esbuild

Esbuild

esbuild is a JavaScript bundler and minifier that builds projects very quickly compared to alternatives. It supports modern JavaScript features out of the box and can bundle code for the browser and Node.js.
esbuild image
bundler minifier compiler build-tool

esbuild: Fast JavaScript Bundler & Minifier

A lightning-fast bundler and minifier for modern JavaScript projects, supporting browser and Node.js deployments

What is Esbuild?

Esbuild is an extremely fast JavaScript bundler and minifier for the web. It was created by Evan Wallace in 2020 as an alternative to existing tools like Webpack and Parcel which can be quite slow.

Some key features and benefits of esbuild include:

  • Blazing fast build speeds, often 10-100x faster than other bundlers
  • Built-in support for latest JavaScript features like modules, JSX, TypeScript, etc.
  • Simple setup and configuration
  • Built-in loaders and plugins to bundle code for both browser and Node.js
  • Actively maintained and improved
  • Produces highly optimized production bundles
  • Supports incremental builds for even faster rebuild times

Esbuild is well-suited for both small and large web application projects. The fact that it's written in Go instead of JavaScript makes it extremely performant. Overall it's a great choice for modern web development when build performance is critical.

Esbuild Features

Features

  1. Extremely fast build speeds
  2. Native ESM support
  3. Minification and compression
  4. Tree shaking
  5. Code splitting
  6. Source maps
  7. Plugins

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Blazing fast performance

Simple and easy to use

Built-in support for latest JS features

Actively maintained

Open source

Cons

Less configurability than Webpack

Fewer plugins than other bundlers

Limited to bundling JavaScript and CSS


The Best Esbuild Alternatives

Top Development and Javascript Build Tools and other similar apps like Esbuild


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Webpack

Webpack is an open-source JavaScript module bundler that is extremely versatile and customizable. It allows developers to bundle their application's JavaScript files for usage in a browser. At its core, Webpack takes modules with dependencies and generates static assets that represent those modules.Some key features and benefits of Webpack include:Bundling...
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Grunt

Grunt is an open-source JavaScript task runner that allows web developers to automate repetitive tasks like minification, compilation, unit testing, and linting. It helps streamline front-end web development workflows and increase productivity.Some key features of Grunt include:Auto-compilation of SASS/LESS files to CSSJS/CSS minification and concatenationCode linting with JSHint and JSCSUnit...
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Parcel JS

Parcel is a blazing fast, zero configuration web application bundler. Parcel utilizes multi-core processing to enable lightning fast transforms and bundles. The core philosophy behind Parcel is to remain fast and simple by leveraging convention over configuration as much as possible.Key features of Parcel include:Bundles npm modules and files automaticallySuper...
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Rollup.js

Rollup.js is an open-source JavaScript module bundler. It is designed to combine various JavaScript files and their dependencies into a single bundled file to be used in production. Some key things to know about Rollup.js:Supports both ES6 modules and CommonJS modules out of the box. This allows developers to use...
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Browserify

Browserify is a popular JavaScript tool that allows developers to use the Node.js CommonJS module system for writing modular front-end JavaScript code. It provides a way to bundle up modules and dependencies into a single file that can be run in the browser.Here's a quick overview of some of Browserify's...
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Brunch.io

Brunch.io is an ultra-fast HTML5 build tool that helps web developers automate common tasks like minification, compilation, unit testing, linting, etc. It has a modular architecture that allows you to customize your build pipeline as per your needs.Some key features of Brunch.io include:High performance builds - It builds projects very...
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Broccoli

Broccoli is an open source automated testing framework designed specifically for testing front-end JavaScript code and applications. It facilitates test-driven development by making it easy for developers to write automated tests for their JavaScript code.Some key features of Broccoli include:Simple API for writing tests using frameworks like Mocha, Jasmine or...
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Snowpack

Snowpack is a lightweight JavaScript build tool that allows you to build web applications using modern frameworks and features without needing complex bundlers like Webpack. Some key things to know about Snowpack:It is optimized for fast development with unbundled dev workflows. This means you can use things like React, TypeScript,...
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