Using Yii's asset bundles is a best practice for managing CSS and JS files. It defines resource groups centrally through PHP classes, and automatically handles dependencies, merging and caches. 1. The resource package is a PHP class used to organize resources such as CSS, JS and declare their dependencies; 2. Register resource packages in the view or layout to automatically generate HTML tags; 3. Different resource packages can be conditionally registered according to user roles or page types; 4. Place resource files in web/css and web/js by default, and you can also customize the path; 5. Use the assetManager configuration to add timestamps to implement version control, solving browser caching problems. Correct use of resource packages can improve project structure clarity and loading efficiency.
Using asset bundles in Yii is one of the best ways to manage your CSS and JS files. It helps keep things organized, versioned, and efficient — especially as your project grows. The main idea is that instead of manually adding script or style tags in your views, you define everything through PHP classes.
What Exactly Is an Asset Bundle?
An asset bundle is just a PHP class that groups related assets like CSS, JS, images, or even other resources. Each bundle defines which files to load and any dependencies it has (like jQuery or Bootstrap). Yii handles the rest — combining, publishing, and caching them appropriately.
For example:
class AppAsset extends AssetBundle {
public $basePath = '@webroot';
public $baseUrl = '@web';
public $css = [
'css/site.css',
];
public $js = [
'js/main.js',
];
public $depends = [
'yii\web\YiiAsset',
'yii\bootstrap5\BootstrapAsset',
];
}This simple structure tells Yii where to find the files, what order to load them in, and how they relate to other bundles.
How to Register an Asset Bundle
Registering a bundle is straightforward. You do this either in a view file or in a layout file, depending on how widely you want it used.
In a layout ( @app/views/layouts/main.php , for example):
use app\assets\AppAsset; AppAsset::register($this);
That's all. Once registered, Yii will output the correct <link> and <script> tags automatically when the page renders. If you're using different layouts or partial views, register the bundle there too — just make sure not to duplicate it unnecessarily.
You can also conditionally register bundles based on user roles or page types. For example:
- Load admin-specific styles only in the backend
- Use mobile-optimized scripts only when detected
Where to Put Your Assets
By default, most people put their CSS and JS under web/css and web/js . But you can change this by setting $basePath and $baseUrl in your bundle.
If you have a more complex setup — like frontend and backend separated — consider creating separate bundles for each part of your app. For example:
-
FrontendAsset -
BackendAsset -
LoginAsset(for login-only styles)
Also, if you use SCSS or TypeScript, don't forget to compile them first and place the resulting files under web/assets/compiled/ or similar. Yii won't process those on its own.
Versioning and Cache Busting
One common gotcha: browsers cache static files aggressively. So after deployment, users might still be loading old CSS or JS.
To fix that, Yii lets you add a hash or timestamp to your published assets. This is usually done via the assetManager component in your config:
'assetManager' => [
'appendTimestamp' => true,
],With that, every time a file changes, the URL changes too — forcing the browser to fetch the new version.
Another option is to use versioned symbolic links, but that's more advanced and typically only needed for high-traffic sites.
That's the core of working with asset bundles in Yii. It takes a bit of setup, but once you get the hang of it, managing static assets become much smoother. Just remember to organize your bundles by usage, register them in the right places, and handle versioning so users always get the latest code.
The above is the detailed content of How do I use asset bundles in Yii?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!
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