Federation with Web Components

Federation with Web Components Overview

At its core, federation with web components is about doing one thing well inside your Module Federation project. Once you understand the pattern, you can apply it consistently across features and teams.

Good federation with web components pays off across the whole codebase: fewer surprises, easier testing, and smoother onboarding. The snippet below is a solid starting point.

const { ModuleFederationPlugin } = require('webpack').container;

module.exports = {
  plugins: [
    new ModuleFederationPlugin({
      name: 'shell',
      remotes: { catalog: 'catalog@http://localhost:3001/remoteEntry.js' },
      exposes: {},
      shared: { react: { singleton: true }, 'react-dom': { singleton: true } },
    }),
  ],
};

ModuleFederationPlugin configures which modules an app exposes, consumes, and shares.

Federation with Web Components Example

new ModuleFederationPlugin({
  name: 'app',
  filename: 'remoteEntry.js',
  exposes: { './Widget': './src/Widget' },
  remotes: { other: 'other@http://host/remoteEntry.js' },
  shared: { react: { singleton: true } },
});

• Start from a minimal Federation with Web Components example and grow it only as needed.
• Keep configuration explicit so Federation with Web Components behaves the same in every environment.
• Name things clearly so teammates understand your Federation with Web Components at a glance.
• Add tests around Federation with Web Components early to lock in expected behaviour.

Module Federation Cheatsheet

Key Module Federation settings related to federation with web components.

How Federation with Web Components Works in Module Federation

Federation with Web Components builds on Module Federation's ability to load code from another independently built and deployed application at runtime. Each app can be a host, a remote, or both.

ModuleFederationPlugin configures which modules an app exposes, consumes, and shares.

• Remotes expose modules through a remoteEntry.js manifest.
• Hosts declare remotes and import exposed modules dynamically.
• Shared dependencies are deduplicated, ideally as singletons.
• Each micro frontend builds and deploys on its own schedule.

Practical Guidance for Federation with Web Components

In production, federation with web components needs careful version management and graceful failure handling. Align shared dependency versions and always render a fallback when a remote cannot load.

Common Mistakes

• Copying federation with web components snippets without understanding what each line does.
• Skipping error handling and edge cases when wiring up federation with web components.
• Leaving federation with web components untested, so regressions slip into production.
• Over-engineering federation with web components before you actually need the extra flexibility.

Key Takeaways

• Federation with Web Components is a core part of working effectively with Module Federation.
• Start small and keep federation with web components focused on a single responsibility.
• Apply consistent patterns so federation with web components scales across your project.
• Test and document federation with web components to keep it maintainable over time.