postcss-loader
Advanced tools
The postcss-loader npm package is a loader for webpack that allows you to use PostCSS to process CSS with JavaScript. It enables the use of PostCSS plugins to perform various operations on CSS files, such as autoprefixing, minification, and custom transformations.
Autoprefixing
Automatically adds vendor prefixes to CSS rules using values from Can I Use. It is useful for supporting multiple browser versions.
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/,
use: [
'style-loader',
'css-loader',
{
loader: 'postcss-loader',
options: {
postcssOptions: {
plugins: [
require('autoprefixer')
]
}
}
}
]
}
]
}
};CSS Minification
Optimizes and minifies CSS files to reduce file size and improve load times.
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/,
use: [
'style-loader',
'css-loader',
{
loader: 'postcss-loader',
options: {
postcssOptions: {
plugins: [
require('cssnano')()
]
}
}
}
]
}
]
}
};Custom Transformations
Applies custom transformations or future CSS features using PostCSS plugins.
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/,
use: [
'style-loader',
'css-loader',
{
loader: 'postcss-loader',
options: {
postcssOptions: {
plugins: [
require('postcss-custom-properties')()
]
}
}
}
]
}
]
}
};The sass-loader compiles Sass/SCSS files to CSS. It requires Node.js-style .sass/.scss files. Unlike postcss-loader, it's specifically designed for Sass pre-processing.
The less-loader processes .less files and compiles them to CSS. It's similar to postcss-loader in that it transforms styles, but it's tailored for the Less pre-processor.
This package is a webpack loader that compiles Stylus files to CSS. It's a pre-processor loader like sass-loader and less-loader, but for Stylus syntax.
Webpack chat: 
PostCSS chat: 
Loader to process CSS with PostCSS.
To begin, you'll need to install postcss-loader and postcss:
npm install --save-dev postcss-loader postcss
Then add the plugin to your webpack config. For example:
file.js
import css from "file.css";
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/i,
use: [
"style-loader",
"css-loader",
{
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
plugins: [
[
"postcss-preset-env",
{
// Options
},
],
],
},
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
Alternative use with config files:
postcss.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
[
"postcss-preset-env",
{
// Options
},
],
],
};
The loader automatically searches for configuration files.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/i,
use: ["style-loader", "css-loader", "postcss-loader"],
},
],
},
};
And run webpack via your preferred method.
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
execute | {Boolean} | undefined | Enable PostCSS Parser support in CSS-in-JS |
postcssOptions | {Object|Function} | defaults values for Postcss.process | Set PostCSS options and plugins |
sourceMap | {Boolean} | compiler.devtool | Enables/Disables generation of source maps |
executeType: Boolean
Default: undefined
If you use JS styles the postcss-js parser, add the execute option.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.style.js$/,
use: [
"style-loader",
{
loader: "css-loader",
},
{
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
parser: "postcss-js",
},
execute: true,
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
postcssOptionsType: Object|Function
Default: undefined
Allows to set PostCSS options and plugins.
All PostCSS options are supported.
There is the special config option for config files. How it works and how it can be configured is described below.
We recommend do not specify from, to and map options, because this can lead to wrong path in source maps.
If you need source maps please use the sourcemap option.
ObjectSetup plugins:
webpack.config.js (recommended)
const myOtherPostcssPlugin = require("postcss-my-plugin");
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.sss$/i,
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
plugins: [
"postcss-import",
["postcss-short", { prefix: "x" }],
require.resolve("my-postcss-plugin"),
myOtherPostcssPlugin({ myOption: true }),
// Deprecated and will be removed in the next major release
{ "postcss-nested": { preserveEmpty: true } },
],
},
},
},
],
},
};
webpack.config.js (deprecated, will be removed in the next major release)
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.sss$/i,
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
plugins: {
"postcss-import": {},
"postcss-short": { prefix: "x" },
},
},
},
},
],
},
};
Setup syntax:
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.sss$/i,
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
// Can be `String`
syntax: "sugarss",
// Can be `Object`
syntax: require("sugarss"),
},
},
},
],
},
};
Setup parser:
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.sss$/i,
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
// Can be `String`
parser: "sugarss",
// Can be `Object`
parser: require("sugarss"),
// Can be `Function`
parser: require("sugarss").parse,
},
},
},
],
},
};
Setup stringifier:
webpack.config.js
const Midas = require("midas");
const midas = new Midas();
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.sss$/i,
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
// Can be `String`
stringifier: "sugarss",
// Can be `Object`
stringifier: require("sugarss"),
// Can be `Function`
stringifier: midas.stringifier,
},
},
},
],
},
};
Functionwebpack.config.js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.(css|sss)$/i,
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: (loaderContext) => {
if (/\.sss$/.test(loaderContext.resourcePath)) {
return {
parser: "sugarss",
plugins: [
["postcss-short", { prefix: "x" }],
"postcss-preset-env",
],
};
}
return {
plugins: [
["postcss-short", { prefix: "x" }],
"postcss-preset-env",
],
};
},
},
},
],
},
};
configType: Boolean|String
Default: undefined
Allows to set options using config files. Options specified in the config file are combined with options passed to the loader, the loader options overwrite options from config.
