autolinker

library1.0.4jsnpmunverified

Autolinker.js is a robust JavaScript utility designed to automatically detect and convert various patterns like URLs, email addresses, phone numbers, and social media mentions/hashtags (Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Soundcloud) within plain text or HTML into clickable hyperlinks. The current stable version is `v4.1.5`. The library maintains an active release cadence, frequently publishing minor and patch updates, often focusing on performance enhancements and bug fixes. A key differentiator is its rewritten URL parser in `v4.0.0`, which utilizes a finite state machine for `O(n)` linear time performance, significantly improving speed and preventing 'catastrophic backtracking' issues common with regular expression-based parsers. Unlike many alternatives, Autolinker.js is meticulously designed to correctly handle HTML input, avoiding the creation of nested anchor tags or inadvertently modifying existing `href` attributes, making it particularly suitable for processing rich text content where correctness and performance are critical.

http-networking communication web-framework

npm install autolinker

github ↗package ↗homepage ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · AUTOLINKER

autolinker

http-networkingjavascriptv1.0.4

Install

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Import

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Disk

—

Pass rate

0/ 6

Env Coverage0 / 6

glibc

18–22

musl

18–22

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v? · npm install

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

node 18–226 runs

build_error

glibc

node 18–226 runs

build_error

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

Autolinker

✓ import Autolinker from 'autolinker';

✗ import { Autolinker } from 'autolinker';

The primary `Autolinker` class is exported as a default export since v2. Using named import is incorrect.

Autolinker (CommonJS)

✓ const Autolinker = require('autolinker');

✗ const autolinker = require('autolinker');

For CommonJS environments (Node.js), the package should be `require`d and typically aliased with a capital letter as it's a class.

Match

✓ import Autolinker, { Match } from 'autolinker';

✗ import { Match } from 'autolinker';

The `Match` interface/type for TypeScript is available as a named export. Ensure you also import `Autolinker` as the default export if needed.

This quickstart demonstrates how to initialize Autolinker with various options and link a block of text, including a custom `replaceFn` to modify the generated anchor tags.

import Autolinker from 'autolinker'; const inputText: string = "Check out my website at example.com, email me at test@example.org, or call me at +1 (123) 456-7890. Also, find me on Twitter @myhandle and hashtag #myproject."; const autolinker = new Autolinker({ urls: { scheme: true, www: true, ipV4Matches: true }, email: true, phone: true, mention: 'twitter', hashtag: 'twitter', newWindow: true, stripPrefix: false, // Custom replace function to add specific classes or attributes replaceFn: (match) => { const tag = match.buildTag(); if (match.getType() === 'url') { tag.setAttr('class', 'my-url-link'); } return tag; } }); const linkedText: string = autolinker.link(inputText); console.log(linkedText); // Expected output: Check out my website at <a href="http://example.com" class="my-url-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">example.com</a>, email me at <a href="mailto:test@example.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">test@example.org</a>, or call me at <a href="tel:+11234567890" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">+1 (123) 456-7890</a>. Also, find me on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/myhandle" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@myhandle</a> and hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/myproject" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">#myproject</a>.

Debug

Known issues

breakingAutolinker v4.0.0 introduced significant breaking changes, primarily a complete rewrite of the URL parser from regular expressions to a finite state machine. This change, while greatly improving performance and preventing ReDoS attacks, removes the ability to override regular expressions in `Matcher` classes. The `urls.wwwMatches` config was also removed, and `Match.getType()` replaced `Match.type`.

fix

Review the official breaking changes documentation for v4.x.x, especially regarding URL parsing behavior and the `Match` object API. Adjust code that relied on custom regex or direct `Match.type` access.

affects: >=4.0.0

gotchaWhen migrating from older versions or other autolinking libraries, be aware that Autolinker.js explicitly handles HTML input to prevent common issues like double-nested anchor tags or clobbering existing `href` attributes. Directly manipulating innerHTML or using other string replacement methods alongside Autolinker may lead to unexpected results.

fix

Always pass raw or pre-processed text/HTML directly to `Autolinker.link()` and rely on its internal HTML parsing for correct behavior. Avoid manually replacing parts of the string that might contain valid HTML tags or already linked content.

affects: >=1.0.0

deprecatedThe codebase was converted to TypeScript and now uses ES6 exports. Direct overriding of regular expressions by assigning to `Matcher.prototype` is no longer supported since v2, which may affect highly customized implementations.

fix

Refactor custom linking logic to use the `replaceFn` option provided by `Autolinker` which offers a flexible way to modify generated links or even prevent linking for specific matches.

affects: >=2.0.0

gotchaAutolinker v3.16.2 reverted an attempted fix for Right-to-Left Override (RTLO) characters splitting links, meaning the library may not fully handle edge cases involving these characters and could result in improperly split links.

fix

No direct fix within the library currently for this specific issue. Users dealing with text containing RTLO characters should implement external sanitization or validation if this is a critical concern, or monitor for future patches.

affects: 3.16.2

Errors

Common errors & fixes

Error [ERR_REQUIRE_ESM]: require() of ES Module ... not supported

Attempting to `require()` Autolinker in a CommonJS environment while the package is treated as an ES Module, or vice versa, due to Node.js module resolution issues.

fix

For CommonJS, use `const Autolinker = require('autolinker');`. For ESM, use `import Autolinker from 'autolinker';`. Ensure your project's `package.json` `"type"` field and `tsconfig.json` `module` and `moduleResolution` options are correctly configured for your environment (e.g., `"type": "module"` for ESM, `"type": "commonjs"` for CJS).

TypeError: Autolinker is not a constructor

Trying to instantiate `Autolinker` as a class (`new Autolinker()`) but it was imported incorrectly, often due to using a named import `import { Autolinker } from 'autolinker';` instead of the default import.

fix

Change the import statement to `import Autolinker from 'autolinker';` for ESM/TypeScript environments. For CommonJS, ensure `const Autolinker = require('autolinker');` is used.

Uncaught SyntaxError: Cannot use import statement outside a module

Using `import Autolinker from 'autolinker';` in a non-ES module browser environment or a Node.js script not configured as an ES module.

fix

For browsers, include the `Autolinker.min.js` script directly via a `<script>` tag, which exposes `Autolinker` globally. For Node.js, ensure your `package.json` contains `"type": "module"` or use a `.mjs` file extension, or revert to CommonJS `require()` syntax.

Upgrade

Version history

1.0.4latest on npm

Audit

Dependencies

No dependency data recorded yet.

Agent activity

38 hits · last 30 days

node

OpenAI (training)

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/gregjacobs/Autolinker.js ↗

packagehttps://www.npmjs.com/package/autolinker ↗

homepagehttps://autolinker.io ↗