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babel-plugin-detective

library2.0.0jsnpmunverified

A Babel plugin (versions 5 & 6) that scans the AST for import statements and require() calls, extracting dependency strings and location data. Works with both ESM imports and CommonJS requires, including dynamic expressions. Metadata is stored on the Babel result and can be retrieved via a convenience method. It provides fine-grained filtering via options like `import`, `export`, `require`, and `generated`. Stable version is 2.0.0, which only supports Babel 5/6 (not Babel 7+). Compatible with Node >=0.10.0.

devops

npm install babel-plugin-detective

github ↗package ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · BABEL-PLUGIN-DETEC

babel-plugin-detective

devopsjavascriptv2.0.0

Install

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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.

default

✓ const detective = require('babel-plugin-detective');

✗ import detective from 'babel-plugin-detective';

This package is CommonJS only; there is no default ESM export. It can be required in an ES module context using createRequire.

metadata

✓ const metadata = detective.metadata(babelResult);

✗ const metadata = babelResult.metadata.detective;

metadata is a static method on the detective function, not on the result object. The result.metadata.requires is available, but the convenience method normalizes it.

options

✓ import babel from 'babel-core'; const result = babel.transformFileSync('file.js', { plugins: [['detective', { import: false }]] });

✗ // Using with Babel 7 won't work; this plugin only supports Babel 5/6.

Options are passed as the second element of the plugin array in Babel 6, or via extra.detective in Babel 5.

Uses babel-plugin-detective to extract all string module names from import and require statements in a code snippet.

const babel = require('babel-core'); const detective = require('babel-plugin-detective'); const code = ` const fs = require('fs'); import path from 'path'; `; const result = babel.transformSync(code, { plugins: [[detective, { import: true, require: true }]] }); const requires = detective.metadata(result); console.log(requires.strings); // ['fs', 'path'] console.log(requires.expressions); // []

Debug

Known issues

breakingThis plugin does not support Babel 7+. Use at least babel-core 5 or 6.

fix

If you need Babel 7, use @babel/traverse with a custom visitor or switch to a different package like detective.

affects: >=2.0.0

deprecatedNode.js >=0.10.0 is extremely outdated. Modern installations may encounter issues with missing modules or security vulnerabilities.

fix

Use Node.js >=12.0.0, but note that the plugin may still work. If it fails, try using @babel/plugin-proposal-detective or a different dependency scanner.

affects: >=0.0.0

gotchaWhen using options.generated: true, you may get duplicate entries if ES2015 imports are present, because imports are also detected separately.

fix

Set import: false and require: true to only capture generated require() calls, or deduplicate manually.

affects: >=2.0.0

gotchaThe metadata method requires the full Babel result object, not just the metadata property. Passing result.metadata will not work.

fix

Always pass the result object returned by babel.transform* (e.g., const meta = detective.metadata(transformResult));

affects: >=0.0.0

gotchaDynamic require expressions are captured only as location data, not strings. The plugin does not evaluate expressions.

fix

Use a static analysis tool like detective (the original) or escodegen to evaluate simple expressions, or accept that dynamic dependencies are not resolved.

affects: >=0.0.0

Errors

Common errors & fixes

Error: Cannot find module 'babel-core'

babel-core is a peer dependency that must be installed alongside babel-plugin-detective.

fix

Run: npm install babel-core babel-plugin-detective

TypeError: detective.metadata is not a function

The import style is incorrect; detective is a CommonJS module that exports a function with a property, not an ES module.

fix

Use const detective = require('babel-plugin-detective'); instead of import.

Error: Plugin 0 specified in "plugins" provided an invalid property of type "undefined"

The plugin is being used in Babel 7 which expects @babel/plugin-* format. babel-plugin-detective only works with Babel 5/6.

fix

Upgrade to babel-core version 6.x.x or use a different detective plugin for Babel 7.

Upgrade

Version history

2.0.0latest on npm

Audit

Dependencies

No dependency data recorded yet.

Agent activity

4 hits · last 30 days

node

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/avajs/babel-plugin-detective ↗

packagehttps://www.npmjs.com/package/babel-plugin-detective ↗