Which is Better JavaScript Bundlers and Build Tools?
webpack vs rollup vs vite vs parcel
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What's JavaScript Bundlers and Build Tools?

JavaScript bundlers and build tools are essential for modern web development, enabling developers to package their code, manage dependencies, and optimize performance for production. These tools help streamline the development process by automating tasks such as transpiling, minifying, and hot module replacement, which are crucial for building efficient and maintainable web applications. Each tool has its unique features and use cases, catering to different project requirements and developer preferences.

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webpack25,368,05064,6435.08 MB25923 days agoMIT
rollup24,137,00125,3202.59 MB56316 days agoMIT
vite15,355,67267,9823.26 MB6334 days agoMIT
parcel195,38243,45040.5 kB6768 months agoMIT
Feature Comparison: webpack vs rollup vs vite vs parcel

Configuration

  • webpack: Webpack is highly configurable and requires a detailed configuration file to manage entry points, loaders, plugins, and optimization strategies. This complexity allows for powerful customizations but can be overwhelming for new users.
  • rollup: Rollup requires a configuration file to define input and output settings, plugins, and other options. This explicit configuration allows for fine-tuning but may have a steeper learning curve for newcomers.
  • vite: Vite offers a simple configuration setup that can be extended as needed. It provides sensible defaults while allowing customization through a configuration file, making it accessible yet flexible for developers.
  • parcel: Parcel is designed to work out of the box with minimal configuration. It automatically detects file types and applies the necessary transformations, making it user-friendly for beginners and quick projects.

Performance

  • webpack: Webpack can be optimized for performance through various techniques, such as code splitting and lazy loading. However, its initial build times can be slower compared to other tools, especially in larger projects.
  • rollup: Rollup excels in producing optimized bundles with tree-shaking capabilities, resulting in smaller file sizes. It is particularly effective for libraries where minimizing bundle size is crucial.
  • vite: Vite provides near-instantaneous hot module replacement (HMR) during development, significantly enhancing the developer experience. Its build process leverages Rollup for production, ensuring optimized output without sacrificing speed.
  • parcel: Parcel boasts fast build times due to its parallel processing capabilities and efficient caching mechanisms. It is optimized for development speed, making it ideal for rapid prototyping and smaller applications.

Ecosystem and Plugins

  • webpack: Webpack has a vast ecosystem with a wide array of plugins and loaders, allowing for extensive customization and integration with various technologies. This makes it suitable for complex applications but can lead to configuration bloat.
  • rollup: Rollup has a rich ecosystem of plugins tailored for various tasks, particularly for library development. Its plugin system allows for extensive customization and integration with other tools.
  • vite: Vite's ecosystem is rapidly expanding, with a focus on modern frameworks and tools. It supports plugins that enhance functionality and integrate seamlessly with popular libraries.
  • parcel: Parcel has a growing ecosystem of plugins, but it is not as extensive as Webpack's. Its simplicity means fewer plugins are needed, which can be an advantage for smaller projects.

Development Experience

  • webpack: Webpack's development experience can be complex due to its configuration requirements. However, once set up, it offers powerful features for managing large applications.
  • rollup: Rollup provides a straightforward development experience for library authors, but it may require more setup and configuration compared to Parcel and Vite.
  • vite: Vite is designed for a modern development experience, with features like HMR and fast builds that enhance productivity, especially for single-page applications.
  • parcel: Parcel offers a smooth development experience with its automatic setup and fast builds, allowing developers to focus on coding rather than configuration.

Community and Support

  • webpack: Webpack has one of the largest communities in the JavaScript ecosystem, with extensive documentation, tutorials, and resources available. This support network is invaluable for troubleshooting and learning.
  • rollup: Rollup has a dedicated community, particularly among library developers. Its documentation is comprehensive, providing guidance for various use cases.
  • vite: Vite's community is rapidly growing, especially among developers using modern frameworks. Its documentation is well-structured and user-friendly, making it accessible for new users.
  • parcel: Parcel has a growing community, but it is smaller compared to Webpack. Documentation is clear, making it easier for newcomers to get started.
How to Choose: webpack vs rollup vs vite vs parcel
  • webpack: Choose Webpack for its extensive configurability and robust ecosystem, especially for large-scale applications where you need fine-grained control over the build process. Webpack is well-suited for complex applications that require custom loaders, plugins, and optimization strategies.
  • rollup: Select Rollup if you are focused on building libraries or applications that require tree-shaking capabilities to eliminate dead code. Rollup is particularly effective for ES modules and produces smaller bundles, making it suitable for projects where performance is critical.
  • vite: Opt for Vite if you need a modern development experience with lightning-fast hot module replacement and an optimized build process. Vite is perfect for projects that utilize modern JavaScript features and frameworks like Vue or React, providing a seamless development workflow.
  • parcel: Choose Parcel for its zero-configuration setup and fast build times, especially for smaller projects or when you want to quickly prototype without getting bogged down in configuration details. It automatically handles file types and optimizations, making it ideal for developers who prefer simplicity.
Similar Npm Packages to rollup

