@babel/plugin-transform-modules-commonjs

What is @babel/plugin-transform-modules-commonjs?

The @babel/plugin-transform-modules-commonjs npm package is a Babel plugin that transforms ECMAScript modules to CommonJS modules. This is useful for enabling code written using ES6 module syntax to run in environments that only support CommonJS modules, such as older versions of Node.js or browsers without ES6 module support.

What are @babel/plugin-transform-modules-commonjs's main functionalities?

Transform ES6 import statements to CommonJS require

Converts ES6 import statements into CommonJS require calls.

import { square } from './math';
console.log(square(5));
// Transformed code:
var _math = require('./math');
console.log(_math.square(5));

Transform ES6 export statements to CommonJS exports

Converts ES6 named and default export statements into CommonJS module.exports assignments.

export const square = (n) => n * n;
export default square;
// Transformed code:
const square = (n) => n * n;
exports.square = square;
exports.default = square;

Interoperability with Babel's module interop helpers

Ensures compatibility with Babel's interopRequireDefault helper to handle default exports when importing modules.

import square from './math';
console.log(square(5));
// Transformed code with interopRequireDefault helper:
var _math = _interopRequireDefault(require('./math'));
function _interopRequireDefault(obj) { return obj && obj.__esModule ? obj : { default: obj }; }
console.log(_math.default(5));

Other packages similar to @babel/plugin-transform-modules-commonjs

esm

The 'esm' package is a lightweight runtime that allows you to load ES modules in Node.js. It differs from @babel/plugin-transform-modules-commonjs in that it doesn't require a build step and can directly execute ES modules in Node.js.

@rollup/plugin-commonjs

The '@rollup/plugin-commonjs' package is a plugin for Rollup that converts CommonJS modules into ES6 modules that Rollup can then bundle. It serves a similar purpose but is specific to the Rollup bundler, whereas @babel/plugin-transform-modules-commonjs is more general-purpose and can be used with various build tools that support Babel.

babel-plugin-transform-es2015-modules-commonjs

The 'babel-plugin-transform-es2015-modules-commonjs' package is an older Babel plugin that also transforms ES6 modules to CommonJS. It has been superseded by @babel/plugin-transform-modules-commonjs, which is part of the Babel 7 release.

README

@babel/plugin-transform-modules-commonjs

This plugin transforms ES2015 modules to CommonJS

See our website @babel/plugin-transform-modules-commonjs for more information.

Install

Using npm:

npm install --save-dev @babel/plugin-transform-modules-commonjs

or using yarn:

yarn add @babel/plugin-transform-modules-commonjs --dev

Changelog

v7.27.1 (2025-04-30)

:eyeglasses: Spec Compliance

• babel-parser
  • #17254 Allow using of as lexical declaration within for (@JLHwung)
  • #17230 Disallow get/set in TSPropertySignature (@JLHwung)
• babel-parser, babel-types
  • #17193 Stricter TSImportType options parsing (@JLHwung)

:bug: Bug Fix

• babel-plugin-proposal-destructuring-private, babel-plugin-proposal-do-expressions, babel-traverse
  • #17137 fix: do expressions should allow early exit (@kermanx)
• babel-helper-wrap-function, babel-plugin-transform-async-to-generator
  • #17251 Fix: propagate argument evaluation errors through async promise chain (@magic-akari)
• babel-helper-remap-async-to-generator, babel-plugin-transform-async-to-generator
  • #17231 fix apply()/call() annotated as pure (@Lacsw)
• babel-helper-fixtures, babel-parser
  • #17233 Create ChainExpression within TSInstantiationExpression (@JLHwung)
• babel-generator, babel-parser
  • #17226 Fill optional AST properties when both estree and typescript parser plugin are enabled (Part 2) (@JLHwung)
• babel-parser
  • #17224 Fill optional AST properties when both estree and typescript parser plugin are enabled (Part 1) (@JLHwung)
  • #17080 Fix start of TSParameterProperty (@JLHwung)
• babel-compat-data, babel-preset-env
  • #17228 Update firefox bugfix compat data (@JLHwung)
• babel-traverse
  • #17156 fix: Objects and arrays with multiple references should not be evaluated (@liuxingbaoyu)
• babel-generator
  • #17216 Fix: support const type parameter in generator (@JLHwung)

:nail_care: Polish

• babel-plugin-bugfix-v8-spread-parameters-in-optional-chaining, babel-plugin-proposal-decorators, babel-plugin-transform-arrow-functions, babel-plugin-transform-class-properties, babel-plugin-transform-destructuring, babel-plugin-transform-object-rest-spread, babel-plugin-transform-optional-chaining, babel-plugin-transform-parameters, babel-traverse
  • #17221 Reduce generated names size for the 10th-11th (@nicolo-ribaudo)

:house: Internal

• babel-runtime-corejs2, babel-runtime-corejs3, babel-runtime
  • #17263 Remove unused regenerator-runtime dep in @babel/runtime (@nicolo-ribaudo)
• babel-compat-data, babel-preset-env
  • #17256 Tune plugin compat data (@JLHwung)
• babel-compat-data, babel-standalone
  • #17236 migrate babel-compat-data build script to mjs (@JLHwung)
• Other
  • #17232 Bump typescript-eslint to 8.29.1 (@JLHwung)
  • #17219 test: add basic typescript-eslint integration tests (@JLHwung)
  • #17205 Inline regenerator in the relevant packages (@nicolo-ribaudo)
• babel-register
  • #16844 Migrate @babel/register to cts (@liuxingbaoyu)
• babel-cli, babel-compat-data, babel-core, babel-generator, babel-helper-compilation-targets, babel-helper-fixtures, babel-helper-module-imports, babel-helper-module-transforms, babel-helper-plugin-test-runner, babel-helper-transform-fixture-test-runner, babel-helpers, babel-node, babel-parser, babel-plugin-transform-modules-amd, babel-plugin-transform-modules-commonjs, babel-plugin-transform-modules-systemjs, babel-plugin-transform-modules-umd, babel-plugin-transform-react-display-name, babel-plugin-transform-regenerator, babel-plugin-transform-runtime, babel-plugin-transform-typeof-symbol, babel-plugin-transform-typescript, babel-preset-env, babel-register, babel-standalone, babel-types
  • #17207 Enforce node protocol import (@JLHwung)
• babel-plugin-transform-regenerator
  • #17205 Inline regenerator in the relevant packages (@nicolo-ribaudo)
  • #17205 Inline regenerator in the relevant packages (@nicolo-ribaudo)
• babel-helpers, babel-plugin-transform-async-generator-functions, babel-plugin-transform-regenerator, babel-preset-env, babel-runtime-corejs3
  • #17205 Inline regenerator in the relevant packages (@nicolo-ribaudo)
• babel-helpers, babel-plugin-transform-regenerator
  • #17205 Inline regenerator in the relevant packages (@nicolo-ribaudo)
  • #17205 Inline regenerator in the relevant packages (@nicolo-ribaudo)
• babel-helpers
  • #17205 Inline regenerator in the relevant packages (@nicolo-ribaudo)

:microscope: Output optimization

• babel-helpers, babel-plugin-transform-modules-commonjs, babel-runtime-corejs3
  • #16538 Reduce interopRequireWildcard size (@liuxingbaoyu)
• babel-helpers, babel-plugin-transform-async-generator-functions, babel-plugin-transform-regenerator, babel-preset-env, babel-runtime-corejs3
  • #17213 Reduce regeneratorRuntime size (@liuxingbaoyu)