Package and publish a Roku application using Node.js
npm install roku-deployPublish Roku projects to a Roku device by using Node.js.
npm install roku-deploy
1. Your project must be structured the way that Roku expects. The source files can be in a subdirectory (using the rootDir config option), but whever your roku files exist, they must align with the following folder structure:
components/
images/
source/
manifest
2. You should create a rokudeploy.json file at the root of your project that contains all of the overrides to the default options. roku-deploy will auto-detect this file and use it when possible. (note: rokudeploy.json is jsonc, which means it supports comments).
sample rokudeploy.json
``jsonc`
{
"host": "192.168.1.101",
"password": "securePassword"
}Usage
From a node script
`javascript
var rokuDeploy = require('roku-deploy');
//deploy a .zip package of your project to a roku device
rokuDeploy.deploy({
host: 'ip-of-roku',
password: 'password for roku dev admin portal'
//other options if necessary
}).then(function(){
//it worked
}, function(error) {
//it failed
console.error(error);
});
`
Orjavascript`
//create a signed package of your project
rokuDeploy.deployAndSignPackage({
host: 'ip-of-roku',
password: 'password for roku dev admin portal',
signingPassword: 'signing password'
//other options if necessary
}).then(function(pathToSignedPackage){
console.log('Signed package created at ', pathToSignedPackage);
}, function(error) {
//it failed
console.error(error);
});
typescript
rokuDeploy.prepublishToStaging({
rootDir: "folder/with/your/source/code",
stagingDir: 'path/to/staging/folder',
files: [
"source/*/",
"components/*/",
"images/*/",
"manifest"
],
//...other options if necessary
}).then(function(){
//the files have been copied to staging
}, function(error) {
//it failed
console.error(error);
});
`$3
Use this logic if you'd like to create a zip from your application folder.
typescript
/create a signed package of your project
rokuDeploy.zipPackage({
outDir: 'folder/to/put/zip',
stagingDir: 'path/to/files/to/zip',
outFile: 'filename-of-your-app.zip'
//...other options if necessary
}).then(function(){
//the zip has been created
}, function(error) {
//it failed
console.error(error);
});
`
$3
If you've already created a zip using some other tool, you can use roku-deploy to sideload the zip.
typescript
/create a signed package of your project
rokuDeploy.publish({
host: 'ip-of-roku',
password: 'password for roku dev admin portal',
outDir: 'folder/where/your/zip/resides/',
outFile: 'filename-of-your-app.zip'
//...other options if necessary
}).then(function(){
//the app has been sideloaded
}, function(error) {
//it failed
console.error(error);
});
`$3
From an npm script in . (Requires rokudeploy.json to exist at the root level where this is being run) {
"scripts": {
"deploy": "roku-deploy"
}
}
You can provide a callback in any of the higher level methods, which allows you to modify the copied contents before the package is zipped. An info object is passed in with the following attributes
- manifestData: [key: string]: string
Contains all the parsed values from the manifest file
- stagingDir: string
Path to staging folder to make it so you only need to know the relative path to what you're trying to modify
`javascript
let options = {
host: 'ip-of-roku',
password: 'password for roku dev admin portal'
//other options if necessary
}; rokuDeploy.deploy(options, (info) => {
//modify staging dir before it's zipped.
//At this point, all files have been copied to the staging directory.
manipulateFilesInStagingFolder(info.stagingDir)
//this function can also return a promise,
//which will be awaited before roku-deploy starts deploying.
}).then(function(){
//it worked
}, function(){
//it failed
});
`bsconfig.json
Another common config file is bsconfig.json, used by the BrighterScript project and the BrightScript extension for VSCode. Since many of the config settings are shared between and bsconfig.json, roku-deploy supports reading from that file as well. Here is the loading order:
- if roku-deploy.json is found, those settings are used.
- if roku-deploy.json is not found, look for bsconfig.json and use those settings.Note that When roku-deploy is called from within a NodeJS script, the options passed into the roku-deploy methods will override any options found in
roku-deploy.json and bsconfig.json.
Files Array
The files array is how you specify what files are included in your project. Any strings found in the files array must be relative to
rootDir, and are used as include _filters_, meaning that if a file matches the pattern, it is included.For most standard projects, the default files array should work just fine:
`jsonc
{
"files": [
"source/*/",
"components/*/",
"images/*/",
"manifest"
]
}
`This will copy all files from the standard roku folders directly into the package while maintaining each file's relative file path within
.If you want to include additonal files, you will need to provide the entire array. For example, if you have a folder with other assets, you could do the following:
`jsonc
{
"files": [
"source/*/",
"components/*/",
"images/*/",
"manifest"
//your folder with other assets
"assets/*/",
]
}
`$3
You can also prefix your file patterns with "" which will _exclude_ files from the output. This is useful in cases where you want everything in a folder EXCEPT certain files. The files array is processed top to bottom. Here's an example:`jsonc
{
"files": [
"source/*/",
"!source/some/unwanted/file.brs"
]
}
`#### Top-level String Rules
- All patterns will be resolved relative to
, with their relative positions within rootDir maintained. - No pattern may reference a file outside of
rootDir. (You can use {src;dest} objects to accomplish) For example:
`jsonc
{
"rootDir": "C:/projects/CatVideoPlayer",
"files": [
"source/main.brs", //NOT allowed because it navigates outside the rootDir
"../common/promise.brs"
]
}
` - Any valid glob pattern is supported. See glob on npm for more information.
- Empty folders are not copied
- Paths to folders will be ignored. If you want to copy a folder and its contents, use the glob syntax (i.e.
