systemjs

What is systemjs?

SystemJS is a dynamic module loader that can load ES modules, AMD, CommonJS, and global scripts in the browser and Node.js. It provides a way to load modules asynchronously and supports various module formats, making it a versatile tool for managing dependencies and module loading in JavaScript applications.

What are systemjs's main functionalities?

Loading ES Modules

SystemJS can dynamically import ES modules. The code sample demonstrates how to load an ES module asynchronously and handle the loaded module.

System.import('/path/to/module.js').then(function(module) {
  console.log(module);
});

Loading CommonJS Modules

SystemJS can also load CommonJS modules. The code sample shows how to load a CommonJS module asynchronously.

System.import('/path/to/commonjs-module.js').then(function(module) {
  console.log(module);
});

Loading AMD Modules

SystemJS supports loading AMD modules. The code sample demonstrates how to load an AMD module asynchronously.

System.import('/path/to/amd-module.js').then(function(module) {
  console.log(module);
});

Loading Global Scripts

SystemJS can load global scripts that do not export any modules. The code sample shows how to load a global script asynchronously.

System.import('/path/to/global-script.js').then(function() {
  console.log('Global script loaded');
});

Configuring SystemJS

SystemJS allows configuration for module loading. The code sample demonstrates how to configure the base URL, paths, and module mappings.

System.config({
  baseURL: '/base/url',
  paths: {
    'npm:': 'https://unpkg.com/'
  },
  map: {
    'jquery': 'npm:jquery@3.5.1/dist/jquery.js'
  }
});

Other packages similar to systemjs

requirejs

RequireJS is a JavaScript file and module loader. It is optimized for in-browser use, but it can be used in other JavaScript environments, such as Rhino and Node. Compared to SystemJS, RequireJS primarily focuses on AMD modules and does not support as many module formats.

webpack

Webpack is a module bundler that takes modules with dependencies and generates static assets representing those modules. Unlike SystemJS, which is a dynamic module loader, Webpack bundles modules at build time, which can result in better performance for production applications.

browserify

Browserify allows you to use Node.js-style require() to organize your browser code and load modules. It transforms Node.js modules into a format that can be used in the browser. Compared to SystemJS, Browserify focuses on CommonJS modules and does not support as many module formats.

es-module-loader

ES Module Loader is a polyfill for the ES Module Loader specification. It provides a way to load ES modules in environments that do not natively support them. Compared to SystemJS, ES Module Loader is more focused on ES modules and does not support other module formats.

README

SystemJS

Configurable module loader enabling backwards compatibility workflows for ES modules in browsers. If you're interested in modern workflows for ES module compatible browsers only, see ES Module Shims.

Read the SystemJS 2.0 announcement post

For the previous release see the SystemJS 0.21.x branch

SystemJS is currently sponsored by Canopy Tax.

SystemJS provides two hookable base builds:

1. s.js minimal loader

The minimal 1.5KB s.js loader provides a workflow where code written for production workflows of native ES modules in browsers (like Rollup code-splitting builds), can be transpiled to the System.register module format to work in older browsers that don't supporting native modules, including IE11++.

Since the ES module semantics such as live bindings, circular references, contextual metadata, dynamic import and top-level await can all be fully supported this way, while supporting CSP and cross-origin support, this workflow can be relied upon as a polyfill-like path.

• Loads and resolves modules as URLs, throwing for bare specifier names (eg import 'lodash') like the native module loader.
• Loads System.register and JSON modules.
• Core hookable extensible loader supporting custom extensions.

2. system.js loader

The 3KB system.js loader loader builds on the s.js core and adds support for upcoming module specifications (currently import maps and WASM integration with module loading) as well as development and convenience features.

