ng serve does not support the "define" argument

[Klaster1]

Command

serve

Description

I want to pass environment variables into the application during serve and build. In Angular 19, this works for build: ng build --define="GGCC_TARGET='hosted'", while this doesn't for serve: ng serve --define="GGCC_TARGET='hosted'", with the following error:

Error: Unknown argument: define

Describe the solution you'd like

The --define argument works for both serve and build commands.

Describe alternatives you've considered

The custom "@ngx-env/builder:application" builder works, but I'd prefer to keep the amount of extra libraries to a minimum. Given how that builder is merely a thin wrapper around "@angular/build:application", I don't see why this couldn't work as I expect out of the box.

[alan-agius4]

This behavior is expected since the define configuration is derived from the build section of the angular.json file when executing ng serve.

"architect": {
  "build": {
    "builder": "@angular-devkit/build-angular:application",
    "options": {
      "define": {
        "GGCC_TARGET": "'hosted'"
      },

[Klaster1]

Sorry, but I don't get it. Do you suggest to edit the "angular.json" instead of passing an env var, which worked for my team for years?

[alan-agius4]

Does the value of GGCC_TARGET need to change between various ng serve invocations where its value is set via an environment variable?

[Klaster1]

Yes, I pass different values to run the app in different configurations, i.e with some fractures hidden and different brandings.