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

Portable Unix shell commands for Node.js

Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against shelljs@0.10.0. Markdown · JSON

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

shelljs ships CommonJS only. require("shelljs") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. The package declares Node.js >=18. import "shelljs" 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("shelljs") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. The package declares Node.js >=18.
  2. From ES modules use the default import: import shelljs from "shelljs"; then destructure. Named imports only work when Node.js can statically detect the exports.
  3. TypeScript: npm install -D @types/shelljs
Latest
0.10.0 (May 9, 2025)
Module format
CommonJS
Last CommonJS version
0.10.0
TypeScript types
@types/shelljs
Node engines
>=18
Weekly downloads
7.4M
License
BSD-3-Clause

Does shelljs@0.10.0 actually load? Runtime test results

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

Runtimerequire("shelljs")import "shelljs"
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 shelljs

ES modules (import)

import shelljs from "shelljs";

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 shelljs = require("shelljs");

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 (48 versions; the newest 48 shown).

VersionsFormatFirst published
0.0.1 – 0.10.0CommonJSMar 2, 2012

Frequently asked

Is shelljs ESM-only?

shelljs@0.10.0 is a CommonJS package. shelljs ships CommonJS only. require("shelljs") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. The package declares Node.js >=18. import "shelljs" 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 shelljs with ES module syntax?

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

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

Does shelljs ship TypeScript types?

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

Links

Other commonjs packages

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