cu-build.config.js

"imports": {
  "resources": [ 
    /* all unitframe related resources from the cu-components module */
    { resource: "cu-components/unitframe/images", dest: "images/unitframe" },
    { resource: "cu-components/unitframe/styles", dest: "styles" },
    /* just the portrait resources required */
    { resource: "cu-components/unitframe/portrait/images", dest: "images/unitframe/portrait" }
  ]
}

cu-components-package.json

"resources": {
  "$base": "lib/classes",
  "unitframe": {
    "images": [ "lib/classes/unitframe/images/*.png" ],
    "styles": [ "lib/classes/unitframe.css" ],
    "portrait": {
      "images": [ "lib/classes/unitframe/images/portrait/*.png" ],
      "styles": [ "lib/classes/unitframe/portrait.css"]
    },
    "$refs": [ "shared "]
  }
}

Lets look at an example of a stock Target UI that wants to use the UnitFrame class of the cu-components library which defines a bunch of images resources that the stock UI uses.

In this case, the build will want to copy the resources into the build output. I accept that these should be in a shared location, so that multiple UIs using the same resources, the Target UI is a good example, as it shares resources with the friendly target UI and character UI.

So we need to be able to tell the build config to output these resources to a shared location rather than bundle them with each specific UI.

So, making an assumption that, the build output of cu-ui-v2 will be ./dist/... then building the three unit frame UIs should result in something like this:-

dist/images/unitframe/....png // frame art images
dist/images/unitframe/portrait/....jpg // portrait images (used by character UI only)
dist/styles/unitframe.css
dist/character/index.html
dist/character/main.js
dist/character.ui
dist/enemytarget/index.html
dist/enemytarget/main.js
dist/enemytarget.ui
dist/friendlytarget/index.html
dist/friendlytarget/main.js
dist/friendlytarget.ui

Yes, there is some duplication of copying of resources, as each of the character/enemy/friendly target UIs is built, but they all output to the same location, so the only duplication is in build not in the result.

But wait, there's more...

Sounds like what @csejb has in mind is that we won't need a separate copy resources stage for stock UIs because all the libraries resources will be included in a cu-components folder and the resources will be referenced directly from there.

"resources": {
  "$base": "lib/classes",
  "$sym": {
    "$lib": "../../../client/assets/webui/lib",
    "$cuui": "../../../client/assets/webui/cu-ui"
  },
  "unitframe": {
    "images": [ "lib/classes/unitframe/images/*.png", "$cuui/classes/unitframe/images/border.png" ],
    "styles": [ "lib/classes/unitframe.css" ],
    "portrait": {
      "images": [ "lib/classes/unitframe/images/portrait/*.png" ],
      "styles": [ "lib/classes/unitframe/portrait.css"]
    },
    "$refs": [ "shared "]
  }
}

I think after the chat with csejb we just had, I think this whole gist is obsolete!!

Stock UIs won't need to copy resources, they will simply reference them from lib//...

Custom UIs can either reference the stock resources lib//... in the same way or provide their own.