sass/dart-sass

[Feature Request] Distribute a core sass library without cli & dependencies

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#976 opened on Mar 29, 2020

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JavaScriptenhancementhelp wanted

Description

One of the most attractive things about dart-sass is that the sass npm package is pure js instead of using native code. However, the library includes a dependency on chokidar which includes native dependencies (fs-events). This causes issues for some important use cases (E.g. distributing a Sass compiler within a VS Code extension).

I realize that fs-events is an optional dependency of chokidar but seeing failed npm installation dependencies with every yarn install is actually a big problem in terms of supporting my code at scale... a lot of people will miss the "this is an optional dependency, it's nbd" message and waste time trying to debug it.

It would be super awesome if the core compiler of sass was extracted out to a different npm package that could be installed when you don't need to use the cli. (Perhaps @sass/compiler?)

Contributor guide

Tech stack
javascriptnodejs
Domain
toolingdeveloper experience
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
half day
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
npmNode.jsSass
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
40
Research direction
The issue proposes extracting the core compiler into a separate package like @sass/compiler to avoid chokidar's native dependency. To implement, examine the current sass npm package structure (see lib/ directory) and identify the core compiler files that are independent of CLI features. Then create a new package, publish it under @sass scope, and update the main sass package to depend on it. Ensure that the new package has zero runtime dependencies. Consider using a monorepo setup if desired.