gulp-less

library5.0.0jsnpmunverified

A LESS plugin for Gulp that compiles Less files into CSS. Currently at version 5.0.0, it supports Less 3.7+ and 4.0+, and requires Node >=6. It integrates with Gulp streams, allows custom include paths and Less plugins, and works alongside gulp-sourcemaps for source map generation. Unlike other LESS processors, it is designed specifically for the Gulp build system, leveraging its streaming pipeline for efficient asset processing.

devops

npm install gulp-less

github ↗package ↗homepage ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · GULP-LESS

gulp-less

devopsjavascriptv5.0.0

harness data pending

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

No compatibility data collected yet for this library.

Code

Verified usage

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

Default (function)

✓ const less = require('gulp-less');

✗ import * as less from 'gulp-less'; // requires ESM setup

CommonJS require is the standard. If using ESM, use default import from the CommonJS module via bundler or Node --experimental-require-module.

Less options

✓ less({ paths: ['path/to/includes'], plugins: [pluginObj] })

✗ less({ compress: true }) // compress removed

Options like `compress` are not supported; use a CSS minifier instead.

gulp.src piping

✓ gulp.src('src/**/*.less').pipe(less())

✗ gulp.src('src/**/*.less').pipe(require('gulp-less').call()) // unnecessary

Directly pipe the less function; no need to call it with .call().

Compile all .less files from src/less into CSS, with custom include paths for @import resolution.

const gulp = require('gulp'); const less = require('gulp-less'); const path = require('path'); gulp.task('less', function () { return gulp.src('./src/less/**/*.less') .pipe(less({ paths: [ path.join(__dirname, 'src', 'less', 'includes') ] })) .pipe(gulp.dest('./dist/css')); });

Debug

Known issues

gotchaThe `compress` option is not supported. Use a CSS minifier like gulp-clean-css.

fix

Remove `compress` option and pipe through a CSS minifier plugin.

affects: *

gotchaSource maps must be generated via gulp-sourcemaps, not via Less options.

fix

Initialize sourcemaps before less() and write after, not via Less sourceMap option.

affects: *

gotchaThe `filename` option is handled automatically; do not set it manually.

fix

Remove any manual `filename` option from less() call.

affects: *

deprecatedGulp 3.x is deprecated; use Gulp 4+ with gulp.series or gulp.parallel.

fix

Migrate tasks to Gulp 4's exported function pattern: exports.less = () => ...

affects: >=5

Errors

Common errors & fixes

Error: `gulp-less` error: `filename` option is not supported

User sets `filename` in options (handled automatically).

fix

Remove `filename` option from less() call.

TypeError: Cannot read property 'apply' of undefined

Passing invalid options, possibly `compress` or old Less options.

fix

Check Less version compatibility; use only supported options: `paths`, `plugins`, and Less 4 options.

Upgrade

Version history

5.0.0latest on npm

Audit

Dependencies

lessrequiredCore Less compiler runtime

Agent activity

4 hits · last 30 days

node

Resources

githubgit://github.com/gulp-community/gulp-less ↗

packagegulp-less ↗

homepagehttps://github.com/gulp-community/gulp-less#readme ↗