructions are available here.