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

Properly hijack require, i.e., properly define require hooks and customizations

Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against pirates@4.0.7. Markdown · JSON

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

pirates ships CommonJS only. require("pirates") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. The package declares Node.js >= 6. import "pirates" 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("pirates") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. The package declares Node.js >= 6.
  2. From ES modules use the default import: import pirates from "pirates"; then destructure. Named imports only work when Node.js can statically detect the exports.
  3. TypeScript: types are bundled; install nothing extra.
Latest
4.0.7 (Mar 27, 2025)
Module format
CommonJS
Last CommonJS version
4.0.7
TypeScript types
Bundled
Node engines
>= 6
Weekly downloads
56.7M
License
MIT

Does pirates@4.0.7 actually load? Runtime test results

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

Runtimerequire("pirates")import "pirates"
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 pirates

ES modules (import)

import pirates from "pirates";

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 pirates = require("pirates");

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 (20 versions; the newest 20 shown).

VersionsFormatFirst published
1.0.0 – 4.0.7CommonJSDec 5, 2015

Frequently asked

Is pirates ESM-only?

pirates@4.0.7 is a CommonJS package. pirates ships CommonJS only. require("pirates") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. The package declares Node.js >= 6. import "pirates" 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 pirates with ES module syntax?

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

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

Does pirates ship TypeScript types?

Yes. pirates bundles its own type declarations; no @types package is needed.

Links

Other commonjs packages

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