js global variable removed when minified

Question

I have a javascript file that has two global variables. The problem is that when I minify the file the variables are removed and I get errors in the console.

How can I minify the file and have it keep my global variables.

/** global variables **/
window.$url = 0;
window.$searchText = 0;

Which minifier are you using? That sounds like a bug in the minifier — Krease, Jan 23 '15 at 20:02
I am using https://github.com/gruntjs/grunt-contrib-uglify but every minify I have tried has had this issue. — Grady D, Jan 23 '15 at 20:11
Can you show us an [MVCE](http://stackoverflow.com/help/mcve) that we can use to reproduce the issue? — JLRishe, Jan 23 '15 at 20:13

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 10:26

All global variables in JavaScript are, in fact, properties of the window object.

Instead of setting a global variable like:

var global_name = 2;

you can set it as:

window.global_name = 2; /* no "var" */

and then retrieve it in the usual manner.

Better yet, namespace your global variables inside another object to prevent other scripts from accidentally tripping over them:

window.namespace_name.global_name = 2;
/* make all your global vars properties of window.namespace_name */

js global variable removed when minified

1 Answers1