canirequire › CommonJS › colors
Is colors ESM-only? Can you require() it?
get colors in your node.js console
Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against colors@1.4.0. JSON
CommonJS CommonJS — require() works on every Node.js version
colors ships CommonJS only. require("colors") works everywhere. import "colors" 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.
Does colors@1.4.0 actually load? Runtime test results
Installed and executed on Sep 9, 2026 with require("colors") from a CommonJS file and import "colors" from an ES module.
| Runtime | require("colors") | import "colors" |
|---|---|---|
| Node.js 18 | ✓ works | ✓ works |
| Node.js 20 | ✓ works | ✓ works |
| Node.js 22 | ✓ works | ✓ works |
| Node.js 24 | ✓ works | ✓ works |
| Node.js 26 | ✓ works | ✓ works |
| Bun 1.4 | ✓ works | ✓ works |
How to import colors
ES modules (import)
import colors from "colors";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 colors = require("colors");Module format by version
Derived from the type, main and exports fields of every stable release on npm (24 versions; the newest 24 shown).
| Versions | Format | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 0.3.0 – 1.4.0 | CommonJS | Mar 15, 2011 |
Frequently asked
Is colors ESM-only?
colors@1.4.0 is a CommonJS package. colors ships CommonJS only. require("colors") works everywhere. import "colors" 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 colors with ES module syntax?
Yes. import colors from "colors" 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 colors work in Bun?
Yes. import "colors" loaded successfully in Bun 1.4 on Sep 9, 2026.
Does colors ship TypeScript types?
Not bundled. Install the community types with "npm install -D @types/colors".
Links
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