Accelerating Enterprise UI Delivery with Rapid Ext JS

Rapid Ext JS is a low-code visual editor delivered as a Visual Studio Code extension for Sencha Ext JS. It combines drag-and-drop UI composition with first-class source control and manual JavaScript development, making it especially practical for enterprise teams modernizing legacy Ext JS applications or managing multiple UI modules in a single workspace.

This technical article consolidates key capabilities introduced in Rapid Ext JS 1.1.0 and 1.1.1, with a focus on multi-project management, bidirectional design/code synchronization, and a one-way migration path from Sencha Architect – along with deployment considerations for production performance.

What Is Rapid Ext JS?

Rapid Ext JS is not a standalone IDE. It’s a VS Code extension that adds a visual editor for Ext JS views while preserving a standard codebase. You build application logic in JavaScript as usual, and Rapid Ext JS helps you:

• Design screens visually (drag-and-drop Ext JS components)
• Automatically generate view scaffolding (MVVM files)
• Keep code and design in sync (two-way editing)
• Manage multiple Ext JS apps in a single VS Code workspace (v1.1+)

This hybrid approach supports teams that want RAD speed without sacrificing developer control, Git workflows, code review, and CI/CD automation.

Ext JS Architecture

To understand what Rapid Ext JS accelerates, it helps to frame Ext JS correctly:

Backend-agnostic by design

Ext JS is commonly used as a front-end enterprise UI layer, integrating with backends via RESTful APIs. It does not mandate a specific server stack, and is frequently paired with:

• Node.js / Express
• .NET services
• PHP
• ColdFusion
• RAD Server

Component-rich UI ecosystem

Ext JS ships with 140+ UI components, including enterprise staples such as:

• Grids and pivot grids
• Charts
• Calendars
• D3 adapters

This matters because Rapid Ext JS can assemble those components visually while generating the underlying code consistently.

Modern vs Classic toolkit

Ext JS supports separate toolkits:

• Modern toolkit: optimized for mobile, leans more on CSS
• Classic toolkit: optimized for desktop, relies more on JavaScript core logic

Rapid Ext JS supports Modern, Classic, and Universal app setups depending on your selection during project creation.

Installation and Environment Setup in VS Code

Rapid Ext JS is distributed as a VSIX extension.

Installation workflow

1. In VS Code, open Extensions
2. Use Install from VSIX
3. Select the Rapid Ext JS VSIX file obtained from:
   • Sencha support portal (enterprise license)
   • Trial distribution (if available to your org)

Licensing and first launch

On first use, Rapid Ext JS prompts you to:

• authenticate via npm login credentials, or
• Choose a trial option (if permitted)

First-run dependency download

When creating the first project, expect a longer initialization time while the tool downloads:

• required Ext JS SDK assets
• packages and dependencies
• build tooling artifacts

In enterprise environments, this step may depend on proxy configuration, internal registries, or locked-down network policies.

Creating a New Ext JS App: Scaffold, Toolkits, Packages, Themes

Rapid Ext JS adds a “New Ext JS App” wizard inside VS Code. The resulting scaffold is consistent with the standard Ext JS application structure.

Key generated files and folders

Typical outputs include:

• app.js – main entry point
• app.json – application configuration
• /app directory with common logic areas:
  • model
  • store
  • util
  • view

Configuration parameters you choose up front

Toolkit selection

• Modern
• Classic
• Universal

Packages (dynamic loading)

You can configure package usage in app.json so assets load as needed (e.g., Charts, Calendar). This helps avoid shipping everything to every user session.

Theming

Common theme options include:

• Material
• iOS
• Neptune
• Triton

Local dev server

The scaffold runs on a lightweight local server, commonly defaulting to:

• http://localhost:2020

Core Feature (v1.1+): Multi-Project Management in One Workspace

One of the biggest productivity improvements in Rapid Ext JS 1.1.0+ is native support for multiple Ext JS projects inside a single VS Code workspace – a frequent enterprise requirement when teams maintain:

• multiple micro-apps
• modular UI repositories
• legacy + modern apps in parallel
• white-label variants of a product

How detection works

If you open a root folder that contains multiple Ext JS projects as subfolders, Rapid Ext JS detects this and prompts:

“Your workspace contains multiple Ext JS projects”

Selecting the active project

You pick one project as the active Rapid Ext JS project, and the extension scopes its behavior to that app:

• editor integration
• toolbox/component actions
• local watch/build tasks

Switching projects without restarting VS Code

To change the active app:

1. Right-click the target project folder
2. Select Enable Rapid Ext JS

This avoids opening multiple VS Code instances and reduces context-switch overhead.

