webpack vs gulp vs parcel vs @rsbuild/core
JavaScript Build Tools Comparison
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What's JavaScript Build Tools?

JavaScript build tools are essential for automating tasks in web development, such as file minification, transpilation, bundling, and asset optimization. They streamline the development workflow, allowing developers to focus on writing code rather than managing repetitive tasks. Each of these tools has unique features and use cases, catering to different project requirements and developer preferences.

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webpack28,883,38465,0855.21 MB24019 days agoMIT
gulp1,582,63133,09211.2 kB34a year agoMIT
parcel222,20643,69343.9 kB6143 months agoMIT
@rsbuild/core199,7482,2813.42 MB3410 hours agoMIT
Feature Comparison: webpack vs gulp vs parcel vs @rsbuild/core

Configuration Complexity

  • webpack:

    Webpack has a steep learning curve due to its complex configuration options. However, this complexity allows for powerful optimizations and customizations, making it suitable for large applications.

  • gulp:

    Gulp requires developers to write JavaScript code to define tasks, which can lead to a steeper learning curve for those unfamiliar with JavaScript. However, this also provides flexibility and control over the build process.

  • parcel:

    Parcel is known for its zero-configuration philosophy, automatically handling most setups out of the box. This simplicity makes it an excellent choice for quick prototypes or smaller projects.

  • @rsbuild/core:

    @rsbuild/core offers a minimal configuration approach, allowing developers to get started quickly without extensive setup. It is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, making it accessible for newcomers.

Performance Optimization

  • webpack:

    Webpack excels in performance optimization through features like code splitting and tree shaking, which help reduce bundle size and improve load times for production builds.

  • gulp:

    Gulp's performance is largely dependent on how tasks are defined and structured. It allows for fine-tuning of tasks to optimize build times, but poorly defined tasks can lead to slower performance.

  • parcel:

    Parcel automatically optimizes builds with features like file caching and parallel processing, resulting in fast build times without manual intervention.

  • @rsbuild/core:

    @rsbuild/core is designed for speed, focusing on fast incremental builds and efficient caching mechanisms to enhance performance during development.

Ecosystem and Community

  • webpack:

    Webpack has a large and active community, along with a rich ecosystem of plugins and loaders, providing extensive resources and support for developers.

  • gulp:

    Gulp has a mature ecosystem with a wide range of plugins available for various tasks, making it easy to extend its functionality and integrate with other tools.

  • parcel:

    Parcel's ecosystem is expanding, with increasing community support and plugins, but it may not be as extensive as Gulp or Webpack. It is still suitable for many common use cases.

  • @rsbuild/core:

    @rsbuild/core is relatively new and may have a smaller ecosystem compared to more established tools, but it is gaining traction and has a growing community.

Use Cases

  • webpack:

    Webpack is the go-to choice for large-scale applications that require advanced features and optimizations, making it suitable for enterprise-level projects.

  • gulp:

    Gulp is ideal for projects that require custom build processes and task automation, making it a good fit for developers who want complete control over their build pipeline.

  • parcel:

    Parcel is perfect for smaller projects or prototypes where quick setup and ease of use are priorities, allowing developers to focus on coding rather than configuration.

  • @rsbuild/core:

    @rsbuild/core is best suited for modern JavaScript projects that prioritize speed and simplicity, especially for developers looking for a streamlined build process.

Learning Curve

  • webpack:

    Webpack has a steep learning curve due to its complex configuration and extensive feature set. However, its power and flexibility make it worthwhile for those willing to invest the time to learn.

  • gulp:

    Gulp's learning curve can be moderate, as it requires understanding JavaScript task definitions, but it rewards developers with flexibility and control once mastered.

  • parcel:

    Parcel is designed for ease of use, making it beginner-friendly with minimal setup required. Developers can quickly get started without deep knowledge of build processes.

  • @rsbuild/core:

    @rsbuild/core has a gentle learning curve, making it accessible for developers new to build tools. Its straightforward configuration encourages experimentation.

How to Choose: webpack vs gulp vs parcel vs @rsbuild/core
  • webpack:

    Choose Webpack for complex applications that require advanced features like code splitting, tree shaking, and a rich plugin ecosystem. Webpack is suitable for large-scale applications where performance optimization is critical.

  • gulp:

    Choose Gulp if you prefer a task-based approach with a focus on code over configuration. Gulp is great for developers who want to create custom build pipelines using JavaScript and need fine-grained control over tasks.

  • parcel:

    Choose Parcel if you want zero-configuration setup and fast bundling with built-in support for various file types. It's ideal for smaller projects or when you want to get started quickly without extensive configuration.

  • @rsbuild/core:

    Choose @rsbuild/core if you need a modern, flexible build tool that emphasizes speed and simplicity, particularly for projects that require a minimal setup and fast incremental builds.

