fast-dev

Set Up Fast Development Environment

Configure your plugin for maximum development speed. Ask the user:

1. What's your biggest bottleneck?

   • Waiting for Kibana to start
   • Route changes requiring restarts
   • Testing UI components
   • Running integration tests
   • All of the above

2. Do you have Elasticsearch running locally?

   • Yes (we'll connect the mock server to it)
   • No (we'll use fully mocked ES)

3. Which parts of your plugin are you actively developing?

   • Server routes
   • React components
   • Saved object types
   • Embeddables
   • All of the above

Generation Steps

Based on answers, generate the appropriate setup:

For Route Development: Mock Server

Create dev/mock-server/ with the mock server that simulates Kibana's core APIs:

# Start mock server (< 1 second startup)
cd dev/mock-server && npm install && npm start

Routes are available at http://localhost:3000/api/your_plugin/... with hot reload.

For UI Development: Storybook

Create .storybook/ config and example stories:

# Run Storybook (no Kibana needed)
yarn storybook your-plugin

For Unit Tests: Jest with Mocks

Create test/mocks/ with pre-configured Kibana core mocks:

# Run tests in watch mode (instant feedback)
yarn jest plugins/your-plugin --watch

For Faster Kibana Startup: Optimized Config

Create kibana.dev.yml with disabled plugins and optimized settings:

# Start Kibana with minimal plugins
yarn start --config kibana.dev.yml

For Integration Tests: Functional Test Config

Create test/api_integration/config.ts for lighter-weight API testing.

Files to Generate

Depending on selections, create:

your-plugin/
├── dev/
│   └── mock-server/           # Standalone route testing
│       ├── mock-server.mjs
│       ├── package.json
│       └── README.md
├── .storybook/                # UI component development
│   ├── main.ts
│   └── preview.tsx
├── test/
│   ├── mocks/                 # Kibana core mocks for Jest
│   │   ├── core_mocks.ts
│   │   ├── es_client_mock.ts
│   │   └── saved_objects_mock.ts
│   └── api_integration/       # Lightweight integration tests
│       └── config.ts
├── kibana.dev.yml             # Fast Kibana startup config
└── scripts/
    └── dev.sh                 # One-command dev environment