canirequire › CommonJS › nan
Is nan ESM-only? Can you require() it?
Native Abstractions for Node.js: C++ header for Node 0.8 -> 26 compatibility
Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against nan@2.28.0. JSON
CommonJS CommonJS — require() works on every Node.js version
nan ships CommonJS only. require("nan") works everywhere. import "nan" 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 nan@2.28.0 actually load? Runtime test results
Installed and executed on Sep 9, 2026 with require("nan") from a CommonJS file and import "nan" from an ES module.
| Runtime | require("nan") | import "nan" |
|---|---|---|
| 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 nan
ES modules (import)
import nan from "nan";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 nan = require("nan");Module format by version
Derived from the type, main and exports fields of every stable release on npm (98 versions; the newest 60 shown).
| Versions | Format | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1.9.0 – 2.28.0 | CommonJS | Jul 31, 2015 |
Frequently asked
Is nan ESM-only?
nan@2.28.0 is a CommonJS package. nan ships CommonJS only. require("nan") works everywhere. import "nan" 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 nan with ES module syntax?
Yes. import nan from "nan" 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 nan work in Bun?
Yes. import "nan" loaded successfully in Bun 1.4 on Sep 9, 2026.
Does nan ship TypeScript types?
No. nan ships no type declarations and there is no @types package for it.
Links
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