canirequire › CommonJS › babel
Is babel ESM-only? Can you require() it?
Turn ES6 code into readable vanilla ES5 with source maps
Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against babel@6.23.0. JSON
CommonJS CommonJS — require() works on every Node.js version
babel ships CommonJS only. require("babel") works everywhere. import "babel" 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.
Deprecated: In 6.x, the babel package has been deprecated in favor of babel-cli. Check https://opencollective.com/babel to support the Babel maintainers
Does babel@6.23.0 actually load? Runtime test results
Installed and executed on Sep 9, 2026 with require("babel") from a CommonJS file and import "babel" from an ES module.
| Runtime | require("babel") | import "babel" |
|---|---|---|
| Node.js 18 | ✗ failsError: The node API for `babel` has been moved to `babel-core`. | ✗ failsError: The node API for `babel` has been moved to `babel-core`. |
| Node.js 20 | ✗ failsError: The node API for `babel` has been moved to `babel-core`. | ✗ failsError: The node API for `babel` has been moved to `babel-core`. |
| Node.js 22 | ✗ failsError: The node API for `babel` has been moved to `babel-core`. | ✗ failsError: The node API for `babel` has been moved to `babel-core`. |
| Node.js 24 | ✗ failsError: The node API for `babel` has been moved to `babel-core`. | ✗ failsError: The node API for `babel` has been moved to `babel-core`. |
| Node.js 26 | ✗ failsError: The node API for `babel` has been moved to `babel-core`. | ✗ failsError: The node API for `babel` has been moved to `babel-core`. |
| Bun 1.4 | ✗ failserror: The node API for `babel` has been moved to `babel-core`. | ✗ failserror: The node API for `babel` has been moved to `babel-core`. |
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
ES modules (import)
import babel from "babel";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 babel = require("babel");Module format by version
Derived from the type, main and exports fields of every stable release on npm (161 versions; the newest 60 shown).
| Versions | Format | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 5.5.2 – 6.23.0 | CommonJS | Jun 5, 2015 |
Frequently asked
Is babel ESM-only?
babel@6.23.0 is a CommonJS package. babel ships CommonJS only. require("babel") works everywhere. import "babel" 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 with ES module syntax?
Yes. import babel from "babel" 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 work in Bun?
Importing babel failed in Bun 1.4 on Sep 9, 2026: error: The node API for `babel` has been moved to `babel-core`.
Does babel ship TypeScript types?
No. babel ships no type declarations and there is no @types package for it.
Links
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