)$3
For more advanced use cases, you may provide an object which contains the source pattern and output path. This allows you to get very specific about what files to copy, and where they are placed in the output folder. This option also supports copying files from outside the project.The object structure is as follows:
`typescript
{
/**
* a glob pattern string or file path, or an array of glob pattern strings and/or file paths.
* These can be relative paths or absolute paths.
* All non-absolute paths are resolved relative to the rootDir
*/
src: Array;
/**
* The relative path to the location in the output folder where the files should be placed, relative to the root of the output folder
*/
dest: string|undefined
}
`
#### { src; dest } Object Rules
- if is a non-glob path to a single file, then dest should include the filename and extension. For example:
{ src: "lib/Promise/promise.brs", dest: "source/promise.brs"} - if
is a glob pattern, then dest should be a path to the folder in the output directory. For example:
{ src: "lib/*.brs", dest: "source/lib"} - if
is a glob pattern that includes , then all files found in src after the will retain their relative paths in src when copied to dest. For example:
{ src: "lib/**.brs", dest: "source/lib"} - if
is a path to a folder, it will be ignored. If you want to copy a folder and its contents, use the glob syntax. The following example will copy all files from the lib/vendor folder recursively:
{ src: "lib/vendor/*/", dest: "vendor" } - if
is not specified, the root of the output folder is assumed ### Collision Handling
roku-deploy processes file entries in order, so if you want to override a file, just make sure the one you want to keep is later in the files arrayFor example, if you have a base project, and then a child project that wants to override specific files, you could do the following:
`jsonc
{
"files": [
{
//copy all files from the base project
"src": "../BaseProject/*/"
},
//override "../BaseProject/themes/theme.brs" with "${rootDir}/themes/theme.brs"
"themes/theme.brs"
]
}
`roku-deploy Options
Here are the available options. The defaults are shown to the right of the option name, but all can be overridden:- host: string (required)
The IP address or hostname of the target Roku device. Example:
- password: string (required)
The password for logging in to the developer portal on the target Roku device
- signingPassword: string (required for signing)
The password used for creating signed packages
- rekeySignedPackage: string (required for rekeying)
Path to a copy of the signed package you want to use for rekeying
- devId: string
Dev ID we are expecting the device to have. If supplied we check that the dev ID returned after keying matches what we expected
- outDir?: string =
A full path to the folder where the zip/pkg package should be placed- outFile?: string =
The base filename the zip/pkg file should be given (excluding the extension)- rootDir?: string =
The root path to the folder holding your project. The manifest file should be directly underneath this folder. Use this option when your roku project is in a subdirectory of where roku-deploy is installed.- files?: ( string | { src: string; dest: string; } ) [] =
[
"source/*/.*",
"components/*/.*",
"images/*/.*",
"manifest"
]
An array of file paths, globs, or {src:string;dest:string} objects that will be copied into the deployment package. Using the {src;dest} objects will allow you to move files into different destination paths in the
deployment package. This would be useful for copying environment-specific configs into a common config location
(i.e. copy from
to "roku-deploy.zip\config.json"). Here's a sample:
`jsonc
//deploy configs/dev.config.json as config.json
{
"src": "configs/dev.config.json",
"dest": "config.json"
}
`
jsonc
//you can omit the filename in dest if you want the file to keep its name. Just end dest with a trailing slash.
{
"src": "languages/english/language.xml",
"dest": "languages/"
}
`
This will result in the file being copied to the zip file and named "config.json".
You can also provide negated globs (thanks to glob-all). So something like this would include all component files EXCEPT for specs.
`
files: [
'components/*/.*',
'!components/*/.spec.*'
]
NOTE: If you override this "files" property, you need to provide all config values, as your array will completely overwrite the default.
- retainStagingFolder?: boolean =
Set this to true to prevent the staging folder from being deleted after creating the package. This is helpful for troubleshooting why your package isn't being created the way you expected.- stagingDir?: string =
${options.outDir}/.roku-deploy-staging
The path to the staging folder (where roku-deploy places all of the files right before zipping them up).- convertToSquashfs?: boolean =
If true we convert to squashfs before creating the pkg file- incrementBuildNumber?: boolean =
If true we increment the build number to be a timestamp in the format yymmddHHMM- username?: string =
The username for the roku box. This will always be 'rokudev', but allow to be passed in
just in case roku adds support for custom usernames in the future- packagePort?: string = 80
The port used for package-related requests. This is mainly used for things like emulators, or when your roku is behind a firewall with a port-forward.
- remotePort?: string = 8060
The port used for sending remote control commands (like home press or back press). This is mainly used for things like emulators, or when your roku is behind a firewall with a port-forward.
- remoteDebug?: boolean = false
When publishing a side loaded channel this flag can be used to enable the socket based BrightScript debug protocol. This should always be
unless you're creating a plugin for an editor such as VSCode, Atom, Sublime, etc.
More information on the BrightScript debug protocol can be found here: https://developer.roku.com/en-ca/docs/developer-program/debugging/socket-based-debugger.md- deleteInstalledChannel?: boolean = true
If true the previously installed dev channel will be deleted before installing the new one
Click here to see the typescript interface for these options
User-agent
roku-deploy includes a User-Agent header to help you filter out unwanted network traffic from your network monitoring software of choice. The User-Agent header will be the name of the tool (roku-deploy) followed by the full version of the tool. If you're using a prerelease or temporary testing version, that information will also be included. Here are some examples:
`
User-Agent: roku-deploy/3.12.6
User-Agent: roku-deploy/4.0.0-alpha.12
User-Agent: roku-deploy/3.12.7-some-branch-name-123.3958293294854If for some strange reason we were unable to find the version number, then the
will be:
`
User-Agent: roku-deploy/unknown
Troubleshooting
- if you see a