Quick Summary:
This comprehensive blog covers everything you need to know about Angular standalone components. Introduced in Angular v14, standalone components allow you to build modular and self-contained units without relying on NgModules. Ideal for scalable apps and standalone components, Angular enhances reusability, decreases complex code, and boosts performance, making projects flexible, maintainable, and future-compatible.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Since its release in Angular v14, the Angular standalone component has transformed the application dynamically. The components allow you to build innovative, flexible, and quick applications without the requirement of NgModule. Moreover, using a Standalone component, Angular can function independently.
In this blog, we will cover Angular standalone components in detail, exploring their core features, core benefits, how they simplify application development, step-by-step guide, and the future it holds in Angular apps.
Understanding Angular Standalone Components and Why They Are Important?
Introduced in Angular 14, Standalone components are self-contained units that can operate automatically. They are implemented to simplify Angular application development and do not require declaring in a NgModule. The Angular standalone components, directives, and pipes are utilized to streamline the authoring experience with less need for NgModules.
However, migrating it into the existing application is optional. Integrating into an existing Angular application can enhance your experience without requiring any new changes. In addition, it can create small and focused components that are easier to understand, maintain, and test. Moreover, standalone components promote better code, enhance efficiency, and decrease the bundle size.
Key characteristics of Standalone Components include:
- Independence: They are not tied to any NgModule, making them easier to manage and reuse.
- Minimal boilerplate: Standalone components reduce the need for extensive declarations and imports in NgModules.
- Direct integration: They can be directly imported and used in other components or modules.
Benefits of Using Angular Standalone Components
With its initial release in Angular 14, standalone components in Angular offer numerous advantages to your application.
Standalone components are self-contained, which promotes reusable code and makes it easier to use them across different parts of an app or for separate projects. Moreover, additional modules are not required to function with all the dependencies. As a result, it assists in integrating seamlessly, decreasing code duplication, and promoting clean code.
2. Simplify Modular Management
With no need for separate NgModules, standalone components in Angular help streamline their development and management. Declaring the dependency injection within the components reduces the overhead of multiple files. In addition, it simplifies the project structure and provides a better intuitive workflow for developers to work on large-scale projects.
Standalone components include only the dependencies they require, which minimizes unnecessary code in the final application build. This optimization reduces bundle sizes, leading to faster load times and improved performance, especially for users on slower networks or mobile devices.
4. Lazy Loading Tree-shaking and Optimization
With built-in compatibility, Angular’s lazy loading feature allows you to load whenever it is needed and decreases the initial loading time. Moreover, utilizing tree-shaking eliminates unused code and dependencies during the build process, ensuring it remains highly optimized and efficient.
5. Streamline Testing
Testing becomes simpler with standalone components, as they do not rely on external modules. Their self-contained nature means fewer setup requirements, allowing developers to write and maintain tests more efficiently. It saves time and ensures that individual components can be tested in isolation, improving overall code quality.
6. Enhance Flexibility
Standalone components provide you with more options for usage. It is directly integrated into routes, lazy-loaded as independent modules, or used independently without additional dependencies. This flexibility enables the creation of dynamic, modular, scalable applications tailored to specific requirements.
7. Long-Term Compatibility
As Angular evolves, standalone components are central to its vision for simplified and modernized development. By adopting standalone components, it ensures that your applications remain aligned with future Angular updates, making them easier to maintain and upgrade over time. As a result, the future-ready approach helps you to secure the longevity of Angular projects.
Pro Tip- Run the strictStandalone compiler option to enforce the rule that only standalone components are written within your application.
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Angular Standalone Component vs Module
Let’s understand Stadalone components in Angular more efficiently by comparing it with modules. Here is the difference of Angular standalone components vs module:
| Aspect | Standalone Components | Module |
| Definition | The self-contained component that doesn't require a module.
| The container for components, directives, pipes, and services.
|
| Usage | It can be implemented without being part of a module.
| It must be declared and included in a module.
|
| Code Reusability | High code reusability because of self-contained components | Services and components required to be declared within NgModules
|
| Independence | Can perform independently without relying on NgModules
| Relies on NgModules for organized features |
| Performance | Reduce bundle size, making it high performance | Larger bundle size, making it slower performance |
| Best Use Case | Micro-front ends,smaller, and dynamic applications | Larger application with structure organization |
How to Create Standalone Components in Angular?
Implementing standalone components in Angular is straightforward and eliminates the need for NgModules. Follow these step-by-step instructions to get started for the Angular standalone component tutorial:
Step 1: Install Angular CLI
Before proceeding to create standalone components, ensure you have Angular CLI installed on your system. You can run the following command to install or check Angular CLI:
ng version
If it is not installed, then you can install it with:
npm install -g @angular/cli
Step 2: Build a New Angular Project
However, you need to create a new Angular project. It will build a new project and navigate into the relevant folder:
ng new my-angular-app
Step 3: Generate a Standalone Component
Angular CLI provides an option to create standalone components. You can utilize the –standalone flag while generating a new component:
ng generate component my-standalone-component --standalone
This command will create:
- A component file (my-standalone-component.component.ts).
- An HTML template file (my-standalone-component.component.html).
- A CSS/SCSS file for styling.
- A test file for unit testing.
