@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

Babel command line

See our website @babel/node for more information.

Install

Using npm:

npm install --save-dev @babel/node

or using yarn:

yarn add @babel/node --dev

Changelog

v7.26.0 (2024-10-25)

:rocket: New Feature

• babel-core, babel-generator, babel-parser, babel-plugin-syntax-import-assertions, babel-plugin-syntax-import-attributes, babel-preset-env, babel-standalone, babel-types
  • #16850 Enable import attributes parsing by default (@nicolo-ribaudo)
• babel-core
  • #16862 feat: support async plugin's pre/post (@timofei-iatsenko)
• babel-compat-data, babel-plugin-proposal-regexp-modifiers, babel-plugin-transform-regexp-modifiers, babel-preset-env, babel-standalone
  • #16692 Add transform-regexp-modifiers to preset-env (@JLHwung)
• babel-parser
  • #16849 feat: add startIndex parser option (@DylanPiercey)
• babel-generator, babel-parser, babel-plugin-syntax-flow
  • #16841 Always enable parsing of Flow enums (@nicolo-ribaudo)
• babel-helpers, babel-preset-typescript, babel-runtime-corejs3
  • #16794 Support import() in rewriteImportExtensions (@liuxingbaoyu)
• babel-generator, babel-parser
  • #16708 Add experimental format-preserving mode to @babel/generator (@nicolo-ribaudo)

:bug: Bug Fix

• babel-core
  • #16928 Workaround Node.js bug for parallel loading of TLA modules (@nicolo-ribaudo)
  • #16926 Fix loading of modules with TLA in Node.js 23 (@nicolo-ribaudo)

:nail_care: Polish

• babel-plugin-proposal-json-modules, babel-plugin-transform-json-modules, babel-standalone
  • #16924 Rename proposal-json-modules to transform-json-modules (@nicolo-ribaudo)

:house: Internal

• babel-code-frame, babel-highlight
  • #16896 Inline @babel/highlight in @babel/code-frame (@nicolo-ribaudo)
• babel-generator, babel-parser, babel-types
  • #16732 Add kind to TSModuleDeclaration (@liuxingbaoyu)

:running_woman: Performance

• babel-helper-module-transforms, babel-plugin-transform-modules-commonjs
  • #16882 perf: Improve module transforms (@liuxingbaoyu)