Vite not running on codeBuild, keeps saying cannot import SVG - node.js

Question

I've been trying to learn AWS's CDK and one of my attempts involved using a seperate repositories for both the infrastructure and the application itself.
My application repository is the bog standard vite#latest install. No changes.
I'm having issues where when i deploy, the build is crashing with codeBuilds log stating src/App.tsx(2,23): error TS2307: Cannot find module './assets/react.svg' or its corresponding type declarations.
I've tried adjusting the tsconfig to include an #types folder with declarations for svg but this didn't work at all. It just gave more typescript errors.
I feel like i'm missing something really silly.
My CDK Pipeline:
const pipeline = new CodePipeline(this, "CahmFrontendPipeline", {
pipelineName: "CahmFrontendPipeline",
synth: new ShellStep("Synth", {
input: CodePipelineSource.gitHub("myuser/myrepo", "master", {
authentication: cdk.SecretValue.secretsManager("MY_SECRET"),
}),
primaryOutputDirectory: "dist",
commands: [
"cd frontend",
"npm i",
"npm run build",
"npx cdk synth",
],
}),
});
This all works right till the codebuild. I've tried changing the image it's using as well but to no avail. Has anyone had this problem and might be able to point me in the right direction?

Answer 1

Things get confusing because paths act differently between dev and build (prod). I created a very simple example sandbox to help visual things using the Vite starter app. I would also recommend reading the Static Asset Handling. Also incredibly useful are the Vite Build Options which let you change where files are output.
Ideally, you want to use import reactSVG from './assets/react.svg' at the top of your component, then reference that src in the render using src={reactSVG). Both dev and build will be happy with that.
Or you should use an absolute path like /assets/react.svg, removing the . in front.
Besides the sandbox above, I wrote detailed notes on what's happening inline above each image to help the understanding.
import { useState } from "react";
import reactLogo from "./assets/react.svg";
import "./App.css";
function App() {
const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
return (
<div className="App">
<div>
<a href="https://vitejs.dev" target="_blank">
{/**
* In dev, /vite.svg defaults to the "/public/vite.svg"
* In build/prod, /vite.svg defaults to "/dist/vite.svg"
* Use absolute paths or imports (below) when possible.
*/}
<img
src="/vite.svg"
className="logo"
alt="Vite logo"
width="25"
height="25"
/>
</a>
<a href="https://reactjs.org" target="_blank">
{/**
* Due to import magic, this works in both dev / build (prod)
* Use imports or absolute paths when possible.
*/}
<img
src={reactLogo}
className="logo react"
alt="React logo"
width="25"
height="25"
/>
</a>
{/**
* Here is where things go wrong with the default configuration:
*
* Example --- src="./assets/react.svg" won't work by default. Why?
* In development, "./" equates to your project root, "/"
*
* In a basic Vite project, root contains "src", "public", and "dist", if you ran the `npm run build` command.
* As you can see, there is no "assets" folder in project root. It's only contained
* within "src" or the "dist" folder. This is where things get interesting:
*
* When you "build" your app, Vite appends unique strings at the end of your compiled .js
* files in order to avoid cache side-effects on new deployments in the front-end.
*
* So in the built app folder ("dist"), your assets will look something like this:
*
* /dist/assets/react-35ef61ed.svg
* /dist/assets/index-d526a0c5.css
* /dist/assets/index-07a082e1.js
*
* As you can see, there is no "/assets/react.svg". It does not exist in the build,
* which is why it's recommended that you import images at the top of your component
* for local assets. You can use remote assets as inline string paths. ("https://...")
*/}
<a href="https://vitejs.dev" target="_blank">
<img
src="./assets/react.svg"
className="logo"
alt="Never be visible"
width="25"
height="25"
style={{ border: "1px red solid" }}
/>
</a>
{/* only works in dev, non-build */}
<a href="https://vitejs.dev" target="_blank">
<img
src="/src/assets/react.svg"
className="logo"
alt="Visible in dev"
width="25"
height="25"
style={{ border: "1px solid green" }}
/>
</a>
</div>
<h1>Vite + React</h1>
<div className="card">
<button onClick={() => setCount((count) => count + 1)}>
count is {count}
</button>
<p>
Edit <code>src/App.jsx</code> and save to test HMR
</p>
</div>
<p className="read-the-docs">
Click on the Vite and React logos to learn more
</p>
</div>
);
}
export default App;

Answer 2

So to those who find this question i've put here, the problem was from 2 different sources for me.
First, The version of the image used for the codebuild was defaulting to version 1 every time I redeployed as i hadn't chosen a specific image to use.
Secondly, this pipeline function isn't made for what i wanted it to do. For context, if you are wanting to build a source => build => deploy framework, make sure to use aws_codePipeline.Pipeline to build out each step.
You can find good examples of this in their documentation.