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Is whatwg-fetch ESM-only? Can you require() it?

A window.fetch polyfill.

Last verified Sep 9, 2026 against whatwg-fetch@3.6.20. JSON

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

whatwg-fetch ships CommonJS only. require("whatwg-fetch") works everywhere. import "whatwg-fetch" 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.

It also declares a "module" field, so bundlers such as webpack, Vite and esbuild pick up an ESM build for tree-shaking.

Latest
3.6.20 (Dec 13, 2023)
Module format
CommonJS
Last CommonJS version
3.6.20
TypeScript types
@types/whatwg-fetch
Node engines
not declared
Weekly downloads
24.1M
License
MIT

Does whatwg-fetch@3.6.20 actually load? Runtime test results

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

Runtimerequire("whatwg-fetch")import "whatwg-fetch"
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 whatwg-fetch

ES modules (import)

import whatwgFetch from "whatwg-fetch";

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 whatwgFetch = require("whatwg-fetch");

Module format by version

Derived from the type, main and exports fields of every stable release on npm (51 versions; the newest 51 shown).

VersionsFormatFirst published
0.5.0 – 3.6.20CommonJSJan 12, 2015

Frequently asked

Is whatwg-fetch ESM-only?

whatwg-fetch@3.6.20 is a CommonJS package. whatwg-fetch ships CommonJS only. require("whatwg-fetch") works everywhere. import "whatwg-fetch" 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 whatwg-fetch with ES module syntax?

Yes. import whatwgFetch from "whatwg-fetch" 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 whatwg-fetch work in Bun?

Yes. import "whatwg-fetch" loaded successfully in Bun 1.4 on Sep 9, 2026.

Does whatwg-fetch ship TypeScript types?

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

Links

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