Similar Npm Packages to gulp

gulp is a popular task runner for automating repetitive tasks in web development. It allows developers to define tasks using a simple and intuitive API, enabling them to streamline their build processes, manage assets, and optimize workflows. Gulp uses streams to process files, making it efficient and fast for tasks like minification, compilation, and image optimization. While gulp is widely used, there are several alternatives that cater to different needs and preferences in the development workflow. Here are a few notable alternatives:

  • browserify is a tool that allows developers to use Node.js-style require statements in the browser, enabling modular JavaScript development. It bundles JavaScript files into a single file for use in the browser, making it easier to manage dependencies. While browserify focuses primarily on module bundling, it can be integrated with other tools to handle tasks like minification and transpilation, making it a good choice for projects that prioritize modularity.
  • grunt is another task runner that automates repetitive tasks in web development. It uses a configuration-based approach, where developers define tasks in a Gruntfile.js. While grunt provides a robust set of plugins for various tasks, its configuration can become verbose and complex for larger projects. Grunt is a solid choice for developers who prefer a more declarative style of task management.
  • parcel is a web application bundler that offers a zero-configuration setup, making it easy to get started with modern web development. Parcel automatically handles tasks like transpilation, bundling, and optimization without requiring extensive configuration. Its fast performance and built-in support for hot module replacement make it a great choice for developers looking for a straightforward and efficient build tool.
  • webpack is a powerful module bundler that has become the standard for modern JavaScript applications. It allows developers to bundle JavaScript files along with other assets like CSS and images, providing a highly customizable build process. Webpack's extensive plugin ecosystem and support for code splitting, tree shaking, and hot module replacement make it ideal for complex applications. However, its configuration can be intricate, which may pose a learning curve for newcomers.

To explore how gulp compares with browserify, grunt, parcel, and webpack, check out the comparison: Comparing browserify vs grunt vs gulp vs parcel vs webpack.

Similar Npm Packages to parcel

parcel is a web application bundler that aims to provide a fast and zero-configuration experience for developers. It automatically handles various tasks such as module bundling, code splitting, and asset optimization without requiring extensive configuration files. Parcel is particularly well-suited for developers looking for a straightforward setup and quick build times, making it an attractive option for both small and large projects.

While Parcel is a powerful tool, there are several alternatives in the ecosystem that cater to different needs and preferences:

  • browserify is a tool that allows developers to use Node.js-style modules in the browser. It transforms CommonJS modules into a format that can be understood by the browser, enabling developers to write modular code without worrying about compatibility issues. Browserify is particularly useful for projects that heavily rely on Node.js modules and want to maintain a modular structure in their client-side code.

  • grunt is a JavaScript task runner that automates repetitive tasks such as minification, compilation, unit testing, and linting. While it is not a bundler per se, Grunt can be configured to work with various plugins to achieve similar results. It is ideal for developers who prefer a highly customizable and extensible build process, although it may require more setup compared to other tools.

  • gulp is another task runner that uses a code-over-configuration approach, allowing developers to define tasks using JavaScript. Gulp is known for its speed and flexibility, as it streams files through a series of transformations. It is a great choice for developers who want to create a custom build process tailored to their specific needs, although it may involve more initial setup than Parcel.

  • rollup is a module bundler that focuses on optimizing the output for libraries and applications. It supports ES modules natively and provides tree-shaking capabilities, allowing developers to reduce the size of their bundles by eliminating unused code. Rollup is particularly well-suited for building libraries and applications where performance and bundle size are critical.

  • webpack is one of the most popular module bundlers in the JavaScript ecosystem. It offers a highly configurable setup and supports a wide range of features, including code splitting, hot module replacement, and asset management. While it provides great flexibility and power, it can also be complex to configure, making it more suitable for larger projects that require a tailored build process.

To compare these tools further, you can check out the following link: Comparing browserify vs grunt vs gulp vs parcel vs rollup vs webpack.

Similar Npm Packages to @rsbuild/core

@rsbuild/core is a modern build tool designed for JavaScript and TypeScript applications. It focuses on providing a fast and efficient development experience by leveraging a simple configuration and powerful features. With @rsbuild/core, developers can streamline their build processes, optimize performance, and enhance productivity. While @rsbuild/core offers a robust solution for building applications, there are several alternatives in the ecosystem that also provide effective build tools. Here are a few noteworthy options:

  • gulp is a widely-used task runner that allows developers to automate repetitive tasks in their build processes. It uses a code-over-configuration approach, enabling developers to write tasks in JavaScript. Gulp is particularly known for its speed and flexibility, making it suitable for a variety of projects. If you need a customizable and powerful task runner to handle tasks like minification, compilation, and image optimization, gulp is a solid choice.
  • parcel is a web application bundler that offers zero-configuration setup and fast performance. It automatically handles various file types and optimizes the build process without requiring extensive configuration. Parcel is ideal for developers who want a straightforward and efficient bundling solution without the overhead of complex configurations. If you are looking for a quick setup and a smooth development experience, parcel is an excellent option.
  • webpack is one of the most popular and powerful module bundlers available. It allows developers to bundle JavaScript files along with other assets like CSS, images, and HTML. Webpack provides a highly configurable setup, enabling developers to optimize their applications for production with features like code splitting, tree shaking, and hot module replacement. If your project requires advanced configurations and optimizations, webpack is a comprehensive solution that can handle complex build processes.

