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

Amazingly short non-sequential url-friendly unique id generator.

Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against shortid@2.2.17. Markdown · JSON

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

shortid ships CommonJS only. require("shortid") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. import "shortid" 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("shortid") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun.
  2. From ES modules use the default import: import shortid from "shortid"; then destructure. Named imports only work when Node.js can statically detect the exports.
  3. TypeScript: npm install -D @types/shortid
Latest
2.2.17 (Jan 23, 2025)
Module format
CommonJS
Last CommonJS version
2.2.17
TypeScript types
@types/shortid
Node engines
not declared
Weekly downloads
947K
License
MIT

Does shortid@2.2.17 actually load? Runtime test results

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

Runtimerequire("shortid")import "shortid"
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 shortid

ES modules (import)

import shortid from "shortid";

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 shortid = require("shortid");

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 (32 versions; the newest 32 shown).

VersionsFormatFirst published
1.0.0 – 2.2.17CommonJSDec 19, 2011

Frequently asked

Is shortid ESM-only?

shortid@2.2.17 is a CommonJS package. shortid ships CommonJS only. require("shortid") works on every Node.js version we test (18, 20, 22, 24 and 26) and in Bun. import "shortid" 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 shortid with ES module syntax?

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

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

Does shortid ship TypeScript types?

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

Links

Other commonjs packages

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