node-loader

What is node-loader?

The node-loader npm package is a loader for webpack that allows you to import Node.js modules in your webpack bundle. It enables the use of Node.js built-in modules and other Node.js-specific features within a webpack project.

What are node-loader's main functionalities?

Importing Node.js Modules

This feature allows you to import and use Node.js built-in modules like 'fs' within your webpack project. The code sample demonstrates reading a file synchronously using the 'fs' module.

const fs = require('fs');
const data = fs.readFileSync('/path/to/file', 'utf8');
console.log(data);

Using Node.js Specific Features

This feature enables the use of Node.js-specific features such as the 'path' module. The code sample shows how to join directory paths using the 'path' module.

const path = require('path');
const fullPath = path.join(__dirname, 'file.txt');
console.log(fullPath);

Other packages similar to node-loader

webpack-node-externals

The webpack-node-externals package is a webpack plugin that excludes Node.js modules from the output bundle. It is useful for server-side applications where you want to keep the Node.js modules separate from the client-side bundle. Unlike node-loader, which allows importing Node.js modules, webpack-node-externals focuses on excluding them.

babel-loader

The babel-loader package is a webpack loader that allows you to transpile JavaScript files using Babel. While it does not specifically target Node.js modules, it can be used in conjunction with other loaders to handle modern JavaScript syntax and features. It complements node-loader by enabling the use of ES6+ syntax in Node.js modules.

README

node-loader

A Node.js add-ons loader.

Allows to connect native node modules with .node extension.

⚠ node-loader only works on the node/async-node/electron-main/electron-renderer/electron-preload targets.

Getting Started

To begin, you'll need to install node-loader:

npm install node-loader --save-dev

or

yarn add -D node-loader

or

pnpm add -D node-loader

Setup the target option to node/async-node/electron-main/electron-renderer/electron-preload value and do not mock the __dirname global variable.

webpack.config.js

module.exports = {
  resolve: {
    extensions: ["...", ".node"],
  },
  target: "node",
  node: {
    __dirname: false,
  },
  module: {
    rules: [
      {
        test: /\.node$/,
        loader: "node-loader",
      },
    ],
  },
};

Inline

index.js

import node from "node-loader!./file.node";

And run webpack via your preferred method.

Configuration

index.js

import node from "file.node";

Then add the loader to your webpack config. For example:

webpack.config.js

module.exports = {
  target: "node",
  node: {
    __dirname: false,
  },
  module: {
    rules: [
      {
        test: /\.node$/,
        loader: "node-loader",
      },
    ],
  },
};

And run webpack via your preferred method.

Options

Name	Type	Default	Description
flags	{Number}	undefined	Enables/Disables url/image-set functions handling
name	{String|Function}	'[contenthash].[ext]'	Specifies a custom filename template for the target file(s).

flags

Type: Number Default: undefined

The flags argument is an integer that allows to specify dlopen behavior. See the process.dlopen documentation for details.

index.js

import node from "file.node";

webpack.config.js

const os = require("os");

module.exports = {
  target: "node",
  node: {
    __dirname: false,
  },
  module: {
    rules: [
      {
        test: /\.node$/,
        loader: "node-loader",
        options: {
          flags: os.constants.dlopen.RTLD_NOW,
        },
      },
    ],
  },
};

name

Type: String|Function Default: '[contenthash].[ext]'

Specifies a custom filename template for the target file(s).

String

webpack.config.js

module.exports = {
  target: "node",
  node: {
    __dirname: false,
  },
  module: {
    rules: [
      {
        test: /\.node$/,
        loader: "node-loader",
        options: {
          name: "[path][name].[ext]",
        },
      },
    ],
  },
};

Function

webpack.config.js

module.exports = {
  target: "node",
  node: {
    __dirname: false,
  },
  module: {
    rules: [
      {
        test: /\.node$/,
        loader: "node-loader",
        options: {
          name(resourcePath, resourceQuery) {
            // `resourcePath` - `/absolute/path/to/file.js`
            // `resourceQuery` - `?foo=bar`

            if (process.env.NODE_ENV === "development") {
              return "[path][name].[ext]";
            }

            return "[contenthash].[ext]";
          },
        },
      },
    ],
  },
};

Contributing

Please take a moment to read our contributing guidelines if you haven't yet done so.

CONTRIBUTING

License

MIT