MUI Docs Infra

Load Precomputed Types Meta

The precomputed types meta loader is a Webpack/Turbopack loader that automatically generates comprehensive type documentation for your TypeScript components at build time. Write your components in TypeScript, and the loader extracts props, methods, and type signatures—ready to display in your documentation.

Tip

For the high-level rationale behind this pattern see the Built Factories Pattern.

Overview

The loader processes types.ts files that use the createTypesMeta factory pattern, analyzing your TypeScript components and extracting detailed metadata about their APIs. It delegates the actual type processing to loadServerTypesMeta, then injects the precomputed results back into your source code.

Note

The loader works with any create* function that follows the types meta pattern, not just createTypesMeta. You can create custom factory functions using abstractCreateTypes like createApiReference() or createTypeDocs() that return documentation components.

Key Features

  • Webpack/Turbopack integration: Works as a standard loader in your build pipeline
  • Automatic precomputation: Type analysis happens during compilation for zero runtime overhead
  • Dependency tracking: Tracks all source files and updates when types change
  • Performance logging: Optional detailed timing measurements for debugging
  • Configurable formatting: Control how union types and default values are displayed

Configuration

Recommended: withDocsInfra Plugin

The easiest way to configure this loader is with the withDocsInfra Next.js plugin:

// next.config.mjs
import { withDocsInfra } from '@mui/internal-docs-infra/withDocsInfra';

export default withDocsInfra({
  // Automatically includes types.ts loader pattern
});

Manual Next.js Setup

If you need manual control, add the loader directly to your next.config.mjs:

Note

The Turbopack loader requires Next.js version v15.5 or later (depends on this fix)

/** @type {import('next').NextConfig} */
const nextConfig = {
  turbopack: {
    rules: {
      './app/**/types.ts': {
        as: '*.ts',
        loaders: ['@mui/internal-docs-infra/pipeline/loadPrecomputedTypesMeta'],
      },
    },
  },
  webpack: (config, { buildId, dev, isServer, defaultLoaders, webpack }) => {
    config.module.rules.push({
      test: /\/types\.ts$/,
      use: [defaultLoaders.babel, '@mui/internal-docs-infra/pipeline/loadPrecomputedTypesMeta'],
    });

    return config;
  },
};

File Structure

The loader processes types.ts files that contain createTypesMeta factory functions:

app/
├── components/
│   ├── button/
│   │   ├── types.ts          # ← createTypesMeta() processed here
│   │   ├── page.tsx          # ← Next.js page that uses the types
│   │   ├── Button.tsx
│   │   └── demos/
│   │       └── basic/
│   │           └── index.ts
│   └── input/
│       ├── types.ts          # ← And here
│       ├── page.mdx          # ← Or MDX page that uses the types
│       ├── Input.tsx
│       ├── InputLabel.tsx
│       └── demos/
│           └── advanced/
│               └── index.ts

Usage

Basic Types Meta File

Create a types.ts file with the factory pattern using a descriptive named export:

import { createTypesMeta } from '../createTypesMeta';
import Component from './Component';

export const TypesComponent = createTypesMeta(import.meta.url, Component);

Using Types in Pages

Your page.tsx or page.mdx files can then import and render the component returned by createTypesMeta:

// page.tsx
import { TypesComponent } from './types';

export default function ComponentPage() {
  return <TypesComponent />;
}

Multiple Components

When a component has multiple parts (like CheckboxRoot and CheckboxIndicator), you can document them all:

import { createMultipleTypes } from '../createTypes';
import { Checkbox } from '@base-ui/react/checkbox';

const types = createMultipleTypes(import.meta.url, Checkbox);

export const TypesCheckboxRoot = types.Root;
export const TypesCheckboxIndicator = types.Indicator;

Skipping Precomputation

For debugging or development, you can skip the build-time processing:

export const TypesComponent = createTypesMeta(import.meta.url, Component, {
  skipPrecompute: true,
});

Options Reference

Loader Options

Configure the webpack/Turbopack loader with these options:

interface LoaderOptions {
  /** Performance tracking and logging options */
  performance?: {
    /** Enable detailed performance logging */
    logging?: boolean;
    /** Only log operations exceeding this threshold in milliseconds */
    notableMs?: number;
    /** Show wrapper measurements in performance logs */
    showWrapperMeasures?: boolean;
    /** Threshold for notable dependency counts */
    significantDependencyCountThreshold?: number;
  };

  /** Options for formatting types in tables */
  formatting?: FormatInlineTypeOptions;

  /**
   * Directory path for socket and lock files used for IPC between workers.
   * Useful for Windows where the default temp directory may not support Unix domain sockets.
   * Relative paths are resolved from the project root.
   */
  socketDir?: string;
}

Example configuration:

// next.config.mjs
config.module.rules.push({
  test: /\/types\.ts$/,
  use: [
    defaultLoaders.babel,
    {
      loader: '@mui/internal-docs-infra/pipeline/loadPrecomputedTypesMeta',
      options: {
        performance: { logging: true, notableMs: 100 },
        formatting: { shortTypeUnionPrintWidth: 50, defaultValueUnionPrintWidth: 40 },
        socketDir: '.next/cache/docs-infra/types-meta-worker',
      },
    },
  ],
});

Processing Pipeline

The loader follows these steps to precompute your type documentation:

1. Parse Factory Call

Finds your createTypesMeta function call and extracts the component references and options.

2. Delegate to loadServerTypesMeta

Calls loadServerTypesMeta with the parsed factory call, which handles:

  • Loading TypeScript configuration
  • Resolving library source files
  • Processing types via worker thread
  • Formatting and highlighting

3. Insert Precompute Value

Injects the precompute object into your source code with the processed type data.

// Your source before processing
export const TypesButton = createTypesMeta(import.meta.url, Button);

// After processing (simplified)
export const TypesButton = createTypesMeta(import.meta.url, Button, {
  precompute: {
    exports: {
      Button: {
        types: [
          /* formatted TypesMeta objects */
        ],
        typeNameMap: {
          /* flat to dotted name mappings */
        },
      },
    },
    singleComponentName: 'Button',
  },
});

4. Track Dependencies

Adds all discovered TypeScript source files to webpack's watch list for hot reloading.

Benefits

Build-time Optimization

  • Type analysis computed once during build
  • No runtime TypeScript compiler overhead
  • Smaller client bundles (no type parsing libraries)

Developer Experience

  • Hot reloading tracks all type dependencies
  • Clear error messages with suggestions
  • Automatic metadata file discovery

Performance

  • Pre-computed HAST nodes ready for rendering
  • Worker-based processing preserves language service cache
  • Socket-based IPC for multi-worker efficiency

Best Practices

File Organization

  • Keep types.ts files next to their component pages
  • Use descriptive export names like TypesButtonRoot
  • One factory call per file for clarity

Configuration

  • Enable performance logging during development
  • Use socketDir for Windows compatibility
  • Configure formatting thresholds for your table layouts

Related