Hot reloading / watch process behavior

After switching active projects, you must restart the watch process via Action Commands so the server serves the newly selected app.

Operational takeaway: multi-project mode is ideal for teams maintaining several applications in one monorepo-style workspace, but remember that “active project” drives which app the watch server targets.

Visual Development with Code Synchronization (Bidirectional Editing)

Rapid Ext JS implements a bidirectional editing model: design actions generate code, and code edits update the design surface.

Split-pane workflow

When you open an Ext JS view, Rapid Ext JS presents:

• Design View (drag-and-drop canvas)
• Code View (JavaScript source)

Live preview behavior

Examples of synchronized changes:

• Changing a config in code (e.g., layout: ‘fit’) updates the design layout immediately
• Dragging a component (Grid, Filter Bar, etc.) writes the correct component structure into the view code

View generation with MVVM scaffolding

Rapid Ext JS can generate new views from context menus and automatically create MVVM pattern files, such as:

• View.js
• ViewController.js
• ViewModel.js
• View.scss

This reduces boilerplate and promotes consistent patterns across teams.

Component tree + property editing

The visual editor supports deep configuration of component properties (titles, dimensions, configs) without manual JSON/config typing – useful for accelerating UI assembly while keeping everything code-defined for reviews.

Interoperability: Migrating from Sencha Architect to Rapid Ext JS

For organizations with existing Sencha Architect projects, Rapid Ext JS provides a migration path into VS Code-based development.

Important limitation: one-way import

The import is not reversible:

• You can migrate from Architect → Rapid Ext JS
• You cannot export back from Rapid Ext JS → Architect

Migration protocol (practical steps)

1. Use Open Existing Project
2. Select the Architect project file
3. Rapid Ext JS converts Architect metadata into a VS Code project structure

Known cleanup step: configuration sanitization

A common issue involves naming conventions for package references. Example:

• Imported as: sencha-charts
• Needs manual correction to: charts
  (in configuration files such as app.json)

Rebuild requirement

After import and corrections, run a full build (e.g., run build) to ensure packages and dependencies resolve cleanly.

Production Optimization: From Dev Builds to Deployment-Ready Artifacts

Ext JS development builds are typically:

• uncompressed
• debug-friendly
• large (often 10–20 MB)

For production deployment, you should run a production build that performs:

• Minification (reduces file size)
• Obfuscation (harder to reverse engineer)
• Dead code removal (removes unused classes)

Sencha’s benchmarks commonly cite reductions to roughly 10% of development size (for example, 20 MB → under 2 MB), improving load times and runtime performance in enterprise environments.

Best Practices for Enterprise Teams

• Use multi-project workspaces intentionally: define a clear convention for folder structure and active project switching.
• Standardize MVVM generation: enforce naming conventions for Views/Controllers/ViewModels to reduce architectural drift.
• Treat app.json as a deployment-critical artifact: package selection and dynamic loading directly affect performance and bundle size.
• Automate production builds in CI/CD: ensure consistent minification and dead-code removal for every release.
• Plan Architect migration as a controlled, staged effort: since it’s one-way, validate conversion outputs before committing the new structure as the primary source of truth.

FAQ

What is Rapid Ext JS?

Rapid Ext JS is a VS Code extension that provides a visual designer for Ext JS views while keeping application logic in standard JavaScript files.

Does Rapid Ext JS support multiple applications in one workspace?

Yes. Starting in v1.1.0, Rapid Ext JS can detect multiple Ext JS projects in a workspace and lets you choose an active project without reopening VS Code.

Can I migrate from Sencha Architect?

Yes, Rapid Ext JS supports a one-way import from Sencha Architect projects. Converted projects cannot be exported back to Architect.

Why do production builds matter in Ext JS?

Development builds are large and unoptimized. Production builds perform minification, obfuscation, and dead code removal, often shrinking output to about 10% of the dev build size.

Conclusion

Rapid Ext JS modernizes Ext JS development by embedding a RAD-style UI designer directly into VS Code, enabling teams to move faster without abandoning code-first practices. With multi-project management in v1.1+, organizations can consolidate workflows for multiple applications, reduce context switching, and keep UI development consistent across large teams. Combined with a pragmatic Architect migration path and strong production build optimization, Rapid Ext JS is positioned as an effective bridge between legacy Ext JS environments and modern, IDE-integrated enterprise development.

Start your Rapid Ext JS free trial.