I get what you’re going for and I appreciate you throwing the idea out there. But I don’t think this is the right move.
The grails app folder isn’t just a label. It’s part of how the framework functions. Grails, the build system, plugins, and pretty much every tool in the ecosystem expect that structure. Changing it would break a lot of stuff and create unnecessary friction for anyone working on or migrating projects. Also, grails app contains way more than just the web layer. You’ve got domain classes, services, taglibs. It’s the full structure of a Grails app, not just a frontend or web entry point. Calling it webapp might actually confuse more than it helps. I get wanting to make things cleaner or more neutral, but in this case I think the convention has real value. It’s consistent, well understood, and makes it easier to work across Grails projects without surprises. From: Gianluca Sartori <g.sart...@gmail.com> Date: Friday, April 18, 2025 at 4:02 AM To: dev@grails.apache.org <dev@grails.apache.org> Subject: 'grails-app' folder name I've been thinking about this forever... We have the `grails-app` folder containing the conventions over configuration project structure that is a Grails standard, a different one from the `src` folder structure. The fact it contains `grails` in its name can be useful to immediately recognise the type of the project by giving a quick look at the directory tree. But to my eyes that is all it does. I think today I finally found the braveness and recklessness to propose we change it to a more "domain specific" or "technical" name instead of having the name of the product in it. The meaning of that folder should be given by its role in the context rather than a marketing/communication purpose. So I am proposing we change the `grails-app` to `webapp` to indicate it contains the web part of the application. Pros: - Removes the name of the product from a technical folder - Gives it a meaning that is immediately intelligible from a developer point of view (more people know what a `webapp` is that a `grails-app`, no need to explain further) - It is a good time to make this change since the move to Apache is a big change/event Cons: - Breaking change when porting applications from older Grails versions (must be documented but it's an easy fix) Bomb dropped, what is the community opinion? Cheers, Gianluca Sartori
