Activity Functions

Understanding activity functions helps you work with single-spa confidently. Here you will learn the core ideas behind activity functions, see working code, and pick up best practices used on real teams.

Activity Functions Overview

Activity Functions is a building block you will reach for often in single-spa. It keeps related logic together and makes your intent obvious to reviewers and future maintainers.

When you learn activity functions properly, you avoid the guesswork that leads to bugs and rework. The example below shows the shape you will use in most real single-spa projects.

import { registerApplication, start } from 'single-spa';

registerApplication({
  name: '@org/app',
  app: () => System.import('@org/app'),
  activeWhen: ['/app'],
});

start();

single-spa orchestrates multiple framework apps on one page through a root config.

Activity Functions Example

registerApplication({
  name: '@org/app',
  app: () => System.import('@org/app'),
  activeWhen: ['/app'],
});
start();

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

Single-SPA Cheatsheet

Core single-spa APIs related to activity functions.

API	Example	Purpose
registerApplication	`registerApplication({ name, app, activeWhen })`	Register a micro frontend
activeWhen	`activeWhen: ['/checkout']`	Route ownership
start	`start()`	Begin routing
bootstrap	`export async function bootstrap()`	One-time setup
mount	`export async function mount(props)`	Render the app
unmount	`export async function unmount(props)`	Clean up the app
import map	`systemjs-importmap`	Locate app bundles

How Activity Functions Works in Single-SPA

Activity Functions is part of how single-spa lets multiple applications — even in different frameworks — coexist on one page. A root config registers each app and controls when it is active.

single-spa orchestrates multiple framework apps on one page through a root config.

A root config registers apps and calls start().
Each app exports bootstrap, mount, and unmount lifecycles.
activeWhen decides which routes each app owns.
Import maps resolve each app's bundle at runtime.

Practical Guidance for Activity Functions

For reliable micro frontends, activity functions should isolate failures and keep shared state minimal. Let each team own its app end to end while agreeing on a few shared contracts.

Concern	Recommendation
Isolation	One app's crash should not break others
Shared state	Prefer shared utility modules over globals
Routing	Keep activeWhen rules explicit and non-overlapping
Deployment	Release via import-map updates per app

Common Mistakes

Skipping error handling and edge cases when wiring up activity functions.
Leaving activity functions untested, so regressions slip into production.
Over-engineering activity functions before you actually need the extra flexibility.
Ignoring documentation, which makes activity functions hard for the next developer to change.

Key Takeaways

Activity Functions is a core part of working effectively with single-spa.
Start small and keep activity functions focused on a single responsibility.
Apply consistent patterns so activity functions scales across your project.
Test and document activity functions to keep it maintainable over time.

Pro Tip

Pair activity functions with automated tests from day one. It is far cheaper to catch single-spa regressions in CI than in production.