canirequire › CommonJS › watchify
Is watchify ESM-only? Can you require() it?
watch mode for browserify builds
Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against watchify@4.0.0. JSON
CommonJS CommonJS — require() works on every Node.js version
watchify ships CommonJS only. require("watchify") works everywhere. import "watchify" 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.
Does watchify@4.0.0 actually load? Runtime test results
Installed and executed on Sep 9, 2026 with require("watchify") from a CommonJS file and import "watchify" from an ES module.
| Runtime | require("watchify") | import "watchify" |
|---|---|---|
| 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 watchify
ES modules (import)
import watchify from "watchify";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 watchify = require("watchify");Module format by version
Derived from the type, main and exports fields of every stable release on npm (70 versions; the newest 60 shown).
| Versions | Format | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5.3 – 4.0.0 | CommonJS | Jan 21, 2014 |
Frequently asked
Is watchify ESM-only?
watchify@4.0.0 is a CommonJS package. watchify ships CommonJS only. require("watchify") works everywhere. import "watchify" 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 watchify with ES module syntax?
Yes. import watchify from "watchify" 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 watchify work in Bun?
Yes. import "watchify" loaded successfully in Bun 1.4 on Sep 9, 2026.
Does watchify ship TypeScript types?
Not bundled. Install the community types with "npm install -D @types/watchify".
Links
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