fix: Do not publish .proto files to npm by danieljbruce · Pull Request #8108 · googleapis/google-cloud-node

danieljbruce · 2026-04-24T15:25:22Z

Description

This pull request addresses issue googleapis/librarian#4820. The .proto files should be the only files removed from the build so that customers enjoy reduced package dependency size.

Note that we also change npm run compile so that build/protos doesn't get created. This is advantageous because it ensures that when testing we will discover that the build fails earlier when the tests don't work instead of the build failing when we try to publish the package.

Impact

Will speed up npm install for customers and reduce customer burden.

Testing

It is worth calling out that it is kind of difficult to test package publishing. We could cut a pre-release and see what happens, but maybe this isn't necessary since npm will stop publishing if any changes break the build anyway. We also considered the impact of customers reaching into the library to reference the .proto files, but these files are unlikely to be useful to customers anyway.

…/google-cloud-node into protos-do-not-publish

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Code Review

This pull request updates numerous package.json files to exclude .proto files from published npm packages and introduces a command to delete the build/protos/google directory during compilation. The review feedback correctly identifies a critical issue: explicitly deleting the google directory removes essential JSON descriptors required by the libraries at runtime, which would break the generated clients. Since the .proto files are already excluded via the files array in package.json, the reviewer recommends removing the destructive rm -rf commands from the compile and prepare scripts to ensure library stability.

gemini-code-assist · 2026-04-24T15:29:28Z

    "lint": "gts check src samples test",
    "clean": "gts clean",
-    "compile": "tsc -p . && cp src/*.json build/src && cp -r test/fixtures build/test && cp -r protos build/",
+    "compile": "tsc -p . && cp src/*.json build/src && cp -r test/fixtures build/test && cp -r protos build/ && rm -rf build/protos/google",


The command rm -rf build/protos/google is too broad. It deletes the entire google directory tree within build/protos, which typically contains not only .proto files but also the .json descriptors required by the library at runtime (e.g., google/api/http.json, google/longrunning/operations.json). Deleting these will break the library's ability to load these descriptors. Since you have already added !build/protos/**/*.proto to the files array in package.json, the .proto files will be excluded from the published npm package automatically. If the intention of deleting them during compile is to ensure tests don't rely on them, you should specifically target .proto files while preserving .json files.

Suggested change

"compile": "tsc -p . && cp src/*.json build/src && cp -r test/fixtures build/test && cp -r protos build/ && rm -rf build/protos/google",

"compile": "tsc -p . && cp src/*.json build/src && cp -r test/fixtures build/test && cp -r protos build/",

gemini-code-assist · 2026-04-24T15:29:28Z

    "compile-http-protos": "pbjs -t static-module -r http_proto --keep-case google/api/http.proto -p ./protos > protos/http.js && pbts protos/http.js -o protos/http.d.ts",
    "fix": "gts fix",
-    "prepare": "npm run compile && cd ../tools && npm i && npm run compile && cd ../gax && pwd && node ../tools/build/src/prepublish.js . && mkdirp build/protos && cp -r protos/* build/protos/ && npm run minify-proto-json",
+    "prepare": "npm run compile && cd ../tools && npm i && npm run compile && cd ../gax && pwd && node ../tools/build/src/prepublish.js . && mkdirp build/protos && cp -r protos/* build/protos/ && rm -rf build/protos/google && npm run minify-proto-json",


As noted in the compile script, rm -rf build/protos/google will delete required JSON descriptors. Additionally, this prepare script redundantly copies protos to build/protos after npm run compile has already done so. It is safer to rely on the files exclusion in package.json to prevent publishing .proto files while preserving the necessary JSON files.

Suggested change

"prepare": "npm run compile && cd ../tools && npm i && npm run compile && cd ../gax && pwd && node ../tools/build/src/prepublish.js . && mkdirp build/protos && cp -r protos/* build/protos/ && rm -rf build/protos/google && npm run minify-proto-json",

"prepare": "npm run compile && cd ../tools && npm i && npm run compile && cd ../gax && pwd && node ../tools/build/src/prepublish.js . && mkdirp build/protos && cp -r protos/* build/protos/ && npm run minify-proto-json",

gemini-code-assist · 2026-04-24T15:29:28Z

@@ -25,7 +26,7 @@
  ],
  "scripts": {
    "clean": "gts clean",


Deleting build/protos/google will remove the package's own proto descriptors (e.g., google/cloud/<service>/v1/<service>.json) if they are located within that directory structure. This will break the generated client at runtime. The exclusion of .proto files from the npm package is already correctly handled by the files array entry !build/protos/**/*.proto. You should remove the rm -rf command to ensure the necessary JSON descriptors are preserved in the build.