To see how @rsbuild/core compares with gulp, parcel, and webpack, check out the comparison: Comparing @rsbuild/core vs gulp vs parcel vs webpack.

README for webpack


npm

node builds1 builds2 dependency-review coverage PR's welcome compatibility-score downloads install-size backers sponsors contributors discussions discord

webpack

Webpack is a module bundler. Its main purpose is to bundle JavaScript files for usage in a browser, yet it is also capable of transforming, bundling, or packaging just about any resource or asset.

Table of Contents

Install

Install with npm:

npm install --save-dev webpack

Install with yarn:

yarn add webpack --dev

Introduction

Webpack is a bundler for modules. The main purpose is to bundle JavaScript files for usage in a browser, yet it is also capable of transforming, bundling, or packaging just about any resource or asset.

TL;DR

  • Bundles ES Modules, CommonJS, and AMD modules (even combined).
  • Can create a single bundle or multiple chunks that are asynchronously loaded at runtime (to reduce initial loading time).
  • Dependencies are resolved during compilation, reducing the runtime size.
  • Loaders can preprocess files while compiling, e.g. TypeScript to JavaScript, Handlebars strings to compiled functions, images to Base64, etc.
  • Highly modular plugin system to do whatever else your application requires.

Learn about webpack through videos!

Get Started

Check out webpack's quick Get Started guide and the other guides.

Browser Compatibility

Webpack supports all browsers that are ES5-compliant (IE8 and below are not supported). Webpack also needs Promise for import() and require.ensure(). If you want to support older browsers, you will need to load a polyfill before using these expressions.

Concepts

Plugins

Webpack has a rich plugin interface. Most of the features within webpack itself use this plugin interface. This makes webpack very flexible.

| Name | Status | Install Size | Description | | :---------------------------------------: | :----------------: | :-----------------: | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | mini-css-extract-plugin | mini-css-npm | mini-css-size | Extracts CSS into separate files. It creates a CSS file per JS file which contains CSS. | | compression-webpack-plugin | compression-npm | compression-size | Prepares compressed versions of assets to serve them with Content-Encoding | | html-webpack-plugin | html-plugin-npm | html-plugin-size | Simplifies creation of HTML files (index.html) to serve your bundles | | pug-plugin | pug-plugin-npm | pug-plugin-size | Renders Pug files to HTML, extracts JS and CSS from sources specified directly in Pug. |

Loaders

Webpack enables the use of loaders to preprocess files. This allows you to bundle any static resource way beyond JavaScript. You can easily write your own loaders using Node.js.

Loaders are activated by using loadername! prefixes in require() statements, or are automatically applied via regex from your webpack configuration.

Files

| Name | Status | Install Size | Description | | :---------------: | :--------: | :----------: | :------------------------------------------------------- | | val-loader | val-npm | val-size | Executes code as module and considers exports as JS code |

JSON

| Name | Status | Install Size | Description | | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :---------: | :----------: | :------------------------------: | | | cson-npm | cson-size | Loads and transpiles a CSON file |

Transpiling

| Name | Status | Install Size | Description | | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :-----------: | :------------: | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | | babel-npm | babel-size | Loads ES2015+ code and transpiles to ES5 using Babel | | | type-npm | type-size | Loads TypeScript like JavaScript | | | coffee-npm | coffee-size | Loads CoffeeScript like JavaScript |

Templating

| Name | Status | Install Size | Description | | :-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :-------------: | :--------------: | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | html-npm | html-size | Exports HTML as string, requires references to static resources | | | pug-npm | pug-size | Loads Pug templates and returns a function | | | pug3-npm | pug3-size | Compiles Pug to a function or HTML string, useful for use with Vue, React, Angular | | | md-npm | md-size | Compiles Markdown to HTML | | | posthtml-npm | posthtml-size | Loads and transforms a HTML file using PostHTML | | | hbs-npm | hbs-size | Compiles Handlebars to HTML |

Styling

| Name | Status | Install Size | Description | | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :------------: | :-------------: | :----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | <style> | style-npm | style-size | Add exports of a module as style to DOM | | | css-npm | css-size | Loads CSS file with resolved imports and returns CSS code | | | less-npm | less-size | Loads and compiles a LESS file | | | sass-npm | sass-size | Loads and compiles a Sass/SCSS file | | | stylus-npm | stylus-size | Loads and compiles a Stylus file | | | postcss-npm | postcss-size | Loads and transforms a CSS/SSS file using PostCSS |