The loader will search up the directory tree for configuration in the following places:
postcss property in package.json.postcssrc file in JSON or YAML format.postcssrc.json, .postcssrc.yaml, .postcssrc.yml, .postcssrc.js, or .postcssrc.cjs filepostcss.config.js or postcss.config.cjs CommonJS module exporting an object (recommended)Using Object notation:
postcss.config.js (recommend)
module.exports = {
// You can specify any options from https://postcss.org/api/#processoptions here
// parser: 'sugarss',
plugins: [
// Plugins for PostCSS
["postcss-short", { prefix: "x" }],
"postcss-preset-env",
],
};
Using Function notation:
postcss.config.js (recommend)
module.exports = (api) => {
// `api.file` - path to the file
// `api.mode` - `mode` value of webpack, please read https://webpack.js.org/configuration/mode/
// `api.webpackLoaderContext` - loader context for complex use cases
// `api.env` - alias `api.mode` for compatibility with `postcss-cli`
// `api.options` - the `postcssOptions` options
if (/\.sss$/.test(api.file)) {
return {
// You can specify any options from https://postcss.org/api/#processoptions here
parser: "sugarss",
plugins: [
// Plugins for PostCSS
["postcss-short", { prefix: "x" }],
"postcss-preset-env",
],
};
}
return {
// You can specify any options from https://postcss.org/api/#processoptions here
plugins: [
// Plugins for PostCSS
["postcss-short", { prefix: "x" }],
"postcss-preset-env",
],
};
};
postcss.config.js (deprecated, will be removed in the next major release)
module.exports = {
// You can specify any options from https://postcss.org/api/#processoptions here
// parser: 'sugarss',
plugins: {
// Plugins for PostCSS
"postcss-short": { prefix: "x" },
"postcss-preset-env": {},
},
};
You can use different postcss.config.js files in different directories.
Config lookup starts from path.dirname(file) and walks the file tree upwards until a config file is found.
|– components
| |– component
| | |– index.js
| | |– index.png
| | |– style.css (1)
| | |– postcss.config.js (1)
| |– component
| | |– index.js
| | |– image.png
| | |– style.css (2)
|
|– postcss.config.js (1 && 2 (recommended))
|– webpack.config.js
|
|– package.json
After setting up your postcss.config.js, add postcss-loader to your webpack.config.js.
You can use it standalone or in conjunction with css-loader (recommended).
Use it before css-loader and style-loader, but after other preprocessor loaders like e.g sass|less|stylus-loader, if you use any (since webpack loaders evaluate right to left/bottom to top).
webpack.config.js (recommended)
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/,
use: [
"style-loader",
{
loader: "css-loader",
options: {
importLoaders: 1,
},
},
"postcss-loader",
],
},
],
},
};
Enables/Disables autoloading config.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/i,
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
config: false,
},
},
},
],
},
};
Allows to specify the path to the config file.
webpack.config.js
const path = require("path");
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/i,
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
config: path.resolve(__dirname, "custom.config.js"),
},
},
},
],
},
};
sourceMapType: Boolean
Default: depends on the compiler.devtool value
By default generation of source maps depends on the devtool option.
All values enable source map generation except eval and false value.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/i,
use: [
{ loader: "style-loader" },
{ loader: "css-loader", options: { sourceMap: true } },
{ loader: "postcss-loader", options: { sourceMap: true } },
{ loader: "sass-loader", options: { sourceMap: true } },
],
},
],
},
};
Alternative setup:
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
devtool: "source-map",
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/i,
use: [
{ loader: "style-loader" },
{ loader: "css-loader" },
{ loader: "postcss-loader" },
{ loader: "sass-loader" },
],
},
],
},
};
implementationType: Function
The special implementation option determines which implementation of PostCSS to use. Overrides the locally installed peerDependency version of postcss.
This option is only really useful for downstream tooling authors to ease the PostCSS 7-to-8 transition.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/i,
use: [
{ loader: "style-loader" },
{ loader: "css-loader" },
{
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: { implementation: require("postcss") },
},
{ loader: "sass-loader" },
],
},
],
},
};
You'll need to install sugarss:
npm install --save-dev sugarss
Using SugarSS syntax.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.sss$/i,
use: [
"style-loader",
{
loader: "css-loader",
options: { importLoaders: 1 },
},
{
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
parser: "sugarss",
},
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
You'll need to install autoprefixer:
npm install --save-dev autoprefixer
Add vendor prefixes to CSS rules using autoprefixer.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/i,
use: [
"style-loader",
{
loader: "css-loader",
options: { importLoaders: 1 },
},
{
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
plugins: [
[
"autoprefixer",
{
// Options
},
],
],
},
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
:warning:
postcss-preset-envincludesautoprefixer, so adding it separately is not necessary if you already use the preset. More information
You'll need to install postcss-preset-env:
npm install --save-dev postcss-preset-env
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/i,
use: [
"style-loader",
{
loader: "css-loader",
options: { importLoaders: 1 },
},
{
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
plugins: [
[
"postcss-preset-env",
{
// Options
},
],
],
},
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
What is CSS Modules? Please read.
