@swc/cli

What is @swc/cli?

@swc/cli is a command-line interface for the SWC (Speedy Web Compiler) project, which is a super-fast TypeScript/JavaScript compiler written in Rust. It is designed to be a drop-in replacement for Babel, offering similar functionalities but with significantly improved performance.

What are @swc/cli's main functionalities?

Transpile JavaScript/TypeScript

This command transpiles a JavaScript or TypeScript file from 'input.js' to 'output.js'. SWC can handle modern JavaScript and TypeScript syntax and transform it into a format that is compatible with older environments.

swc input.js -o output.js

Watch Mode

This command runs SWC in watch mode, which means it will continuously watch the 'input.js' file for changes and recompile it to 'output.js' whenever a change is detected.

swc input.js -o output.js -w

Source Maps

This command generates source maps for the transpiled code, which can be very useful for debugging. The source maps help map the transpiled code back to the original source code.

swc input.js -o output.js --source-maps

Configuration File

This command allows you to specify a configuration file for SWC. The configuration file (.swcrc) can contain various options for customizing the behavior of the compiler.

swc -C path/to/.swcrc

Other packages similar to @swc/cli

babel-cli

Babel CLI is a command-line interface for Babel, a widely-used JavaScript compiler. Babel is known for its extensive plugin ecosystem and flexibility. However, it is generally slower than SWC because it is written in JavaScript rather than Rust.

esbuild

esbuild is an extremely fast JavaScript bundler and minifier. Like SWC, it is written in a low-level language (Go) for performance. esbuild focuses on bundling and minification, whereas SWC focuses more on transpilation.

typescript

The TypeScript compiler (tsc) is the official compiler for TypeScript. It is highly integrated with the TypeScript language and offers extensive type-checking capabilities. While it is not as fast as SWC, it provides a comprehensive solution for TypeScript projects.

README

swc-cli

See our website swc-cli for more information or the issues associated with this package.