I’ve getting through this same problem. My solution which is opinionated and may not respond to your criterias:
When I package my front-app and my server-app, I share a configuration file containing the current version of the front-app.
Front side: 75% of my routes change implicitly call a Webservice (route change resolve). SO each time I call my server I include a custom HTTP header (or a GET/POST param) containing the client version of the front-app.
Server side : I compare the front-app version (the one in the browser of the user, loaded last time user refreshed/loaded the SPA) with the front-app version of the shared configuration file :
- If version matches : I Do nothing.
- If version don’t match I send a custom HTTP status error code (418 for example)
Then front side: I added a response Interceptor that intercepts any 418 error code and do a force-refresh of the whole app
That’s it. Basically the event that “check” if the front-app version is the latest is a route change (that calls a WS via ajax). But you could add some infinite $interval calling a dedicated WS each 5 minutes or so…
I can add some code if needed.
Hope this helps 😉