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Is events ESM-only? Can you require() it?

Node's event emitter for all engines.

Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against events@3.3.0. Markdown · JSON

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

events ships CommonJS only. require("events") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. The package declares Node.js >=0.8.x. import "events" 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("events") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. The package declares Node.js >=0.8.x.
  2. From ES modules use the default import: import events from "events"; then destructure. Named imports only work when Node.js can statically detect the exports.
  3. TypeScript: npm install -D @types/events
Latest
3.3.0 (Feb 27, 2021)
Module format
CommonJS
Last CommonJS version
3.3.0
TypeScript types
@types/events
Node engines
>=0.8.x
Weekly downloads
63.8M
License
MIT

Does events@3.3.0 actually load? Runtime test results

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

Runtimerequire("events")import "events"
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 events

ES modules (import)

import events from "events";

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 events = require("events");

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 (17 versions; the newest 17 shown).

VersionsFormatFirst published
0.1.0 – 3.3.0CommonJSApr 22, 2011

Frequently asked

Is events ESM-only?

events@3.3.0 is a CommonJS package. events ships CommonJS only. require("events") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. The package declares Node.js >=0.8.x. import "events" 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 events with ES module syntax?

Yes. import events from "events" 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 events work in Bun?

Yes. import "events" loaded successfully in Bun 1.4.0 on Sep 9, 2026.

Does events ship TypeScript types?

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

Links

Other commonjs packages

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