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Node.js module changes #6855
Description
Hey,
Node.js is debating some changes with regards to modules and we'd like your help.
The changes are outlined here: nodejs/TSC#1445 (comment)
The migration path for package authors is outlined here: nodejs/TSC#1445 (comment)
What we'd hopefully like is:
- For
npm publishto warn if the publishedpackage.jsonfile does not have a"type"field. - For
npm initto set"type": "module"in "new" Node.js by default.
This is still all in discussion in Node.js, the above list is just some ideas and this issue is mostly so we can discuss things.
Activity
wraithgar commentedon Oct 2, 2023
This is best discussed in https://github.com/npm/rfcs
GeoffreyBooth commentedon Nov 17, 2023
@wraithgar This landed in Node and was released in 21.1.0:
We hope to make this enabled by default, without requiring a flag, in a future version of Node (potentially as soon as Node 22 in April 2024). This will mean that any Node app and dependency without a
package.jsontypefield will have a slower startup time. Therefore we would appreciate any help thatnpmcan provide in ensuring that both application developers and library authors add atypefield to everypackage.jsonfile, even if it’s just making explicit the default"type": "commonjs". I agree with @benjamingr’s suggested improvements above.npm/rfcs#620 is already open, which suggests one of these changes. Perhaps now that this performance penalty to
type-less packages is potentially coming to Node, it might be timely to act on that proposal?wraithgar commentedon Nov 17, 2023
We can get this into the
init-package-jsonroadmap but there is no way to edit any already published package so the vast majority of packages in the ecosystem just got slower load times.GeoffreyBooth commentedon Nov 17, 2023
More specifically, packages that don't currently include a
typefield or use.mjs/.cjsget slightly lower load times. Which is many of them, for sure; but all they need to do is add"type": "commonjs"and the penalty disappears. Yes this doesn't help unmaintained packages or transitive dependencies of old packages, etc, but that's the trade-off we've chosen.ljharb commentedon Nov 17, 2023
… which is the vast majority of packages, for the foreseeable future.
GeoffreyBooth commentedon Nov 22, 2023
@wraithgar FYI this has been backported and released in Node 20.10.0: https://nodejs.org/en/blog/release/v20.10.0