Google Summer of Code 2025 Proposal

[lakshitgoyal]

Personal Information

• Full Name: Lakshit Goyal

• Email: [email protected]

• GitHub Profile: https://github.com/lakshitgoyal

• University: Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology, GGSIPU

• Year of Study: 1st Year

• Time Zone: IST (GMT +5:30)

• Working Hours per Week: 20–25 hours

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Project Title

Unified Webpack Dev Tools

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Synopsis

Webpack currently offers multiple tools for development purposes: webpack-dev-server, webpack-hot-middleware, and webpack-dev-middleware. However, these tools often overlap in functionality and introduce inconsistencies and complexity in setup. This project aims to unify these tools into a clean, extensible monorepo structure.

The core goal is to extract hot module replacement (HMR) and client logic into a new package (webpack-hmr-middleware), deprecate webpack-hot-middleware, and refactor webpack-dev-server into a monorepo that includes webpack-dev-server, webpack-dev-middleware, and the newly created HMR middleware. The result will be a simpler and more powerful development toolchain for the Webpack ecosystem.

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Benefits to the Community

• Simplified Developer Experience: Developers will interact with a unified API and configuration, reducing cognitive load.

• Better Maintenance: By isolating functionality, the Webpack team and contributors can iterate faster and with more confidence.

• Modern Architecture: A monorepo setup will enable better version control, testing, and dependency sharing.

• Deprecation Cleanup: Eliminating legacy tools like webpack-hot-middleware paves the way for a cleaner codebase and documentation.

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Deliverables

1. New Middleware Package: webpack-hmr-middleware containing extracted HMR and client logic.

2. Migration: Move applicable logic and options from webpack-hot-middleware into the new middleware.

3. Deprecation PR: Initiate and document the deprecation of webpack-hot-middleware.

4. Monorepo Setup: Transform webpack-dev-server into a monorepo housing:

   • webpack-dev-server

   • webpack-dev-middleware

   • webpack-hmr-middleware

5. Documentation: Provide updated docs and migration guides for users.

6. Testing: Ensure full test coverage across all packages.

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Timeline

Period | Task Description -- | -- Community Bonding (May) | Set up development environment, read existing codebases, talk with mentors, explore current dev tool integration. Week 1–2 (June) | Extract hot/client logic from webpack-dev-server into the new webpack-hmr-middleware. Set up initial structure. Week 3–4 | Move core logic and options from webpack-hot-middleware. Ensure feature parity. Week 5 | Integration testing with webpack-dev-server and webpack-dev-middleware. Midterm Evaluation | Completed webpack-hmr-middleware with migration done. Working integration. Week 6–7 | Transform webpack-dev-server into a monorepo using tools like pnpm, npm workspaces, or lerna. Week 8 | Move and link the three packages into the monorepo. Clean up structure. Week 9 | Final tests and cleanup. Deprecation PR for webpack-hot-middleware. Week 10 | Documentation for new tools and migration guide. Final Evaluation | Final polish, mentor reviews, submission of project and blog.

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Technical Approach

1. Codebase Familiarization

• Analyze the code for webpack-dev-server, webpack-dev-middleware, and webpack-hot-middleware.

• Understand how HMR and client logic are distributed.

2. Middleware Creation

• Build a new package: webpack-hmr-middleware that contains all logic related to:

  • Hot Module Replacement.

  • WebSocket client logic.

  • Middleware configuration and event handling.

3. Code Migration

• Move hot reload features from webpack-hot-middleware to the new middleware.

• Ensure backward compatibility (where necessary) using fallbacks or migration utilities.

4. Monorepo Setup

• Use npm workspaces or pnpm to turn webpack-dev-server into a monorepo.

• Ensure seamless linkage of the three packages.

5. Testing and Validation

• Write integration tests.

• Validate that existing projects using these tools continue to work.

• Benchmark performance improvements or parity.

6. Documentation

• Provide API documentation and integration examples.

• Write a migration guide for users moving from webpack-hot-middleware.

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About Me

I am Lakshit Goyal, a first-year Computer Science student at MAIT, GGSIPU. I have a strong foundation in JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and Node.js, and I am passionate about web performance and tooling. I’ve actively explored developer tools and am enthusiastic about simplifying build systems for broader adoption.

Being new to open source, I am excited about the opportunity to contribute to a widely-used tool like Webpack and learn from experienced mentors. I’m eager to build, test, and improve code that will be used by thousands of developers around the world.

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Why This Project?

I love clean developer tooling. When I first learned about Webpack’s development workflow, I was impressed but also slightly confused by the number of dev tools involved. I want to contribute to making this process clearer and more powerful for others. This project is the perfect opportunity for me to grow as a developer while directly improving an essential tool used across the web ecosystem.

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Contributions So Far

I am currently exploring the repositories listed for this project and plan to make meaningful contributions before the coding period begins. I aim to submit PRs or engage with relevant issues in the coming weeks.

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Final Note

I'm highly motivated to contribute to Webpack and grow as a developer through GSoC. I appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with experienced mentors and work on tools that impact developers globally.

Thank you for considering my proposal!

[alexander-akait]

Sorry, we currently don't accept GSoC proposals, because it already started, in future we will have the special discussion for such requests