feat(@angular/build): add experimentalNodeless option for SSR builds

Introduced 'experimentalNodeless' boolean option to specify Node.js usage for SSR applications. Setting this option to false enables deployment in non-Node.js environments, such as Edge Workers.

**Note:** that this feature does not include polyfills for Node.js modules and is experimental, subject to future changes.

Author: alan-agius4

packages/angular/build/src/builders/application/options.ts

@@ -264,10 +264,11 @@ export async function normalizeOptions(
   if (options.ssr === true) {
     ssrOptions = {};
   } else if (typeof options.ssr === 'object') {
-    const { entry } = options.ssr;
+    const { entry, experimentalNodeless = false } = options.ssr;
 
     ssrOptions = {
       entry: entry && path.join(workspaceRoot, entry),
+      nodeless: experimentalNodeless,
     };
   }
 

packages/angular/build/src/builders/application/schema.json

@@ -518,6 +518,11 @@
             "entry": {
               "type": "string",
               "description": "The server entry-point that when executed will spawn the web server."
+            },
+            "experimentalNodeless": {
+              "type": "boolean",
+              "description": "Indicate whether the build is intended for use with Node.js. Setting this to 'false' is especially beneficial for deploying the server application in environments that do not utilize Node.js, such as workers. Please note that this feature does not provide polyfills for Node.js modules. Additionally, it is experimental, and the schematics may undergo changes in future versions.",
+              "default": false
             }
           },
           "additionalProperties": false

packages/angular/build/src/tools/esbuild/application-code-bundle.ts

@@ -160,8 +160,10 @@ export function createServerPolyfillBundleOptions(
 ): BundlerOptionsFactory | undefined {
   const serverPolyfills: string[] = [];
   const polyfillsFromConfig = new Set(options.polyfills);
+  const isNodeless = !!options.ssrOptions?.nodeless;
+
   if (!isZonelessApp(options.polyfills)) {
-    serverPolyfills.push('zone.js/node');
+    serverPolyfills.push(isNodeless ? 'zone.js' : 'zone.js/node');
   }
 
   if (
@@ -190,22 +192,24 @@ export function createServerPolyfillBundleOptions(
 
   const buildOptions: BuildOptions = {
     ...polyfillBundleOptions,
-    platform: 'node',
+    platform: isNodeless ? 'neutral' : 'node',
     outExtension: { '.js': '.mjs' },
     // Note: `es2015` is needed for RxJS v6. If not specified, `module` would
     // match and the ES5 distribution would be bundled and ends up breaking at
     // runtime with the RxJS testing library.
     // More details: https://github.com/angular/angular-cli/issues/25405.
     mainFields: ['es2020', 'es2015', 'module', 'main'],
     entryNames: '[name]',
-    banner: {
-      js: [
-        // Note: Needed as esbuild does not provide require shims / proxy from ESModules.
-        // See: https://github.com/evanw/esbuild/issues/1921.
-        `import { createRequire } from 'node:module';`,
-        `globalThis['require'] ??= createRequire(import.meta.url);`,
-      ].join('\n'),
-    },
+    banner: isNodeless
+      ? undefined
+      : {
+          js: [
+            // Note: Needed as esbuild does not provide require shims / proxy from ESModules.
+            // See: https://github.com/evanw/esbuild/issues/1921.
+            `import { createRequire } from 'node:module';`,
+            `globalThis['require'] ??= createRequire(import.meta.url);`,
+          ].join('\n'),
+        },
     target,
     entryPoints: {
       'polyfills.server': namespace,
@@ -373,6 +377,12 @@ export function createSsrEntryCodeBundleOptions(
   const ssrEntryNamespace = 'angular:ssr-entry';
   const ssrInjectManifestNamespace = 'angular:ssr-entry-inject-manifest';
   const ssrInjectRequireNamespace = 'angular:ssr-entry-inject-require';
+
+  const inject: string[] = [ssrInjectManifestNamespace];
+  if (!ssrOptions.nodeless) {
+    inject.unshift(ssrInjectRequireNamespace);
+  }
+
   const buildOptions: BuildOptions = {
     ...getEsBuildServerCommonOptions(options),
     target,
@@ -390,7 +400,7 @@ export function createSsrEntryCodeBundleOptions(
         styleOptions,
       ),
     ],
-    inject: [ssrInjectRequireNamespace, ssrInjectManifestNamespace],
+    inject,
   };
 
   buildOptions.plugins ??= [];
@@ -492,7 +502,7 @@ export function createSsrEntryCodeBundleOptions(
 function getEsBuildServerCommonOptions(options: NormalizedApplicationBuildOptions): BuildOptions {
   return {
     ...getEsBuildCommonOptions(options),
-    platform: 'node',
+    platform: options.ssrOptions?.nodeless ? 'neutral' : 'node',
     outExtension: { '.js': '.mjs' },
     // Note: `es2015` is needed for RxJS v6. If not specified, `module` would
     // match and the ES5 distribution would be bundled and ends up breaking at

packages/angular/build/src/tools/esbuild/bundler-context.ts

@@ -423,7 +423,9 @@ export class BundlerContext {
   }
 
   get #platformIsServer(): boolean {
-    return this.#esbuildOptions?.platform === 'node';
+    return (
+      this.#esbuildOptions?.platform === 'node' || this.#esbuildOptions?.platform === 'neutral'
+    );
   }
 
   /**