Cyclic dependencies occur when two or more components depend on each other directly or indirectly. While Bit allows cyclic dependencies, they are considered an anti-pattern in composable software and should be avoided.
Cyclic dependencies introduce several main drawbacks:
- Tight Coupling: Components become tightly coupled, making it difficult to change or reuse them independently.
- Unintended Side Effects: Changes in one component can have unexpected and difficult-to-debug side effects on other components within the cycle.
- Increased Build Times: Changes in one component can trigger a cascade of rebuilds across the dependency chain, significantly increasing build times.
Bit explicitly warns you about cyclic dependencies during the bit snap process, helping you avoid accidental releases of components with these circular relationships. For example:
> acme.auth/ui/login ... issues found circular dependencies (run `bit insights "circular"` to get the component-ids participating in the circular) > acme.design/ui/button ... issues found circular dependencies (run `bit insights "circular"` to get the component-ids participating in the circular)
The bit insights command within your workspace is a powerful tool for analyzing your components, detecting and debugging cyclic dependencies. Run:
bit insights circular
This output clearly identifies the components involved in the cycle, helping you quickly find and fix the issue.
If you need to proceed with a snap despite a known cyclic dependency (e.g., for temporary situations or during a complex refactoring process), you can use the --ignore-issues="CircularDependencies" flag.
bit snap --message "snapping anyway" --ignore-issues="CircularDependencies"
Ignoring cyclic dependencies is strongly discouraged. It masks underlying architectural issues that can lead to problems later on. Resolving the cyclic dependency is always the best practice for maintainability, reusability, and preventing unexpected behavior.