Nevertheless, the generated component will look something like this in the final result:
import { Component } from '@angular/core';
@Component({
selector: 'app-my-standalone-component',
standalone: true,
templateUrl: './my-standalone-component.component.html',
styleUrls: ['./my-standalone-component.component.css']
})
export class MyStandaloneComponent { }
Step 4: Declare Dependencies (if needed)
If your component requires additional Angular modules (e.g., FormsModule or HttpClientModule), you can import them directly into the imports array of the @Component decorator:
Step 5: Use the Standalone Component
To use your standalone component in the application, you can add its selector directly in a template, such as in the AppComponent HTML:
<![CDATA[<app-my-standalone-component></app-my-standalone-component>]]>
If you are working with routing, you can add it as a route by importing it directly in the AppRoutingModule or wherever your routes are defined:
import { Routes } from '@angular/router';
import { MyStandaloneComponent } from './my-standalone-component/my-standalone-component.component';
const routes: Routes = [
{ path: 'standalone', component: MyStandaloneComponent }
];
Step 6: Run the Application
Start the development server to see your standalone component in action:
ng serve
Navigate to http://localhost:4200 in your browser, and you should see your component rendered as expected.
How to Migrate an Existing Angular Project to Standalone?
By migrating your existing Angular project to standalone components, you can simplify app architecture and add modern features. Start by updating your project to the latest Angular version to access standalone component features.
Use Angular CLI commands to convert components, directives, and pipes to standalone by adding the standalone: true property and importing required dependencies directly within each component. Next, update your routing configurations to integrate standalone components, removing the reliance on NgModules.
Additionally, eliminate unused NgModules from your project to reduce redundancy and enable the strictStandalone compiler option for consistent implementation. Moreover, by testing the application thoroughly, you can ensure all components work as expected.
What Future Angular Standalone Components Holds?
With its numerous benefits and possibilities, standalone components Angular’s future is promising, and every developer should look forward to it. Following are the core reasons why the Angular standalone component will help to shape your project in multiple ways.
It is likely that in the upcoming Angular 19, Standalone components will become the default approach for building Angular apps. Moreover, in the latest Angular version, the standalone:true property is the default for components, directives, and pipes, which reduces the dependence on NgModules.
2. Modular Ecosystem
The Angular ecosystem is evolving to fully support standalone components, paving the way for a more modular and flexible development experience. Angular tools, libraries, and third-party integrations keep updating and ensure that apps are built with highly modular and self-contained components. As a result, they improve better maintainability, enhance scalability, and speed development cycles.
3. Better API
Standalone components introduce a more consistent and streamlined API for developers. By eliminating the need for NgModules, the API becomes simpler and manageable to use. Moreover, it assists you in managing dependencies and focusing on app design and logic. The standardized API also makes your app easier to adapt.
4. Micro-frontend Architecture
Standalone components are ideal for micro-frontend architectures because they function independently without relying on external modules. However, independence makes modular and distributed apps easier, where different teams can work on separate components or features without relying on cross-dependencies.
5. More Adaptability
The flexibility of standalone components implements diverse scenarios, such as lazy loading and direct routing. The adaptability enables you to develop highly dynamic and modular apps tailored to your specific requirements. Furthermore, standalone components of Angular continue to evolve into new features and frameworks.
Streamline Standalone Components with Bacancy
Implementing standalone components in your Angular app will enhance your code reliability and reusability moving forward, making the application ready for the future. At Bacancy, our Angular team assists you in streamlining the development process, eliminating unnecessary dependencies, and promoting modular design. We ensure the seamless integration of standalone components in Angular into your existing architecture or new projects.
What Our Team Deliver:
- A simplified and modernized application structure.
- Faster application performance through advanced optimization techniques.
- Modular, reusable components that reduce development time and maintenance overhead.
- Expert guidance on adopting micro-frontend architecture with standalone components.
- A future-ready application aligned with Angular’s latest standards and roadmap.
Conclusion
Standalone component Angular marks a significant evolution in the framework that provides cleaner and intuitive code to build applications. By removing the dependency on NgModules, the Angular standalone components will empower you to develop scalable, modular, and lightweight applications with ease.
In addition, the shift simplifies overall development, addresses the traditional module-based development challenges, and provides innovative solutions for micro-frontend architectures and highly adaptable systems. You can get in touch with our Angular development company to explore how standalone components can redefine your Angular application. Whether upgrading an existing project or starting a new one, embracing this evolution will ensure your application remains competitive and future-proof.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Standalone components are ideal for applications that need to be modular, scalable, and easily maintainable. They work well in environments where high performance is required, such as single-page applications (SPAs), microservices, micro-frontends, and enterprise-level applications.
You can convert an Angular project to standalone components by using the Angular CLI command ng g @angular/core:standalone. It allows you to convert components, directives, and pipes to standalone, remove unnecessary NgModules, and bootstrap the project using standalone APIs.
Angular CLI offers tools to streamline migration, such as commands to convert components, remove unnecessary systems, and bootstrap projects using standalone APIs. These features make adopting standalone Angular components a smooth process.
Yes, standalone components Angular enable tree-shaking and eliminate unnecessary NgModules, reducing the overall bundle size and improving application performance.
