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Is @babel/cli ESM-only? Can you require() it?

Babel command line.

Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against @babel/cli@8.0.4. JSON

CommonJS CommonJS — require() works on every Node.js version

@babel/cli ships CommonJS only. require("@babel/cli") works everywhere. import "@babel/cli" also works because Node.js and Bun can import CommonJS from ES modules, but only the default export is guaranteed; named imports depend on Node's static analysis of the module.

Latest
8.0.4 (Jul 9, 2026)
Module format
CommonJS
Last CommonJS version
8.0.4
TypeScript types
None
Node engines
^22.18.0 || >=24.11.0
License
MIT

Does @babel/cli@8.0.4 actually load? Runtime test results

Installed and executed on Sep 9, 2026 with require("@babel/cli") from a CommonJS file and import "@babel/cli" from an ES module.

Runtimerequire("@babel/cli")import "@babel/cli"
Node.js 18✗ failsERR_PACKAGE_PATH_NOT_EXPORTED✗ failsERR_PACKAGE_PATH_NOT_EXPORTED
Node.js 20✗ failsERR_PACKAGE_PATH_NOT_EXPORTED✗ failsERR_PACKAGE_PATH_NOT_EXPORTED
Node.js 22✗ failsERR_PACKAGE_PATH_NOT_EXPORTED✗ failsERR_PACKAGE_PATH_NOT_EXPORTED
Node.js 24✗ failsERR_PACKAGE_PATH_NOT_EXPORTED✗ failsERR_PACKAGE_PATH_NOT_EXPORTED
Node.js 26✗ failsERR_PACKAGE_PATH_NOT_EXPORTED✗ failsERR_PACKAGE_PATH_NOT_EXPORTED
Bun 1.4✗ failserror: Cannot find module '@babel/cli' from '/Users/boat/Projects/top-seo/data/probe-work/@babel__cli/req.cjs'✗ failserror: Cannot find module '@babel/cli' from '/Users/boat/Projects/top-seo/data/probe-work/@babel__cli/imp.mjs'

A failing require() on a CommonJS package usually means the package needs a browser/DOM global, a peer dependency, or a native binary that is not available in a bare Node.js process.

How to import @babel/cli

ES modules (import)

import cli from "@babel/cli";

Named imports from a CommonJS package only work when Node.js can statically detect them. If a named import fails, use the default import and destructure.

CommonJS (require)

const cli = require("@babel/cli");

Module format by version

Derived from the type, main and exports fields of every stable release on npm (87 versions; the newest 60 shown).

VersionsFormatFirst published
7.11.5 – 8.0.4CommonJSAug 31, 2020

Frequently asked

Is @babel/cli ESM-only?

@babel/cli@8.0.4 is a CommonJS package. @babel/cli ships CommonJS only. require("@babel/cli") works everywhere. import "@babel/cli" also works because Node.js and Bun can import CommonJS from ES modules, but only the default export is guaranteed; named imports depend on Node's static analysis of the module.

Can I import @babel/cli with ES module syntax?

Yes. import cli from "@babel/cli" works in Node.js and Bun because they support importing CommonJS modules. Named imports work only when Node.js can statically detect the exports.

Does @babel/cli work in Bun?

Importing @babel/cli failed in Bun 1.4 on Sep 9, 2026: error: Cannot find module '@babel/cli' from '/Users/boat/Projects/top-seo/data/probe-work/@babel__cli/imp.mjs'

Does @babel/cli ship TypeScript types?

No. @babel/cli ships no type declarations and there is no @types package for it.

Links

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