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

tar for node

Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against tar@7.5.22. JSON

Dual (CommonJS + ESM) Dual package — both require() and import work

tar publishes both a CommonJS entry and a native ESM entry (ESM added in 7.0.0). require("tar") and import "tar" both work on every supported Node.js version and in Bun.

Latest
7.5.22 (Jul 24, 2026)
Module format
Dual (CommonJS + ESM)
Last CommonJS version
7.5.22
Native ESM since
7.0.0
TypeScript types
Bundled
Node engines
>=18
Weekly downloads
76.1M
License
BlueOak-1.0.0

Does tar@7.5.22 actually load? Runtime test results

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

Runtimerequire("tar")import "tar"
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

ES modules (import)

import tar from "tar";

CommonJS (require)

const tar = require("tar");

Module format by version

Derived from the type, main and exports fields of every stable release on npm (153 versions; the newest 60 shown).

VersionsFormatFirst published
7.0.0 – 7.5.22Dual (CommonJS + ESM)Apr 10, 2024
5.0.9 – 6.2.1CommonJSAug 11, 2021

Frequently asked

Is tar ESM-only?

tar@7.5.22 ships CommonJS and ESM builds. tar publishes both a CommonJS entry and a native ESM entry (ESM added in 7.0.0). require("tar") and import "tar" both work on every supported Node.js version and in Bun.

Can I require tar?

Yes. tar ships a CommonJS entry, so require("tar") works on every Node.js version, alongside the native ESM entry for import.

Does tar work in Bun?

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

Does tar ship TypeScript types?

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

Links

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