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

Babel command line.

Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against babel-cli@6.26.0. Markdown · JSON

CommonJS CommonJS on paper — require() failed in our runtime test

babel-cli declares a CommonJS entry only, but require("babel-cli") failed on every Node.js version in our probe: Use the `babel-core` package not `babel`. import "babel-cli" resolves to the same file, so it fails the same way. That usually means a missing peer dependency, a browser-only global, or a package that is not meant to be loaded directly; see the runtime table below.

What to do

  1. require("babel-cli") failed in our probe on every Node.js version (Use the `babel-core` package not `babel`); check the package README for peer dependencies or setup before relying on it.
  2. From ES modules use the default import: import babelCli from "babel-cli"; then destructure. Named imports only work when Node.js can statically detect the exports.
  3. TypeScript: no types are available for babel-cli; declare the module yourself if you need them.
Latest
6.26.0 (Aug 16, 2017)
Module format
CommonJS
Last CommonJS version
6.26.0
TypeScript types
None
Node engines
not declared
Weekly downloads
311K
License
MIT

Does babel-cli@6.26.0 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✗ failsError✗ failsError
Node.js 20✗ failsError✗ failsError
Node.js 22✗ failsError✗ failsError
Node.js 24✗ failsError✗ failsError
Node.js 26✗ failsError✗ failsError
Bun 1.4.0✗ failsError✗ failsError

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 babelCli 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)

// require("babel-cli") failed in our probe on every Node.js version we test (Use the `babel-core` package not `babel`); see the runtime table.
const babelCli = require("babel-cli");

Module format by version

Derived from the type, main and exports fields of every stable release on npm, corrected where a runtime test of that version contradicted them (52 versions; the newest 52 shown).

VersionsFormatFirst published
6.0.0 – 6.26.0CommonJSOct 29, 2015

Frequently asked

Is babel-cli ESM-only?

babel-cli@6.26.0 declares a CommonJS entry, but require() fails at runtime. babel-cli declares a CommonJS entry only, but require("babel-cli") failed on every Node.js version in our probe: Use the `babel-core` package not `babel`. import "babel-cli" resolves to the same file, so it fails the same way. That usually means a missing peer dependency, a browser-only global, or a package that is not meant to be loaded directly; see the runtime table below.

Can I require babel-cli?

Not in practice. babel-cli declares a CommonJS entry, but require("babel-cli") failed on every Node.js version in our probe: Use the `babel-core` package not `babel`. Check the package README for peer dependencies or setup before relying on it.

Can I import babel-cli with ES module syntax?

Yes. import babelCli 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 1.4.0 on Sep 9, 2026: error: Use the `babel-core` package not `babel`.

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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