Suggested change

"clean": "gts clean",

"compile": "tsc -p . && cp -r protos build/{% if not api.legacyProtoLoad %} && minifyProtoJson{% endif %}",

I notice this change is inside core. I'm somewhat concerned about that.

gemini-code-assist · 2026-04-24T15:29:28Z

    "babel": "babel esm --out-dir build/cjs --ignore \"esm/**/*.d.ts\" --extensions \".ts\" --out-file-extension .cjs --copy-files",
    "compile:cjs": "tsc -p ./tsconfig.json && npm run babel",
-    "compile": "npm run compile:esm && rm -rf esm/src/json-helper.d.cts && npm run compile:cjs && rm -rf build/protos && cp -r protos build/protos",
+    "compile": "npm run compile:esm && rm -rf esm/src/json-helper.d.cts && npm run compile:cjs && rm -rf build/protos && cp -r protos build/protos && rm -rf build/protos/google",


As with the CJS template, rm -rf build/protos/google is likely to delete required JSON descriptors, breaking the library. The files array already excludes .proto files from the package. Recommend removing this deletion step from the compile script.

Suggested change

"compile": "npm run compile:esm && rm -rf esm/src/json-helper.d.cts && npm run compile:cjs && rm -rf build/protos && cp -r protos build/protos && rm -rf build/protos/google",

"compile": "npm run compile:esm && rm -rf esm/src/json-helper.d.cts && npm run compile:cjs && rm -rf build/protos && cp -r protos build/protos",

gemini-code-assist · 2026-04-24T15:29:28Z

  ],
  "scripts": {
-    "compile": "tsc -p . && cp -r proto* build/ && cp -r testproxy/proto* build/testproxy/",
+    "compile": "tsc -p . && cp -r proto* build/ && rm -rf build/protos/google && cp -r testproxy/proto* build/testproxy/",


Deleting build/protos/google will remove the Bigtable proto descriptors, breaking the library. The files array already handles the exclusion of .proto files from the published package.

Suggested change

"compile": "tsc -p . && cp -r proto* build/ && rm -rf build/protos/google && cp -r testproxy/proto* build/testproxy/",

"compile": "tsc -p . && cp -r proto* build/ && cp -r testproxy/proto* build/testproxy/",

danieljbruce

We should address this item

danieljbruce · 2026-04-24T15:55:35Z

@@ -25,7 +26,7 @@
  ],
  "scripts": {
    "clean": "gts clean",


I notice this change is inside core. I'm somewhat concerned about that.

danieljbruce

We need to make sure prompting does not change the string that is fed into protos.

danieljbruce · 2026-04-24T17:16:56Z

  "scripts": {
    "clean": "gts clean",
-    "compile": "tsc -p . && cp -r protos build/{% if not api.legacyProtoLoad %} && minifyProtoJson{% endif %}",
+    "compile": "tsc -p . && cp -r protos build/ && rm -rf build/protos/google{% if not api.legacyProtoLoad %} && minifyProtoJson{% endif %}",


This generated code here is concerning. The string for the protos command should not change.

danieljbruce added 4 commits April 20, 2026 10:01

Do not publish the protos to npm

af4aee1

fix: Do not publish the protos to npm

a0cfc34

Merge branch 'protos-do-not-publish' of https://github.com/googleapis…

feca651

…/google-cloud-node into protos-do-not-publish

target only specific files for proto changes

e65820f

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fix: Do not publish .proto files to npm#8108

fix: Do not publish .proto files to npm#8108
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protos-do-not-publish

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	"compile": "tsc -p . && cp src/*.json build/src && cp -r test/fixtures build/test && cp -r protos build/ && rm -rf build/protos/google",
	"compile": "tsc -p . && cp src/*.json build/src && cp -r test/fixtures build/test && cp -r protos build/",

	"prepare": "npm run compile && cd ../tools && npm i && npm run compile && cd ../gax && pwd && node ../tools/build/src/prepublish.js . && mkdirp build/protos && cp -r protos/* build/protos/ && rm -rf build/protos/google && npm run minify-proto-json",
	"prepare": "npm run compile && cd ../tools && npm i && npm run compile && cd ../gax && pwd && node ../tools/build/src/prepublish.js . && mkdirp build/protos && cp -r protos/* build/protos/ && npm run minify-proto-json",

	"clean": "gts clean",
	"compile": "tsc -p . && cp -r protos build/{% if not api.legacyProtoLoad %} && minifyProtoJson{% endif %}",

	"compile": "npm run compile:esm && rm -rf esm/src/json-helper.d.cts && npm run compile:cjs && rm -rf build/protos && cp -r protos build/protos && rm -rf build/protos/google",
	"compile": "npm run compile:esm && rm -rf esm/src/json-helper.d.cts && npm run compile:cjs && rm -rf build/protos && cp -r protos build/protos",

	"compile": "tsc -p . && cp -r proto* build/ && rm -rf build/protos/google && cp -r testproxy/proto* build/testproxy/",
	"compile": "tsc -p . && cp -r proto* build/ && cp -r testproxy/proto* build/testproxy/",

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danieljbruce commented Apr 24, 2026

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