Frameworks

| Name | Status | Install Size | Description | | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :------------: | :-------------: | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | vue-npm | vue-size | Loads and compiles Vue Components | | | polymer-npm | polymer-size | Process HTML & CSS with preprocessor of choice and require() Web Components like first-class modules | | | angular-npm | angular-size | Loads and compiles Angular 2 Components | | | riot-npm | riot-size | Riot official webpack loader | | | svelte-npm | svelte-size | Official Svelte loader |

Performance

Webpack uses async I/O and has multiple caching levels. This makes webpack fast and incredibly fast on incremental compilations.

Module Formats

Webpack supports ES2015+, CommonJS and AMD modules out of the box. It performs clever static analysis on the AST of your code. It even has an evaluation engine to evaluate simple expressions. This allows you to support most existing libraries out of the box.

Code Splitting

Webpack allows you to split your codebase into multiple chunks. Chunks are loaded asynchronously at runtime. This reduces the initial loading time.

Optimizations

Webpack can do many optimizations to reduce the output size of your JavaScript by deduplicating frequently used modules, minifying, and giving you full control of what is loaded initially and what is loaded at runtime through code splitting. It can also make your code chunks cache friendly by using hashes.

Contributing

We want contributing to webpack to be fun, enjoyable, and educational for anyone, and everyone. We have a vibrant ecosystem that spans beyond this single repo. We welcome you to check out any of the repositories in our organization or webpack-contrib organization which houses all of our loaders and plugins.

Contributions go far beyond pull requests and commits. Although we love giving you the opportunity to put your stamp on webpack, we also are thrilled to receive a variety of other contributions including:

To get started have a look at our documentation on contributing.

Creating your own plugins and loaders

If you create a loader or plugin, we would <3 for you to open source it, and put it on npm. We follow the x-loader, x-webpack-plugin naming convention.

Support

We consider webpack to be a low-level tool used not only individually but also layered beneath other awesome tools. Because of its flexibility, webpack isn't always the easiest entry-level solution, however we do believe it is the most powerful. That said, we're always looking for ways to improve and simplify the tool without compromising functionality. If you have any ideas on ways to accomplish this, we're all ears!

If you're just getting started, take a look at our new docs and concepts page. This has a high level overview that is great for beginners!!

If you have discovered a 🐜 or have a feature suggestion, feel free to create an issue on GitHub.

Current project members

For information about the governance of the Node.js project, see GOVERNANCE.md.

TSC (Technical Steering Committee)

Core Collaborators

Sponsoring

Most of the core team members, webpack contributors and contributors in the ecosystem do this open source work in their free time. If you use webpack for a serious task, and you'd like us to invest more time on it, please donate. This project increases your income/productivity too. It makes development and applications faster and it reduces the required bandwidth.

This is how we use the donations:

  • Allow the core team to work on webpack
  • Thank contributors if they invested a large amount of time in contributing
  • Support projects in the ecosystem that are of great value for users
  • Support projects that are voted most (work in progress)
  • Infrastructure cost
  • Fees for money handling

Premium Partners

Other Backers and Sponsors

Before we started using OpenCollective, donations were made anonymously. Now that we have made the switch, we would like to acknowledge these sponsors (and the ones who continue to donate using OpenCollective). If we've missed someone, please send us a PR, and we'll add you to this list.

Gold Sponsors

Become a gold sponsor and get your logo on our README on GitHub with a link to your site.

Silver Sponsors

Become a silver sponsor and get your logo on our README on GitHub with a link to your site.

Bronze Sponsors

Become a bronze sponsor and get your logo on our README on GitHub with a link to your site.

Backers

Become a backer and get your image on our README on GitHub with a link to your site.

Special Thanks to

(In chronological order)

  • @google for Google Web Toolkit (GWT), which aims to compile Java to JavaScript. It features a similar Code Splitting as webpack.
  • @medikoo for modules-webmake, which is a similar project. webpack was born because of the desire for code splitting for modules such as Webmake. Interestingly, the Code Splitting issue is still open (thanks also to @Phoscur for the discussion).
  • @substack for browserify, which is a similar project and source for many ideas.
  • @jrburke for require.js, which is a similar project and source for many ideas.
  • @defunctzombie for the browser-field spec, which makes modules available for node.js, browserify and webpack.
  • @sokra for creating webpack.
  • Every early webpack user, which contributed to webpack by writing issues or PRs. You influenced the direction.
  • All past and current webpack maintainers and collaborators.
  • Everyone who has written a loader for webpack. You are the ecosystem...
  • Everyone not mentioned here but that has also influenced webpack.
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