babel-loader

library10.1.1jsnpmunverified

Webpack loader that transpiles JavaScript/TypeScript files using Babel. Current stable version is 10.1.1, with a release cadence of minor/patch updates every few months. It integrates Babel's transformation pipeline into webpack's build process, supporting features like caching, customizing cache identifiers, and passing source maps. Key differentiators: it is the official Babel team supported loader, tightly integrated with webpack's module system, and supports both webpack and Rspack. It requires @babel/core as a peer dependency and works with Babel 7 or 8 beta. Compared to alternatives like esbuild-loader or swc-loader, babel-loader offers full Babel plugin ecosystem compatibility and extensive customization options for legacy browser support.

devops

npm install babel-loader

github ↗package ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · BABEL-LOADER

babel-loader

devopsjavascriptv10.1.1

Install

—

Import

—

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.

babel-loader

✓ module.exports = { module: { rules: [ { test: /\.m?js$/, use: 'babel-loader' } ] } }

✗ const babelLoader = require('babel-loader');

In webpack config, reference loader by name string, not imported object.

babel-loader

✓ import babelLoader from 'babel-loader';

✗ import { babelLoader } from 'babel-loader';

Default export is a function (the loader), not a named export.

babel-loader

✓ const babelLoader = require('babel-loader');

CommonJS require works in Node.js webpack configs.

Basic webpack configuration using babel-loader to transpile JavaScript files with @babel/preset-env and @babel/plugin-transform-runtime.

// webpack.config.js module.exports = { module: { rules: [ { test: /\.m?js$/, exclude: /node_modules/, use: { loader: 'babel-loader', options: { presets: ['@babel/preset-env'], plugins: ['@babel/plugin-transform-runtime'] } } } ] } };

Debug

Known issues

breakingVersion 10.0.0 dropped support for Node.js < 18.20.0 and webpack < 5.61.0

fix

Upgrade Node.js to ^18.20.0 || ^20.10.0 || >=22.0.0 and webpack to >=5.61.0

affects: >=10.0.0

breakingVersion 10.0.0 changed cache hasher to use webpack's output.hashFunction

fix

If you relied on custom cache hash, ensure webpack's output.hashFunction is configured correctly

affects: >=10.0.0

deprecatedVersion 9.x deprecated the 'caller' option check (removed in 10.0.0)

fix

Stop passing 'caller'; it is no longer validated

affects: >=9.0.0 <10.0.0

gotchaIn versions < 9.1.0, external dependencies from Babel custom plugins were not passed to webpack, causing cache invalidation issues

fix

Upgrade to 9.1.0+ to pass external dependencies

affects: <9.1.0

gotchaVersion 9.1.1 was a broken release; do not use it

fix

Upgrade to 9.1.2 or later

affects: 9.1.1

breakingVersion 10.0.0 introduced a logger; any code that expects no logger may break

fix

If you rely on no logging, use webpack's infrastructure logging configuration

affects: >=10.0.0

Errors

Common errors & fixes

Error: Cannot find module '@babel/core'

Missing peer dependency @babel/core

fix

npm install --save-dev @babel/core

Error: [BABEL] unknown: You gave us a visitor for the node type "JSXAttribute" but it's not a valid type

Missing Babel preset for JSX

fix

Add @babel/preset-react to the presets option

Error: [BABEL] unknown: Requires Babel "^7.12.0 || ^8.0.0-beta.1" but was loaded with "7.8.3"

Incompatible @babel/core version

fix

Update @babel/core to ^7.12.0 or higher

Error: webpack < 5.61.0 is not supported by this babel-loader version

babel-loader 10+ requires webpack >=5.61.0

fix

Update webpack to >=5.61.0

Upgrade

Version history

10.1.1latest on npm

Audit

Dependencies

@babel/corerequiredCore Babel compiler required for transpilation

webpackoptionalRequired unless using Rspack

Agent activity

6 hits · last 30 days

node

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/babel/babel-loader ↗

packagehttps://www.npmjs.com/package/babel-loader ↗