broccoli-merge-trees

The core API is incredibly simple - just pass an array of trees to `mergeTrees()` and optionally specify an `overwrite` flag. For straightforward merging scenarios, it works fine and requires minimal setup. However, the learning curve is steeper than it should be because the documentation is sparse and assumes you already understand Broccoli's plugin architecture.

Error messages are where this package really struggles. When trees conflict or paths don't resolve correctly, you get cryptic errors that don't point you toward solutions. Debugging requires understanding Broccoli's internals, and since the Broccoli ecosystem has largely moved on (Ember CLI is migrating away), finding help on Stack Overflow or GitHub issues is difficult. Many issues remain unresolved or have minimal community engagement.

The `overwrite` option behavior isn't intuitive - it silently overwrites files when true, which can lead to unexpected results if you're not careful about tree ordering. For modern build tooling needs, you're better off with alternatives like Rollup or Webpack unless you're maintaining legacy Broccoli-based projects.

This plugin does exactly what it promises—merges multiple Broccoli trees into one directory structure. The API is straightforward: pass an array of trees and optional settings. It handles file conflicts predictably with an overwrite strategy you can configure. In day-to-day use, it's reliable for basic build pipelines where you need to combine asset directories or merge output from different processing steps.

The major concern from a security perspective is maintenance status. Last release was 2020, and the dependency tree includes older packages that haven't received security updates. There's no input validation on tree sources—it assumes you're passing valid Broccoli nodes and will fail opaquely if you don't. Error messages expose full file paths which could leak directory structure in CI environments. No CVE response history since the package has been essentially dormant.

For greenfield projects, consider newer build tools entirely (esbuild, Vite). If you're maintaining existing Broccoli pipelines, this works but monitor your dependency scanner closely and be prepared to fork if vulnerabilities emerge in the unmaintained dependency chain.

broccoli-merge-trees does exactly what it promises: merges multiple Broccoli trees into one. The API is straightforward - pass an array of trees and an optional configuration object. In practice, it works reliably for basic merging operations, but the developer experience feels dated compared to modern build tooling.

The biggest pain point is TypeScript support - there are no official type definitions, and the error messages when trees conflict or fail to merge are cryptic at best. You'll often get stack traces that don't clearly indicate which tree caused the issue or what files are conflicting. The `overwrite` and `annotation` options help somewhat, but debugging merge issues still involves a lot of trial and error.

Documentation is minimal, covering the basic API but lacking guidance on common patterns like handling duplicate files, performance optimization with many trees, or debugging strategies. If you're already invested in the Broccoli ecosystem it gets the job done, but expect to lean heavily on community resources and experimentation.