Terminology

📖 Terminology

This section provides definitions for common terms used throughout the 1fe ecosystem. Use this as a quick reference when you encounter unfamiliar terminology in the documentation.

⚙️ Core Concepts

1fe

A micro-frontend platform that standardizes development, deployment, and execution of frontend experiences. 1fe provides shared utilities and governance controls through a centralized platform team while allowing individual teams to focus on creating unique user experiences. The main repository is available on GitHub.

1fe Instance

A hosted application that runs the 1fe platform for your organization. This is the main application that serves as the runtime environment for all widgets and plugins in your ecosystem. You can get started with the 1fe-starter-app template.

CI/CD

Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment. 1fe provides standardized pipeline templates through 1fe-ci-cd to ensure consistent building, testing, and deployment processes across all widgets and plugins.

CDN

Content Delivery Network. A distributed network of servers used to deliver widget assets efficiently. 1fe deployments typically use a CDN to serve widget bundles for optimal performance.

CLI

Command Line Interface. The @1fe/cli package provides the primary tool for building, developing, and validating widgets and plugins in the 1fe ecosystem.

Contextual Injection

A mechanism where the @1fe/shell package is intercepted at runtime and replaced with platform-specific utilities contextualized to each widget. This enables widgets to access platform utilities without prop drilling.

Ecosystem

The complete set of packages, repositories, tools, and standards that make up the 1fe platform, including core packages, starter kits, templates, and community widgets.

Any packaged JavaScript logic that runs in a browser. Widgets live in their own repositories, control their own release lifecycle, and can be embedded within other widgets or plugins. They follow 1fe standards and are never permitted to be IIFEs (Immediately Invoked Function Expressions).

Plugin

A widget that is tied to a specific URL route. Plugins represent full page experiences in a 1fe application and are accessed via direct navigation to their designated URLs.

A widget where the version can be locked to a specific version by the host widget or plugin. If not pinned, the latest version is automatically used.

Live Configurations

Dynamic configuration files that specify widget versions, CDN locations, and deployment status. These enable runtime updates without server restarts.

🔧 Technical Components

Shell

The main application shell provided by @1fe/shell that includes common UI components (headers, navigation) and shared platform utilities. The shell is delivered as part of the initial HTML response and provides the foundation for all widget execution.

Sandbox

The isolated execution environment that widgets run within. The sandbox provides security boundaries and ensures widgets can only access approved platform utilities and APIs.

Platform Props

Props provided by the 1fe platform to widgets, including environment information, browser details, user data, runtime widget hierarchy, and common utilities.

Host Props

Optional props passed from a parent widget to a child widget for integration purposes. These enable feature flags, configuration APIs, and data sharing between widgets.

🛠️ Development Tools

1fe Playground

A special plugin that provides a sandbox environment for developing and testing widgets in isolation during local development. It allows developers to mock platform props and test widget behavior before deployment. Available in the 1fe-playground repository.

Template repository (1fe-widget-starter-kit) that provides a template for building widgets within the 1fe ecosystem. This starter kit provides the foundation, examples, and best practices for developing production-ready widgets.

Development Patterns

Micro-frontend

An architectural approach where frontend applications are decomposed into smaller, independently deployable pieces. 1fe implements this pattern through widgets and plugins.

Shell Import Syntax

The import pattern used to access platform utilities: import { platformProps } from "@1fe/shell". This syntax is intercepted and replaced with actual platform utilities at runtime.

Guest Development

Development work done by teams outside the core platform team. 1fe aims to reduce guest development friction by providing standardized tools and clear boundaries.

📦 Package References

@1fe/cli

The command-line tool for building, developing, and validating widgets. Key commands include build, contracts, and dev. Available on npm and GitHub.

@1fe/server

The core Express.js server package that provides the runtime backbone for 1fe instances, including configuration polling and asset serving. Available on npm and GitHub.

@1fe/shell

Provides the application shell, layout components, and shared platform utilities that are available to all widgets at runtime. Available on npm and GitHub.

@1fe/create-1fe-app

A scaffolding tool for quickly creating new 1fe instances by answering setup questions in the terminal. Available on npm and GitHub.

Can’t find a term you’re looking for? Check the FAQs or contribute to the documentation by suggesting additions.