@babel/node

What is @babel/node?

@babel/node is a command-line tool that allows you to use Babel to compile and run JavaScript code on the fly. It is particularly useful for running scripts and applications written in ES6+ syntax without needing to precompile them.

What are @babel/node's main functionalities?

Running ES6+ scripts

This feature allows you to run JavaScript files that use ES6+ syntax directly. The `babel-node` command compiles the code on the fly and executes it.

babel-node script.js

REPL with ES6+ support

You can start a REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop) with ES6+ support by simply running `babel-node` without any arguments. This allows you to interactively write and test ES6+ code.

babel-node

Using Babel plugins and presets

You can specify Babel plugins and presets to customize the compilation process. For example, using the `@babel/preset-env` preset ensures that your code is transpiled to be compatible with the current environment.

babel-node --presets @babel/preset-env script.js

Other packages similar to @babel/node

ts-node

ts-node is a TypeScript execution environment and REPL for Node.js. It allows you to run TypeScript code directly without precompiling it. Compared to @babel/node, ts-node is specifically designed for TypeScript, whereas @babel/node is for JavaScript with ES6+ syntax.

esm

esm is a fast, production-ready ES module loader for Node.js. It allows you to use ES modules in Node.js without needing to transpile them. While @babel/node focuses on compiling and running ES6+ syntax, esm focuses on providing native support for ES modules.

sucrase

Sucrase is a super-fast alternative to Babel that focuses on compiling modern JavaScript syntax. It is designed to be faster than Babel by focusing on a smaller set of transformations. While @babel/node provides a comprehensive solution for compiling and running ES6+ code, Sucrase aims for speed and simplicity.

README

@babel/node

A Babel-powered Node.js CLI

babel-node is a CLI that works exactly the same as the Node.js CLI, with the added benefit of compiling with Babel presets and plugins before running it.

Install

npm install --save-dev @babel/core @babel/node

Usage

babel-node [options] [ -e script | script.js ] [arguments]