Question 1

gulp-csso vs cssnano which is better for Gulp?

Accepted Answer

gulp-csso leverages CSSO for structural optimizations, often yielding smaller CSS, while cssnano offers a broader plugin ecosystem and more community support. For Gulp-specific projects, gulp-csso is ideal if you prioritize CSSO's deep compression, but cssnano might be preferred for its extensibility and frequent updates.

Question 2

how to disable restructuring in gulp-csso?

Accepted Answer

Set the restructure option to false in the plugin configuration, as shown in the README example for development tasks. This allows basic minification without structural changes, useful when you need to preserve CSS specificity or debugging clarity.

Question 3

does gulp-csso support CSS custom properties or modern features?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it uses CSSO which handles standard CSS including custom properties, but optimizations depend on CSSO's capabilities. For specific features, check the CSSO documentation, as gulp-csso inherits all its strengths and limitations.

Question 4

how to generate source maps with gulp-csso?

Accepted Answer

Use the sourceMap option set to true or integrate with gulp-sourcemaps by calling sourcemaps.init() and sourcemaps.write(), as demonstrated in the README. This ensures source maps are created for easier debugging of minified CSS.

Question 5

what is the debug mode in gulp-csso and how do I use it?

Accepted Answer

Debug mode outputs detailed information about the minification process; enable it by setting debug to true or a positive number in options. This helps identify optimization issues, such as redundant rules or selector restructuring, with more details at higher values.

Question 6

can gulp-csso be used with Sass or Less preprocessing?

Accepted Answer

No, gulp-csso only handles CSS minification and requires separate Gulp plugins for preprocessing like gulp-sass or gulp-less. You would pipe CSS output from those plugins into gulp-csso for optimization in a build pipeline.

Question 7

is gulp-csso actively maintained and reliable?

Accepted Answer

Based on the README, it has build status badges and dependency checks, indicating ongoing maintenance, but issues are deferred to CSSO's tracker. Check GitHub for recent updates and community activity to gauge long-term reliability.

gulp-csso

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