Should I keep @angular/compiler in dependencies or devDependencies?

Question

Should I keep @angular/compiler in dependencies or devDependencies in package.json? Why do I need it in dependencies if my production code is already compiled?

Answer 1

2021 UPDATE:

The AOT compiler has improved significantly, and can be used for development.

• The "@angular/compiler" and "@angular/cli" references can be moved to devDependencies
• You can use the "BrowserModule", instead of "PlatformBrowserDynamic" which was used for JIT compilation.

Answer 2

package.json is organized into two groups of packages:

• Dependencies are essential to running applications.
• DevDependencies are only necessary to develop applications.

You should keep @angular/compiler in dependencies because as it mention in its official document as below

Angular's template compiler. It understands templates and can convert them to code that makes the application run and render. Typically you don’t interact with the compiler directly; rather, you use it indirectly via platform-browser-dynamic when JIT compiling in the browser. For more information, see the Ahead-of-time Compilation guide.

For more detail you can check its official document.