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

Fast, unopinionated, minimalist web framework

Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against express@5.2.1. JSON

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

express ships CommonJS only. require("express") works everywhere. import "express" 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.

Latest
5.2.1 (Dec 1, 2025)
Module format
CommonJS
Last CommonJS version
5.2.1
TypeScript types
@types/express
Node engines
>= 18
Weekly downloads
92.8M
License
MIT

Does express@5.2.1 actually load? Runtime test results

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

Runtimerequire("express")import "express"
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 express

ES modules (import)

import express from "express";

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 express = require("express");

Module format by version

Derived from the type, main and exports fields of every stable release on npm (245 versions; the newest 60 shown).

VersionsFormatFirst published
4.9.7 – 5.2.1CommonJSOct 10, 2014

Frequently asked

Is express ESM-only?

express@5.2.1 is a CommonJS package. express ships CommonJS only. require("express") works everywhere. import "express" 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 express with ES module syntax?

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

Yes. import "express" loaded successfully in Bun 1.4 on Sep 9, 2026.

Does express ship TypeScript types?

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

Links

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