browserslist

What is browserslist?

The browserslist npm package is used to share target browsers and Node.js versions between different front-end tools, like Autoprefixer, Babel, and others. It utilizes a configuration file or package.json entries to specify the range of browser versions that your project supports. It helps in making decisions for transpiling JavaScript, adding vendor prefixes to CSS, and even defining which browser versions to test during the development process.

What are browserslist's main functionalities?

Defining target browsers

This feature allows you to define a range of browsers your project supports by specifying queries like market share, last versions, or excluding certain browsers. The code sample would typically be placed in a package.json file.

"browserslist": ["> 1%", "last 2 versions", "not dead"]

Integration with build tools

Browserslist can be integrated with build tools like Webpack, Babel, or PostCSS to automatically apply browser-specific transformations based on the defined browser support criteria.

const browserslist = require('browserslist');
const supportedBrowsers = browserslist('> 0.5%, last 2 versions, Firefox ESR, not dead');

CLI Usage

Browserslist provides a command-line interface (CLI) that can be used to check which browsers and versions are selected by your queries.

npx browserslist "> 1%, last 2 versions"

Configuring environments

You can define different sets of browsers for various environments, like production or development, within a .browserslistrc file.

[production]
> 1% in US
[development]
last 1 chrome version

Other packages similar to browserslist

caniuse-api

The caniuse-api provides raw browser support data from Can I Use, which is similar to the data that browserslist uses. However, it focuses more on querying specific features for browser support rather than defining a list of supported browsers for a project.

autoprefixer

Autoprefixer is a CSS post-processor that uses browserslist to add vendor prefixes to CSS rules. It is a consumer of browserslist data rather than a direct alternative, but it serves a similar purpose in terms of browser compatibility.

@babel/preset-env

Babel's preset-env is a smart preset that allows you to use the latest JavaScript without needing to micromanage which syntax transforms are needed by your target environment. It uses browserslist to determine which features need to be transformed or polyfilled. While not a direct alternative, it shares the goal of adapting code to be compatible with different environments.

README

Browserslist

Get browsers versions that matches given criterias. Useful for tools like Autoprefixer.

You can select browsers by passing a string. This library will use Can I Use data to return you a appropriate list of all versions.

For example, last version of each major browser and version, which is used more that 5% in global usage statistics:

browserslist('> 5%, last 1 version');
//=> ['safari 8', 'opera 26', 'ios_saf 8.1', 'ie_mob 11', 'ie 11', 'and_chr 39',
//    'firefox 33', 'firefox 32', 'chrome 39', 'chrome 38', 'chrome 37']

if you don't provide an argument, Browserslist will look for a browserslist config file in current or parent directories.

If no config file is found, Browserslist will use default list: > 1%, last 2 versions, Firefox ESR, Opera 12.1.

Queries

You can specify the browsers by queries (case insensitive):

• last 2 versions: the last 2 versions for each major browser.
• last 2 Chrome versions: the last versions of a specific browser.
• > 5%: versions selected by global usage statistics.
• > 5% in US: uses USA usage statistics. It accepts two-letter contry codes.
• Firefox > 20: versions of Firefox newer than 20.
• Firefox >= 20: versions of Firefox newer than or equal to 20.
• Firefox < 20: versions of Firefox less than 20.
• Firefox <= 20: versions of Firefox less than or equal to 20.
• Firefox ESR: the latest [Firefox ESR] version.
• iOS 7: the browser version directly.

Blackberry and Android WebView will not be used in last n versions. You should add them by name.

Browsers

Names are case insensitive:

• Android for Android WebView.
• BlackBerry or bb for Blackberry browser.
• Chrome for Google Chrome.
• Firefox or ff for Mozilla Firefox.
• Explorer or ie for Internet Explorer.
• iOS or ios_saf for iOS Safari.
• Opera for Opera.
• Safari for desktop Safari.
• OperaMobile or op_mob for Opera Mobile.
• OperaMini or op_mini for Opera Mini.
• ChromeAndroid or and_chr for Chrome for Android (mostly same as common Chrome).
• FirefoxAndroid or and_ff for Firefox for Android.
• ExplorerMobile or ie_mob for Internet Explorer Mobile.

Usage

var browserslist = require('browserslist');

// Your CSS/JS build tool code
var process = function (css, opts) {
    var browsers = browserslist(opts.browsers, { path: opts.file });
    // Your code to add features for selected browsers
}

If list is missing, Browserslist will look for a config file. You can provide a path option (that can be a file) to find config file relatively to it.

Queries can be a string "> 5%, last 1 version" or and array [''> 5%', 'last 1 version'].

Config File

Browserslist’s config should has browserslist name and splits browsers queries by new line. You can write comment after #:

# Browsers that we support

> 1%
Last 2 versions
IE 8 # sorry