Browsers don't have the require method defined, but Node.js does. With Browserify you can write code that uses require in the same way that you would use it in Node.
Here is a tutorial on how to use Browserify on the command line to bundle up a simple file called main.js along with all of its dependencies:
main.js
var unique = require('uniq');var data = [1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6];console.log(unique(data)); Install the uniq module with npm:
npm install uniq
Now recursively bundle up all the required modules starting at main.js into a single file called bundle.js with the browserify command:
browserify main.js -o bundle.js
Browserify parses the AST for require() calls to traverse the entire dependency graph of your project.
Drop a single <script> tag into your html and you're done!
<script src="bundle.js"></script>
More
- Read the Browserify Handbook
- Use many of the tens of thousands of modules on NPM in the browser
- Use watchify, a browserify compatible caching bundler, for super-fast bundle rebuilds as you develop.
- Use tinyify for optimized, tree-shaked bundles in production environments.
- Use --debug when creating bundles to have Browserify automatically include Source Maps for easy debugging.
- Check out tools like Beefy or run-browser which make automating browserify development easier.
- process.nextTick(), __dirname, and __filename node-isms work
- Get browser versions of the node core libraries events, stream, path, url, assert, buffer, util, querystring, http, vm, and crypto when you require() them
Community
Join irc.freenode.net/#browserify for help, or tweet @browserify.
FAQs
Browserify is a tool that allows developers to write code using the Node. js module system. It takes all of the code that is written in the module system and bundles it into a single JavaScript file. This allows developers to use require() and modules in their code that can be used in the browser.
What is Browserify and Webpack? ›
Webpack is a module bundler with a major focus on compiling frontend assets for production. It compiles CommonJS or ESModules (files with require or import statements) into one or more bundles.
What is the difference between Babel and Browserify? ›
Build-time: Babel operates at runtime, meaning it's typically integrated into the build process of a project and runs while the code is being executed. It ensures that the code is transformed on-the-fly, allowing it to work seamlessly across different environments. Browserify, on the other hand, operates at build-time.
Which are two functions of Browserify? ›
This tool provides us with require() function which is used for loading dependencies and module. exports variable to which we assign the value returned by the module or a fragment of code after loading the file. Browserify checks every module loaded via require and builds the whole dependencies' tree at the launch.
How to use require Browserify? ›
Use a node-style require() to organize your browser code and load modules installed by npm. browserify will recursively analyze all the require() calls in your app in order to build a bundle you can serve up to the browser in a single <script> tag.
What is crypto Browserify? ›
A port of node's crypto module to the browser. The goal of this module is to reimplement node's crypto module, in pure javascript so that it can run in the browser. Here is the subset that is currently implemented: createHash (sha1, sha224, sha256, sha384, sha512, md5, rmd160)
What is similar to Browserify? ›
browserify alternatives and similar modules
- Vite. 9.9 9.8 browserify VS Vite. ...
- webpack. 9.9 9.8 L4 browserify VS webpack. ...
- gulp. 9.7 5.6 L5 browserify VS gulp. ...
- parcel. 9.7 9.6 browserify VS parcel. ...
- rollup. 9.4 9.5 L4 browserify VS rollup. ...
- pkg. 9.4 6.3 browserify VS pkg. ...
- grunt. 8.8 2.9 L3 browserify VS grunt. ...
- InversifyJS.
Babel is used to transpile the JavaScript code, making it compatible with older browsers, while Webpack is used to bundle and optimize the code. This combination allows developers to write code using the latest language features and ensure it's efficiently packaged for deployment.
Do I need Babel for JSX? ›
We use Babel with React to transpile the JSX code into simple React functions that can be understood by browsers. Using this way we can assure that our JSX code can work in almost any browser.
How to bundle using Browserify? ›
Bundle up your first module
With Browserify you can write code that uses require in the same way that you would use it in Node. Browserify parses the AST for require() calls to traverse the entire dependency graph of your project. Drop a single <script> tag into your html and you're done!
emulate node's vm module for the browser.
What is better than Webpack? ›
Modern alternatives like Parcel and Vite are great for fast web development cycles. This is especially true for web apps that use Vue. js or React. esbuild is the best choice for projects where build speed is a key issue and where the application sizes are small to medium.
What is Webbrowser library used for? ›
The webbrowser module provides a high-level interface to allow displaying web-based documents to users. Under most circ*mstances, simply calling the open() function from this module will do the right thing.
What is the use of Webpack? ›
Webpack is used to compile JavaScript modules. Once installed, you can interact with webpack either from its CLI or API. If you're still new to webpack, please read through the core concepts and this comparison to learn why you might use it over the other tools that are out in the community.
