[FR] Add resolve.modules for relocating the source tree

Clear and concise description of the problem

I’d like to be able to locate the source code (aka project root) separately from the buildchain.

In other words, I’d like to move Vite’s project root elsewhere using the root config option, but keep the package.json and node_modules in a separate buildchain directory, like this:

├── buildchain
│   ├── .env
│   ├── node_modules
│   ├── package-lock.json
│   ├── package.json
│   └── vite.config.js
└── assets
    ├── dist
    ├── public
    │   └── image.png
    └── src
        ├── css
        │   └── app.pcss
        └── js
            └── app.js

In the above diagram, the project root would be: ../assets

You currently can’t do this as far as I can tell, because Vite assumes node_modules will be in the project root, and imports will fail if it isn’t.

I’d suggest adding a config option like webpack’s resolve.modules:

https://webpack.js.org/configuration/resolve/#resolvemodules

…which allows you to specify where the node_modules directory lives for resolving purposes.

[khalwat]

The cases are when you are integrating Vite into a larger project (CMS, Laravel, whatever).

I have found a config that works (thanks to Jared) using:

    "@rollup/plugin-node-resolve": "^13.0.0",

…and file system aliases. It still feels a little icky, but it works. I’d love to see something like the webpack resolve.modules config that works globally

[Niputi]

it looks like he found solution for what he wanted to do https://discord.com/channels/804011606160703521/804440129095073893/842934328136171530