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Is chalk-animation ESM-only? Can you require() it?

Colorful animations in terminal output

Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against chalk-animation@2.0.3. Markdown · JSON

ESM-only ESM-only since 2.0.0 — last CommonJS version is 1.6.0

chalk-animation dropped its CommonJS build in 2.0.0 (April 2022). The last version with a plain require()-able CommonJS entry is 1.6.0, published Apr 7, 2018; it declares support for Node.js >=4.

On Node.js 20.19+, 22.12+ and newer, require("chalk-animation") works with the latest version: Node.js loads synchronous ES modules through require(). Verified on Node.js 20, 22, 24 and 26. On Node.js 18, which has no require(esm), require("chalk-animation") fails with ERR_REQUIRE_ESM.

What to do

  1. On Node.js 20.19+, 22.12+ and newer, require("chalk-animation") works with the latest version: Node.js loads synchronous ES modules through require(). Verified on Node.js 20, 22, 24 and 26.
  2. From a CommonJS file, use a dynamic import inside an async function: const chalkAnimation = await import("chalk-animation"). That works on every Node.js version the package supports (>=12).
  3. If you need a synchronous require() or run Node.js 18: npm install chalk-animation@1.6.0, the last CommonJS release (published Apr 7, 2018); it declares Node.js >=4.
  4. TypeScript: npm install -D @types/chalk-animation
Latest
2.0.3 (Sep 6, 2022)
Module format
ESM-only
Last CommonJS version
1.6.0
ESM-only since
2.0.0 (Apr 19, 2022)
TypeScript types
@types/chalk-animation
Node engines
>=12
Weekly downloads
337K
License
MIT

Does chalk-animation@2.0.3 actually load? Runtime test results

Installed and executed on Sep 9, 2026 with require("chalk-animation") from a CommonJS file and import "chalk-animation" from an ES module.

Runtimerequire("chalk-animation")import "chalk-animation"
Node.js 18✗ failsERR_REQUIRE_ESM✓ works
Node.js 20✓ works✓ works
Node.js 22✓ works✓ works
Node.js 24✓ works✓ works
Node.js 26✓ works✓ works
Bun 1.4.0✓ works✓ works

How to import chalk-animation

ES modules (import)

import * as chalkAnimation from "chalk-animation";

Namespace import shown because the ESM entry may have no default export; use named imports for what it exports.

CommonJS (require)

// Node.js 20.19+, 22.12+ and newer (verified):
const chalkAnimation = require("chalk-animation");

// Any Node.js version the package supports (>=12), from an async function:
async function main() {
  const chalkAnimation = await import("chalk-animation");
}

// Or pin the last CommonJS release (declares Node.js >=4):
// npm install chalk-animation@1.6.0

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 (18 versions; the newest 18 shown).

VersionsFormatFirst published
2.0.0 – 2.0.3ESM-onlyApr 19, 2022
0.0.1 – 1.6.0CommonJSJul 23, 2017

Frequently asked

Is chalk-animation ESM-only?

chalk-animation@2.0.3 is ESM-only. chalk-animation dropped its CommonJS build in 2.0.0 (April 2022). The last version with a plain require()-able CommonJS entry is 1.6.0, published Apr 7, 2018; it declares support for Node.js >=4.

Which version of chalk-animation still supports CommonJS / require()?

1.6.0 is the last version of chalk-animation with a CommonJS build; it declares Node.js >=4. Install it with "npm install chalk-animation@1.6.0". Every version from 2.0.0 on is ESM-only.

How do I use chalk-animation from a CommonJS file?

From a CommonJS file, use a dynamic import inside an async function: const chalkAnimation = await import("chalk-animation"). That works on every Node.js version the package supports (>=12). On Node.js 20.19+, 22.12+ and newer, require("chalk-animation") works with the latest version: Node.js loads synchronous ES modules through require(). Verified on Node.js 20, 22, 24 and 26. Alternatively pin chalk-animation@1.6.0 (declares Node.js >=4).

Does chalk-animation work in Bun?

Yes. import "chalk-animation" loaded successfully in Bun 1.4.0 on Sep 9, 2026.

Does chalk-animation ship TypeScript types?

Not bundled. Install the community types with "npm install -D @types/chalk-animation".

Links

Other esm-only packages

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