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

Protocol Buffers for JavaScript & TypeScript.

Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against protobufjs@8.8.0. JSON

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

protobufjs ships CommonJS only. require("protobufjs") works everywhere. import "protobufjs" 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
8.8.0 (Aug 27, 2026)
Module format
CommonJS
Last CommonJS version
8.8.0
TypeScript types
Bundled
Node engines
>=12.0.0
Weekly downloads
77.2M
License
BSD-3-Clause

Does protobufjs@8.8.0 actually load? Runtime test results

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

Runtimerequire("protobufjs")import "protobufjs"
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 protobufjs

ES modules (import)

import protobufjs from "protobufjs";

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 protobufjs = require("protobufjs");

Module format by version

Derived from the type, main and exports fields of every stable release on npm (190 versions; the newest 60 shown).

VersionsFormatFirst published
6.11.2 – 8.8.0CommonJSApr 30, 2021

Frequently asked

Is protobufjs ESM-only?

protobufjs@8.8.0 is a CommonJS package. protobufjs ships CommonJS only. require("protobufjs") works everywhere. import "protobufjs" 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 protobufjs with ES module syntax?

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

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

Does protobufjs ship TypeScript types?

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

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