BOS Loader

In this article you'll learn how to develop, test, and deploy BOS components using CLI tools. You can use this workflow to tap into the colaboration, pull-request, and other GitHub benefits while still deploying components to the BOS.

BOS Component Loader serves a local directory of component files as a JSON payload properly formatted to be plugged into a BOS redirectMap. When paired with a viewer configured to call out to this loader, it enables local component development.

Development flow

1. (Optional) Download and install bos CLI.

   info

   You need bos CLI if you have component code on the BOS already that you want to use or if you want to manage component deploys locally instead of the GitHub actions CI/CD.

2. To get component code saved on the BOS, use bos to download the source code. Otherwise, create a src folder.

3. Create a component within that src folder like src/<component name>.jsx.

   tip

   It's common practice to use . delimited component names for namespacing. You can handle this with folders for better files organization.

   For example, AppName.Component → AppName/Component.jsx.

4. Download and install BOS Component Loader (bos-loader).

5. Run bos-loader <youraccount.near> --path src (or run from src folder)

6. Open https://near.org/flags, and set the loader URL to http://127.0.0.1:3030.

7. Open https://near.org/<youraccount.near>/widget/<component name> (case sensitive)

   info

   If you're testing on testnet, use your testnet account and open https://test.near.org instead.

   Run bos-loader <youraccount.testnet> --path src locally, set loader URL in https://test.near.org/flags and open https://test.near.org/<youraccount.testnet>/widget/<component name> to view your component locally.

   tip

   You can work on multiple components at once by embedding them in a wrapper component.

8. Make changes to the component's code.

   info

   You must refresh the browser's web page to see the changes.

9. When you're done, use the X on the banner to stop loading locally.

Component deployment

At this point, your new component is ready to be deployed. To deploy, you can use either of the following two paths:

• Use bos CLI to deploy from command line:

  bos deploy

• Set up a GitHub actions deployment workflow. Check this document for instructions.

You should now be able to see your component in discovery. Happy Hacking!