interpret

What is interpret?

The interpret npm package is designed to be a dictionary of require extensions and associated file extensions. It allows developers to automatically register the appropriate require extension for files based on their file extensions. This is particularly useful when working with different types of files that need to be required in Node.js applications, such as .coffee, .ts, or .jsx files.

What are interpret's main functionalities?

Registering require extensions

This code retrieves the require extension for TypeScript files, allowing Node.js to understand how to process and import .ts files.

require('interpret').extensions['.ts']

Associating file extensions with custom handlers

This code demonstrates how to associate a custom file extension (.custom) with a custom compiler or handler to be used when requiring files with that extension.

var interpret = require('interpret');
var extensions = interpret.extensions;
extensions['.custom'] = require('my-custom-compiler');

Other packages similar to interpret

rechoir

Rechoir is a package that allows you to automatically register the appropriate require hooks based on a file's extension. It is similar to interpret but goes a step further by actually attempting to require the necessary module to handle the file extension.

liftoff

Liftoff is a CLI framework that builds on top of interpret. It enables applications to specify which interpreters they support for configuration files, and it will automatically require the necessary dependencies.

require-extension-hooks

This package is used to hook into the require function to add support for transpiling files on the fly. It is similar to interpret in that it deals with require extensions, but it focuses more on the runtime aspect of transpiling or processing files.

README

interpret

A dictionary of file extensions and associated module loaders.

What is it

This is used by Liftoff to automatically require dependencies for configuration files, and by rechoir for registering module loaders.

How to use it

Consumers should use the exported extensions or jsVariants object to determine which module should be loaded for a given extension. If a matching extension is found, consumers should do the following:

1. If the value is null, do nothing.
2. If the value is a string, try to require it.
3. If the value is an object, try to require the module property. If successful, the register property (a function) should be called with the module passed as the first argument. Advanced: An optional second argument can be provided to replace the default configuration for a hook.
4. If the value is an array, iterate over it, attempting step #2 or #3 until one of the attempts does not throw.

API

This module provides two top-level properties: extensions and jsVariants.

Note: This module does not depend on any of the loaders it recommends; instead, end-users are expected to install the hooks they want to use for the file types they want to use. See supported extensions and their hooks in the sections below.

extensions

A mapping of file extensions to modules which provide a require.extensions loader.

File extension keys are all in the format of '.foo' or '.foo.bar' and module loader values are either null if the loader should fallthrough to node's loader, or a string representing the module to be required, an object of { module: 'foobar', register: function }, or an array containing those strings and/or objects.

A sample of an entry containing multiple hooks would look like:

{
  '.ts': [
    'ts-node/register',
    'sucrase/register/ts',
    {
      module: '@babel/register',
      register: function(hook) {
        hook({
          extensions: '.ts',
          rootMode: 'upward-optional',
          ignore: [ignoreNonBabelAndNodeModules],
        });
      },
    },
  ],
}

Supported extensions and their hooks

.babel.js:
  - '@babel/register'
.babel.jsx:
  - '@babel/register'
.babel.ts:
  - '@babel/register'
.babel.tsx:
  - '@babel/register'
.cjs:
  - interpret/cjs-stub
.coffee:
  - coffeescript/register
.coffee.md:
  - coffeescript/register
.esbuild.js:
  - esbuild-register/dist/node
.esbuild.jsx:
  - esbuild-register/dist/node
.esbuild.ts:
  - esbuild-register/dist/node
.esbuild.tsx:
  - esbuild-register/dist/node
.esm.js:
  - esm
.js:
  - built-in node.js loader
.json:
  - built-in node.js loader
.json5:
  - json5/lib/register
.jsx:
  - '@babel/register'
  - sucrase/register/jsx
.litcoffee:
  - coffeescript/register
.mdx:
  - '@mdx-js/register'
.mjs:
  - interpret/mjs-stub
.node:
  - built-in node.js loader
.sucrase.js:
  - sucrase/dist/register
.sucrase.jsx:
  - sucrase/dist/register
.sucrase.ts:
  - sucrase/dist/register
.sucrase.tsx:
  - sucrase/dist/register
.swc.js:
  - '@swc/register'
.swc.jsx:
  - '@swc/register'
.swc.ts:
  - '@swc/register'
.swc.tsx:
  - '@swc/register'
.toml:
  - toml-require
.ts:
  - ts-node/register
  - sucrase/register/ts
  - '@babel/register'
  - esbuild-register/dist/node
  - '@swc/register'
.tsx:
  - ts-node/register
  - sucrase/register/tsx
  - '@babel/register'
  - esbuild-register/dist/node
  - '@swc/register'
.yaml:
  - yaml-hook/register
.yml:
  - yaml-hook/register

jsVariants

The jsVariants is the same mapping as above, but only include the extensions which are variants of JavaScript.

Supported extensions and their hooks

.babel.js:
  - '@babel/register'
.babel.jsx:
  - '@babel/register'
.babel.ts:
  - '@babel/register'
.babel.tsx:
  - '@babel/register'
.cjs:
  - interpret/cjs-stub
.coffee:
  - coffeescript/register
.coffee.md:
  - coffeescript/register
.esbuild.js:
  - esbuild-register/dist/node
.esbuild.jsx:
  - esbuild-register/dist/node
.esbuild.ts:
  - esbuild-register/dist/node
.esbuild.tsx:
  - esbuild-register/dist/node
.esm.js:
  - esm
.js:
  - built-in node.js loader
.jsx:
  - '@babel/register'
  - sucrase/register/jsx
.litcoffee:
  - coffeescript/register
.mdx:
  - '@mdx-js/register'
.mjs:
  - interpret/mjs-stub
.sucrase.js:
  - sucrase/dist/register
.sucrase.jsx:
  - sucrase/dist/register
.sucrase.ts:
  - sucrase/dist/register
.sucrase.tsx:
  - sucrase/dist/register
.swc.js:
  - '@swc/register'
.swc.jsx:
  - '@swc/register'
.swc.ts:
  - '@swc/register'
.swc.tsx:
  - '@swc/register'
.ts:
  - ts-node/register
  - sucrase/register/ts
  - '@babel/register'
  - esbuild-register/dist/node
  - '@swc/register'
.tsx:
  - ts-node/register
  - sucrase/register/tsx
  - '@babel/register'
  - esbuild-register/dist/node
  - '@swc/register'

License

MIT