No additional options required on the postcss-loader side.
To make them work properly, either add the css-loader’s importLoaders option.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/i,
use: [
"style-loader",
{
loader: "css-loader",
options: {
modules: true,
importLoaders: 1,
},
},
"postcss-loader",
],
},
],
},
};
postcss-jsYou'll need to install postcss-js:
npm install --save-dev postcss-js
If you want to process styles written in JavaScript, use the postcss-js parser.
webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.style.js$/,
use: [
"style-loader",
{
loader: "css-loader",
options: {
importLoaders: 2,
},
},
{
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
parser: "postcss-js",
},
execute: true,
},
},
"babel-loader",
],
},
],
},
};
As result you will be able to write styles in the following way
import colors from "./styles/colors";
export default {
".menu": {
color: colors.main,
height: 25,
"&_link": {
color: "white",
},
},
};
:warning: If you are using Babel you need to do the following in order for the setup to work
- Add
babel-plugin-add-module-exportsto your configuration.- You need to have only one default export per style module.
Using mini-css-extract-plugin.
webpack.config.js
const isProductionMode = process.env.NODE_ENV === "production";
const MiniCssExtractPlugin = require("mini-css-extract-plugin");
module.exports = {
mode: isProductionMode ? "production" : "development",
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/,
use: [
isProductionMode ? MiniCssExtractPlugin.loader : "style-loader",
"css-loader",
"postcss-loader",
],
},
],
},
plugins: [
new MiniCssExtractPlugin({
filename: isProductionMode ? "[name].[contenthash].css" : "[name].css",
}),
],
};
To write a asset from PostCSS plugin to the webpack, need to add a message in result.messages.
The message should contain the following fields:
type = asset - Message type (require, should be equal asset)file - file name (require)content - file content (require)sourceMap - sourceMapinfo - asset infowebpack.config.js
const customPlugin = () => (css, result) => {
result.messages.push({
type: "asset",
file: "sprite.svg",
content: "<svg>...</svg>",
});
};
const postcssPlugin = postcss.plugin("postcss-assets", customPlugin);
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/i,
use: [
"style-loader",
"css-loader",
{
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
plugins: [postcssPlugin()],
},
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
The dependencies are necessary for webpack to understand when it needs to run recompilation on the changed files.
There are two way to add dependencies:
result.messages.The message should contain the following fields:
type = dependency - Message type (require, should be equal dependency, context-dependency, build-dependency or missing-dependency)file - absolute file path (require)webpack.config.js
const path = require("path");
const customPlugin = () => (css, result) => {
result.messages.push({
type: "dependency",
file: path.resolve(__dirname, "path", "to", "file"),
});
};
const postcssPlugin = postcss.plugin("postcss-assets", customPlugin);
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/i,
use: [
"style-loader",
"css-loader",
{
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
plugins: [postcssPlugin()],
},
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
loaderContext in plugin.webpack.config.js
const path = require("path");
module.exports = {
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.css$/i,
use: [
"style-loader",
"css-loader",
{
loader: "postcss-loader",
options: {
postcssOptions: {
config: path.resolve(__dirname, "path/to/postcss.config.js"),
},
},
},
],
},
],
},
};
postcss.config.js
module.exports = (api) => ({
plugins: [
require("path/to/customPlugin")({
loaderContext: api.webpackLoaderContext,
}),
],
});
customPlugin.js
const path = require("path");
const customPlugin = (loaderContext) => (css, result) => {
loaderContext.webpack.addDependency(
path.resolve(__dirname, "path", "to", "file")
);
};
module.exports = postcss.plugin("postcss-assets", customPlugin);
Please take a moment to read our contributing guidelines if you haven't yet done so.
FAQs
PostCSS loader for webpack
The npm package postcss-loader receives a total of 8,946,527 weekly downloads. As such, postcss-loader popularity was classified as popular.
We found that postcss-loader demonstrated a healthy version release cadence and project activity because the last version was released less than a year ago. It has 4 open source maintainers collaborating on the project.
Did you know?
Socket for GitHub automatically highlights issues in each pull request and monitors the health of all your open source dependencies. Discover the contents of your packages and block harmful activity before you install or update your dependencies.
Security News
License exceptions modify the terms of open source licenses, impacting how software can be used, modified, and distributed. Developers should be aware of the legal implications of these exceptions.
Security News
A developer is accusing Tencent of violating the GPL by modifying a Python utility and changing its license to BSD, highlighting the importance of copyleft compliance.
Security News
In an open letter, JavaScript community leaders urge Oracle to give up the JavaScript trademark, arguing that it has been effectively abandoned through nonuse.