Day Ten of Devdose
Introduction
After years of writing @NgModule boilerplate, I wanted to strip everything down and explore the simplest functional shape of a component using Angular’s standalone API. I was curious about how little was truly needed to render something meaningful.
Real-world context:
In a recent prototype, I needed to test isolated UI pieces quickly. Instead of spinning up an entire module structure, I opted to write each component as a standalone unit. The frictionless setup helped validate designs faster without clutter.
Code example:
Here’s the most minimal version of a standalone component that renders “Hello world”:
import { Component } from '@angular/core';
@Component({
selector: 'app-hello',
template: `Hello world`
})
export class HelloComponent {}
This component can now be used directly in a route, host component, or dynamically loaded. No module required.
My insight:
By starting with the absolute minimum, I get a clearer mental model of what Angular actually needs at runtime. I find that building this way leads to more deliberate choices around dependencies, imports, and structure. It also forces me to ask, “Why do I need this?” before adding it.
Conclusion:
Standalone components invite you to think in terms of feature boundaries instead of module boundaries. That mindset shift, however small, can reduce cognitive load and improve how teams organise UI code.