How to make Play! framework dist command adding some files/folders to the final package?

Question

I wanted the Play! framework dist command to add some folders and files to the final zip file. They are needed for the application to work.

Is there a magic project/Build.scala configuration to make it possible? I couldn't find it in the Play! documentation.

Answer 1

Play uses sbt-native-packager, which supports the inclusion of arbitrary files by adding them to the mappings:

mappings in Universal ++=
  (baseDirectory.value / "scripts" * "*" get) map
    (x => x -> ("scripts/" + x.getName))

The syntax assumes Play 2.2.x.

Answer 2

My Play application was not including template files (in app/views/) in the distributable, and I added them with this in Build.scala:

val main = play.Project(appName, appVersion, appDependencies).settings(
  // Add your own project settings here   
  playAssetsDirectories <+= baseDirectory / "app/views"
)

Answer 3

By looking at the dist source code, I think it is not possible.

But you can use the play clean compile stage command to package the app and its dependencies (from doc):

This cleans and compiles your application, retrieves the required dependencies and copies them to the target/staged directory. It also creates a target/start script that runs the Play server.

Then you'll have to write your own script to add your directories and build a zip.