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

Lightweight, robust, elegant syntax highlighting. A spin-off project from Dabblet.

Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against prismjs@1.30.0. Markdown · JSON

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

prismjs ships CommonJS only. require("prismjs") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. The package declares Node.js >=6. import "prismjs" 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("prismjs") 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 prismjs from "prismjs"; then destructure. Named imports only work when Node.js can statically detect the exports.
  3. TypeScript: npm install -D @types/prismjs
Latest
1.30.0 (Mar 10, 2025)
Module format
CommonJS
Last CommonJS version
1.30.0
TypeScript types
@types/prismjs
Node engines
>=6
Weekly downloads
26.3M
License
MIT

Does prismjs@1.30.0 actually load? Runtime test results

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

Runtimerequire("prismjs")import "prismjs"
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 prismjs

ES modules (import)

import prismjs from "prismjs";

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 prismjs = require("prismjs");

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 (38 versions; the newest 38 shown).

VersionsFormatFirst published
0.0.1 – 1.30.0CommonJSMay 13, 2015

Frequently asked

Is prismjs ESM-only?

prismjs@1.30.0 is a CommonJS package. prismjs ships CommonJS only. require("prismjs") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. The package declares Node.js >=6. import "prismjs" 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 prismjs with ES module syntax?

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

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

Does prismjs ship TypeScript types?

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

Links

Other commonjs packages

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