Why is CommonJS still common in Node.js?
Because most existing Node.js code and npm packages were built for CommonJS. The ecosystem matured on CommonJS, so it has the widest compatibility. ES modules are the modern standard, but CommonJS remains the safe default for maximum compatibility.
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More FAQs in CommonJS vs ES Modules in Node.js: Which Should You Use?
Use CommonJS for existing projects and maximum ecosystem compatibility, since most npm packages were built for it. Use ES modules for new projects wanting the modern standard, static analysis, and consistency with frontend code.
CommonJS is synchronous, runtime-loaded, uses require and module.exports, and allows conditional require. ES modules are async, statically analyzable, use import and export, and imports must be at the top level.
Set 'type': 'module' in your package.json, or use .mjs file extensions. This tells Node.js to treat files as ES modules instead of CommonJS.
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