• Support for loading bare specifier names through import maps (formerly package maps, formerly map configuration), loaded via <script type="system-importmap"> (requires a fetch polyfill for eg IE11).
• Includes the global loading extra for loading global scripts, useful for loading library dependencies traditionally loaded with script tags.
• Tracing hooks and registry deletion API for reloading workflows
• Supports loading WASM based on the .wasm file extension

Extras

The following pluggable extras are provided which can be dropped in with either the s.js or system.js loader:

• AMD loading support (through Window.define which is created).
• Global loading support for loading global scripts and detecting the defined global as the default export. Useful for loading common library scripts from CDN like System.import('//unpkg.com/lodash'). (Already included in the system.js loader build).
• Named exports convenience extension support for global and AMD module formats (import { x } from './global.js' instead of import G from './global.js'; G.x)
• Named register supports System.register('name', ...) named bundles which can then be imported as System.import('name') (as well as AMD named define support)
• Transform loader support, using fetch and eval, supporting a hookable loader.transform

Since all loader features are hookable, custom extensions can be easily made following the same approach as the bundled extras. See the hooks documentation for more information.

For discussion, join the Gitter Room.

Installation

npm install systemjs

Documentation

• Import Maps
• API
• System.register
• Loader Hooks

Example Usage

Loading a System.register module

<script src="system.js"></script>
<script>
  System.import('/js/main.js');
</script>

where main.js is a module available in the System.register module format.

Bundling workflow

For an example of a bundling workflow, see the Rollup Code Splitting starter project - https://github.com/rollup/rollup-starter-code-splitting.

Import Maps

Say main.js depends on loading 'lodash', then we can define an import map:

<script src="system.js"></script>
<script type="systemjs-importmap">
{
  "imports": {
    "lodash": "https://unpkg.com/lodash@4.17.10/lodash.js"
  }
}
</script>
<!-- Alternatively:
<script type="systemjs-importmap" src="path/to/map.json">
-->
<script>
  System.import('/js/main.js');
</script>

Browser transpilation

To load ES modules directly in older browsers with SystemJS we can install and use the Babel plugin:

<script src="system.js"></script>
<script src="extras/transform.js"></script>
<script src="plugin-babel/dist/babel-transform.js"></script>
<script>
  // main and all its dependencies will now run through transform before loading
  System.import('/js/main.js');
</script>

Compatibility with Webpack

Code-splitting builds on top of native ES modules, like Rollup offers, are an alternative to the Webpack-style chunking approach - offering a way to utilize the native module loader for loading shared and dynamic chunks instead of using a custom registry and loader as Webpack bundles include. Scope-level optimizations can be performed on ES modules when they are combined, while ensuring no duplicate code is loaded through dynamic loading and code-sharing in the module registry, using the features of the native module loader and its dynamic runtime nature.

As of webpack@4.30.0, it is now possible to compile webpack bundles to System.register format, by modifying your webpack config:

{
  output: {
    libraryTarget: 'system', 
  }
}

If building code using the System global in Webpack, the following config is needed to avoid rewriting:

{
  module: {
    rules: [
      { parser: { system: false } }
    ]
  }
}

Polyfills for Older Browsers

Promises

Both builds of SystemJS need Promises in the environment to work, which aren't supported in older browsers like IE11.

Promises can be conditionally polyfilled using, for example, Bluebird (generally the fastest Promise polyfill):

<script>
  if (typeof Promise === 'undefined')
    document.write('<script src="node_modules/bluebird/js/browser/bluebird.core.js"><\/script>');
</script>

Generally document.write is not recommended when writing web applications, but for this use case it works really well and will only apply in older browsers anyway.

Fetch

To support import maps in the system.js build, a fetch polyfill is need. The GitHub polyfill is recommended:

<script>
  if (typeof fetch === 'undefined')
    document.write('<script src="node_modules/whatwg-fetch/fetch.js"><\/script>');
</script>

Loader Extensions

This list can be extended to include third-party loader extensions. Feel free to post a PR to share your work.

• transform-babel Supports ES module transformation into System.register with Babel.
• json-plugin JSON loader plugin

How is SystemJS related to jspm?

SystemJS was developed as a universal module loader alongside jspm which provides a package manager and ES module CDN exploring native ES module workflows. Initially, SystemJS was the core loader enabling this experimentation of workflows from unbuilt development loading in browsers to production and the CDN loading of ES modules but is now used primarily as a loader for backwards-compatibility in older browsers.

Contributing to SystemJS

Project bug fixes and changes are welcome for discussion, provided the project footprint remains minimal.

To run the tests:

npm run build && npm run test

Changes

For the changelog, see CHANGELOG.md.

License

MIT