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Is tar-stream ESM-only? Can you require() it?

tar-stream is a streaming tar parser and generator and nothing else. It operates purely using streams which means you can easily extract/parse tarballs without ever hitting the file system.

Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against tar-stream@3.2.1. JSON

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

tar-stream ships CommonJS only. require("tar-stream") works everywhere. import "tar-stream" 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
3.2.1 (Aug 25, 2026)
Module format
CommonJS
Last CommonJS version
3.2.1
TypeScript types
Bundled
Node engines
not declared
Weekly downloads
69.7M
License
MIT

Does tar-stream@3.2.1 actually load? Runtime test results

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

Runtimerequire("tar-stream")import "tar-stream"
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 tar-stream

ES modules (import)

import tarStream from "tar-stream";

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 tarStream = require("tar-stream");

Module format by version

Derived from the type, main and exports fields of every stable release on npm (67 versions; the newest 60 shown).

VersionsFormatFirst published
0.2.4 – 3.2.1CommonJSJan 6, 2014

Frequently asked

Is tar-stream ESM-only?

tar-stream@3.2.1 is a CommonJS package. tar-stream ships CommonJS only. require("tar-stream") works everywhere. import "tar-stream" 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 tar-stream with ES module syntax?

Yes. import tarStream from "tar-stream" 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 tar-stream work in Bun?

Yes. import "tar-stream" loaded successfully in Bun 1.4 on Sep 9, 2026.

Does tar-stream ship TypeScript types?

Yes. tar-stream bundles its own type declarations; no @types package is needed.

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