> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.release.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.release.com/guides-and-examples/common-setup-examples/define-a-static-javascript-service.md).

# Static JavaScript service

How to define a new static JavaScript service or convert an existing Docker service to use a static JavaScript build deployed to a CDN

## Define a static JavaScript service

Creating a static JavaScript service in Release requires the following parameters:

* `static`: `true` for a static build, `false` to switch back to a Docker build.
* `build_base`: the path to the JavaScript project in your repository.
* `build_command`: your JavaScript build command.
* `build_output_directory`: the directory the build command outputs the build to.

Here's an example static build:

```yaml
services:
- name: frontend
  static: true
  build_command: GENERATE_SOURCEMAP=false yarn build
  build_base: frontend
  build_output_directory: build/
```

### Converting an existing Docker service to static JavaScript

Release allows you to define a service with both static JavaScript and Docker service parameters. You can also easily convert any single page JavaScript Docker service to a static JavaScript build.

Here is a Docker-based JavaScript frontend that was generated from a `docker-compose` by Release:

```yaml
services:
- name: frontend
  image: acme-co/awesome-project/frontend
  ports:
  - type: node_port
    target_port: '3000'
    port: '3000'
  has_repo: true
  memory:
    limits: 4Gi
    requests: 100Mi
```

You can update this to use static builds by adding the same parameters for defining a static JavaScript service as outlined above. Use the `static` parameter to switch the service between a static JavaScript build and running in a Docker container.

```yaml
services:
- name: frontend
  image: acme-co/awesome-project/frontend
  ports:
  - type: node_port
    target_port: '3000'
    port: '3000'
  has_repo: true
  memory:
    limits: 4Gi
    requests: 100Mi
  static: true
  build_command: yarn build
  build_base: frontend
  build_output_directory: build/
```

### Setting the NodeJS Javascript version

During builds, you can control the version of NodeJS that is used by supplying the version information in a `.nvmrc` file. We recommend setting the file at the root of your project, but you can also create the file at the subtree where your project lives. You can read the [documentation](https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm#nvmrc) to find more details. This is a simple example that will use the version that you specify from your local version:

```shell
cd /project/root
node -v > .nvmrc
git add .nvmrc
git commit -m "Set javascript version"
git push
```

## Deprecated

This section is deprecated and may be removed at a later date.

### Adding basic authentication to static sites

If you want the benefits of a static CDN site but don’t want your site to be public, Release has a simple way to add [basic authentication](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_access_authentication) to your static content via our proprietary Edge Routing System.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Static site basic authentication does not allow for multiple users with their own passwords. It is only suitable for a single shared user and password scheme. It is not suitable for production environments.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="danger" %}
Basic authentication does not use encryption to secure usernames and/or passwords. It is not suitable for applications running in production.
{% endhint %}

If you would like to add basic authentication to your site, set up a static application as shown in the previous section. Then, find the `hostnames` entry for your static application as shown in this example:

```yaml
hostnames:
  - api-${env_id}-${domain}
  - web-client-${env_id}-${domain}
```

Replace the `web-client-...` line with the following example:

```yaml
hostnames:
  - api-${env_id}-${domain}
routes:
- name: web-client
  hostname: web-client-${env_id}-${domain}
  auth:
    username: admin
    password: letmein
  rules:
  - service: web-client
    path: "/"
```


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