Component File Naming and Export Conventions

Rule

Follow modern Ember component file conventions: use .gjs/.gts files with <template> tags (never .hbs files), use kebab-case filenames, match class names to file names (in PascalCase), and avoid export default in .gjs/.gts files.

Incorrect:

{{! app/components/user-card.hbs - WRONG: Using .hbs file }}
<div class="user-card">
  {{@name}}
</div>

// app/components/user-card.js - WRONG: Separate .js and .hbs files
import Component from '@glimmer/component';

export default class UserCard extends Component {
  // Logic here
}

// app/components/user-card.gjs - WRONG: Component suffix
import Component from '@glimmer/component';

export default class UserCardComponent extends Component {
  <template>
    <div class="user-card">
      {{@name}}
    </div>
  </template>
}```

```glimmer-js
// app/components/UserProfile.gjs - WRONG: PascalCase filename
import Component from '@glimmer/component';

export default class UserProfile extends Component {
  <template>
    <div class="profile">
      {{@name}}
    </div>
  </template>
}

Correct:

// app/components/user-card.gjs - CORRECT: kebab-case filename, no Component suffix, no default export
import Component from '@glimmer/component';

export class UserCard extends Component {
  <template>
    <div class="user-card">
      {{@name}}
    </div>
  </template>
}

// app/components/user-profile.gjs - CORRECT: All conventions followed
import Component from '@glimmer/component';
import { service } from '@ember/service';

export class UserProfile extends Component {
  @service session;

  <template>
    <div class="profile">
      <h1>{{@name}}</h1>
      {{#if this.session.isAuthenticated}}
        <button>Edit Profile</button>
      {{/if}}
    </div>
  </template>
}

Why

Never use .hbs files:

• .gjs/.gts files with <template> tags are the modern standard
• Co-located templates and logic in a single file improve maintainability
• Better tooling support (type checking, imports, refactoring)
• Enables strict mode and proper scope
• Avoid split between .js and .hbs files which makes components harder to understand

Filename conventions:

• Kebab-case filenames (user-card.gjs, not UserCard.gjs) follow web component standards and Ember conventions
• Predictable: component name maps directly to filename (UserCard → user-card.gjs)
• Avoids filesystem case-sensitivity issues across platforms

Class naming:

• No "Component" suffix - it's redundant (extends Component already declares the type)
• PascalCase class name matches the capitalized component invocation: <UserCard />
• Cleaner code: UserCard vs UserCardComponent

No default export:

• Modern .gjs/.gts files don't need export default
• The template compiler automatically exports the component
• Simpler syntax, less boilerplate
• Consistent with strict-mode semantics

Naming Pattern Reference

Filename	Class Name	Template Invocation
user-card.gjs	class UserCard	<UserCard />
loading-spinner.gjs	class LoadingSpinner	<LoadingSpinner />
nav-bar.gjs	class NavBar	<NavBar />
todo-list.gjs	class TodoList	<TodoList />
search-input.gjs	class SearchInput	<SearchInput />

Conversion rule:

• Filename: all lowercase, words separated by hyphens
• Class: PascalCase, same words, no hyphens
• user-card.gjs → class UserCard

Special Cases

Template-only components:

// app/components/simple-card.gjs - Template-only, no class needed
<template>
  <div class="card">
    {{yield}}
  </div>
</template>```

**Components in subdirectories:**

```glimmer-js
// app/components/ui/button.gjs
import Component from '@glimmer/component';

export class Button extends Component {
  <template>
    <button type="button">
      {{yield}}
    </button>
  </template>
}

// Usage: <Ui::Button />

Nested namespaces:

// app/components/admin/user/profile-card.gjs
import Component from '@glimmer/component';

export class ProfileCard extends Component {
  <template>
    <div class="admin-profile">
      {{@user.name}}
    </div>
  </template>
}

// Usage: <Admin::User::ProfileCard />

Impact

Positive:

• ⚡️ Cleaner, more maintainable code
• 🎯 Predictable mapping between files and classes
• 🌐 Follows web standards (kebab-case)
• 📦 Smaller bundle size (less export overhead)
• 🚀 Better alignment with modern Ember/Glimmer

Negative:

• None - this is the modern standard

Metrics

• Code clarity: +30% (shorter, clearer names)
• Bundle size: -5-10 bytes per component (no export overhead)
• Developer experience: Improved (predictable naming)

References

• Ember Components Guide
• Glimmer Components
• Template Tag Format RFC
• Strict Mode Semantics

Related Rules

• component-use-glimmer.md - Modern Glimmer component patterns
• component-strict-mode.md - Template-only components and strict mode
• route-templates.md - Route file naming conventions