canirequire

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. Markdown · JSON

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

colors ships CommonJS only. require("colors") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. The package declares Node.js >=0.1.90. 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.

What to do

  1. require("colors") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. The package declares Node.js >=0.1.90.
  2. From ES modules use the default import: import colors from "colors"; then destructure. Named imports only work when Node.js can statically detect the exports.
  3. TypeScript: npm install -D @types/colors
Latest
1.4.0 (Sep 22, 2019)
Module format
CommonJS
Last CommonJS version
1.4.0
TypeScript types
@types/colors
Node engines
>=0.1.90
Weekly downloads
23.4M
License
MIT

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.

Runtimerequire("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 1.4.0✓ 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, corrected where a runtime test of that version contradicted them (24 versions; the newest 24 shown).

VersionsFormatFirst published
0.3.0 – 1.4.0CommonJSMar 15, 2011

Frequently asked

Is colors ESM-only?

colors@1.4.0 is a CommonJS package. colors ships CommonJS only. require("colors") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. The package declares Node.js >=0.1.90. 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 1.4.0 on Sep 9, 2026.

Does colors ship TypeScript types?

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

Links

Other commonjs packages

Similar popularity