Configuring PWA

Service Worker

Adding PWA mode to a Quasar project means a new folder will be created: /src-pwa, which contains PWA specific files:

.
└── src-pwa/
    ├── register-service-worker.js  # (or .ts) UI code *managing* service worker
    ├── manifest.json               # Your PWA manifest file
    └── custom-service-worker.js    # (or .ts) Optional custom service worker file
                                    #               (injectManifest mode ONLY)

You can freely edit these files. Notice a few things:

  1. register-service-worker.[js|ts] is automatically imported into your app (like any other /src file). It registers the service worker (created by Workbox or your custom one, depending on workbox plugin mode – quasar.config.js > pwa > workboxPluginMode) and you can listen for Service Worker’s events. You can use ES6 code.
  2. custom-service-worker.[js|ts] will be your service worker file ONLY if workbox plugin mode is set to “injectManifest” (quasar.config.js > pwa > workboxMode: ‘injectManifest’). Otherwise, Quasar and Workbox will create a service-worker file for you.
  3. It makes sense to run Lighthouse tests on production builds only.

TIP

Read more on register-service-worker.[js|ts] and how to interact with the Service Worker on Handling Service Worker documentation page.

quasar.config.js

This is the place where you can configure Workbox behavior and also tweak your manifest.json.

pwa: {
  workboxMode: 'generateSW', // or 'injectManifest'
  injectPwaMetaTags: true,
  swFilename: 'sw.js',
  manifestFilename: 'manifest.json',
  useCredentialsForManifestTag: false,
  extendGenerateSWOptions (cfg) {},
  extendInjectManifestOptions (cfg) {},
  extendManifestJson (json) {},
  extendPWACustomSWConf (esbuildConf) {}
}

sourceFiles: {
  pwaRegisterServiceWorker: 'src-pwa/register-service-worker',
  pwaServiceWorker: 'src-pwa/custom-service-worker',
  pwaManifestFile: 'src-pwa/manifest.json',
}

Should you want to tamper with the Vite config for UI in /src:

// quasar.config.js
module.exports = function (ctx) {
  return {
    build: {
      extendViteConf (viteConf) {
        if (ctx.mode.pwa) {
          // do something with ViteConf
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

More information: Workbox.

Adding your own meta tags in index.html

Quasar CLI adds (dynamically) some PWA oriented meta tags into your index.html. Should you wish to customize the tags, first disable this behavior in /quasar.config.js:

// quasar.config.js
pwa: {
  injectPwaMetaTags: false
}

Then, edit your /index.html file. The following are the actual meta tags that Quasar CLI injects dynamically:

<head>

  <% if (ctx.mode.pwa) { %>
    <meta name="theme-color" content="<%= pwaManifest.theme_color %>">
    <link rel="mask-icon" href="icons/safari-pinned-tab.svg" color="<%= pwaManifest.theme_color %>">
    <meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-capable" content="yes">
    <meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-status-bar-style" content="default">
    <meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="icons/ms-icon-144x144.png">
    <meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#000000">
    <meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-title" content="<%= pwaManifest.name %>">
    <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="icons/apple-icon-120x120.png">
    <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="152x152" href="icons/apple-icon-152x152.png">
    <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="167x167" href="icons/apple-icon-167x167.png">
    <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="icons/apple-icon-180x180.png">
  <% } %>

</head>

Notice that you have access to your PWA manifest through pwaManifest above.

Picking Workbox mode

There are two Workbox operating modes: generateSW (default) and injectManifest.

Setting the mode that you want to use is done through quasar.config.js:

// quasar.config.js

pwa: {
  workboxMode: 'generateSW',
  extendGenerateSWOptions (cfg) {
    // configure workbox on generateSW
  }
}

pwa: {
  workboxMode: 'injectManifest',
  extendInjectManifestOptions (cfg) {
    // configure workbox on injectManifest
  }
}

generateSW

When to use generateSW:

  • You want to precache files.
  • You have simple runtime configuration needs (e.g. the configuration allows you to define routes and strategies).

When NOT to use generateSW:

  • You want to use other Service Worker features (i.e. Web Push).
  • You want to import additional scripts or add additional logic.

TIP

Please check the available workboxOptions for this mode on Workbox website.

InjectManifest

When to use InjectManifest:

  • You want more control over your service worker.
  • You want to precache files.
  • You have more complex needs in terms of routing.
  • You would like to use your service worker with other APIs (e.g. Web Push).

When NOT to use InjectManifest:

  • You want the easiest path to adding a service worker to your site.

TIPS

  • If you want to use this mode, you will have to write the service worker (/src-pwa/custom-service-worker.[js|ts]) file by yourself.
  • Please check the available workboxOptions for this mode on Workbox website.

The following snippet is the default code for a custom service worker (/src-pwa/custom-service-worker.[js|ts]) which mimics the behavior of generateSW mode:

/*
 * This file (which will be your service worker)
 * is picked up by the build system ONLY if
 * quasar.config.js > pwa > workboxMode is set to "injectManifest"
 */

import { clientsClaim } from 'workbox-core'
import { precacheAndRoute, cleanupOutdatedCaches, createHandlerBoundToURL } from 'workbox-precaching'
import { registerRoute, NavigationRoute } from 'workbox-routing'

self.skipWaiting()
clientsClaim()

// Use with precache injection
precacheAndRoute(self.__WB_MANIFEST)

cleanupOutdatedCaches()

// Non-SSR fallback to index.html
// Production SSR fallback to offline.html (except for dev)
if (process.env.MODE !== 'ssr' || process.env.PROD) {
  registerRoute(
    new NavigationRoute(
      createHandlerBoundToURL(process.env.PWA_FALLBACK_HTML),
      { denylist: [/sw\.js$/, /workbox-(.)*\.js$/] }
    )
  )
}

Configuring Manifest File

The Manifest file is located at /src-pwa/manifest.json. You can freely edit it.

Should you need to change it dynamically at build time, you can do so by editing /quasar.config.js:

// quasar.config.js
pwa: {
  extendManifestJson (json) {
    // tamper with the json
  }
}

Please read about the manifest config before diving in.

WARNING

Note that you don’t need to edit your index.html file (generated from /index.html) to link to the manifest file. Quasar CLI takes care of embedding the right things for you.

TIP

If your PWA is behind basic auth or requires an Authorization header, set quasar.config.js > pwa > useCredentialsForManifestTag to true to include crossorigin="use-credentials" on the manifest.json meta tag.

PWA Checklist

More info: PWA Checklist

WARNING

Do not run Lighthouse on your development build because at this stage the code is intentionally not optimized and contains embedded source maps (among many other things). See the Testing and Auditing section of these docs for more information.

Reload & Update Automatically

For those who don’t want to manually reload the page when the service worker is updated and are using the default generateSW workbox mode, Quasar CLI has configured Workbox to activate it at once. Should you need to disable this behavior:

// quasar.config.js
pwa: {
  extendGenerateSWOptions (cfg) {
    cfg.skipWaiting = false
    cfg.clientsClaim = false
  }
}