rollup is a module bundler for JavaScript applications, designed to optimize the process of packaging and serving code. It is particularly well-suited for libraries and applications that utilize ES modules, as it can produce smaller and more efficient bundles by leveraging tree-shaking capabilities. Rollup allows developers to write modular code while ensuring that the final output is optimized for performance, making it a popular choice for building libraries and applications.

While Rollup is a powerful tool, there are several alternatives in the JavaScript ecosystem that serve similar purposes. Here are a few notable ones:

  • browserify is a tool that allows developers to use Node.js-style require statements in the browser. It transforms Node-style modules into a format that can be used in the browser, enabling developers to write modular code. While Browserify is effective for smaller projects, it may not be as performant as Rollup for larger applications due to its lack of tree-shaking capabilities.

  • gulp is a task runner that automates various development tasks, including file transformations, minification, and bundling. While Gulp can be used for bundling JavaScript files, it is more focused on task automation and may require additional plugins to achieve similar functionality to Rollup. Gulp is ideal for developers looking for a flexible and customizable build process.

  • parcel is a zero-configuration web application bundler that aims to simplify the development process. It automatically handles module bundling, code splitting, and asset optimization without the need for extensive configuration. Parcel is a great choice for developers who want a quick setup and an easy-to-use bundler, although it may not provide the same level of control and optimization as Rollup for library development.

  • webpack is one of the most popular module bundlers in the JavaScript ecosystem. It offers a wide range of features, including code splitting, hot module replacement, and extensive plugin support. While Webpack is highly configurable and powerful, it can also be complex to set up and manage. For larger applications that require fine-tuned control over the build process, Webpack is often the go-to choice.

To see how Rollup compares with Browserify, Gulp, Parcel, and Webpack, check out the comparison: Comparing browserify vs gulp vs parcel vs rollup vs webpack.

Similar Npm Packages to vite

vite is a modern build tool and development server designed to provide a fast and efficient development experience for web applications. It leverages native ES modules in the browser for lightning-fast hot module replacement (HMR) and offers a streamlined setup for modern JavaScript frameworks like Vue, React, and Svelte. Vite's focus on speed, simplicity, and an optimized development workflow makes it a popular choice among developers looking to enhance their productivity.

While Vite is an excellent choice, there are several alternatives in the ecosystem that also serve as build tools and bundlers. Here are a few notable ones:

  • parcel is a zero-configuration web application bundler that aims to provide a simple and fast development experience. Parcel automatically handles file transformations, code splitting, and asset optimization without requiring extensive configuration. It is particularly well-suited for smaller projects or developers who prefer a more hands-off approach to configuration. Parcel's built-in support for various file types and its fast build times make it a great alternative for those looking for ease of use.
  • rollup is a module bundler that focuses on producing optimized bundles for JavaScript libraries and applications. It is particularly well-known for its tree-shaking capabilities, which help eliminate dead code and reduce bundle size. Rollup is a great choice for developers looking to create libraries or applications that require a high level of optimization and performance. Its plugin ecosystem allows for extensive customization, making it suitable for a variety of use cases.
  • webpack is one of the most widely used module bundlers in the JavaScript ecosystem. It provides a powerful and flexible configuration system, allowing developers to customize their build process extensively. Webpack supports a wide range of features, including code splitting, asset management, and hot module replacement. While it offers great flexibility, its complexity can be overwhelming for newcomers. Webpack is ideal for larger projects that require fine-tuned control over the build process.

To see how Vite compares with Parcel, Rollup, and Webpack, check out the comparison: Comparing parcel vs rollup vs vite 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.

README for webpack


npm

node builds1 builds2 dependency-review coverage PR's welcome


install size

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

  1. Install
  2. Introduction
  3. Concepts
  4. Contributing
  5. Support
  6. Core Team
  7. Sponsoring
  8. Premium Partners
  9. Other Backers and Sponsors
  10. Gold Sponsors
  11. Silver Sponsors
  12. Bronze Sponsors
  13. Backers
  14. Special Thanks

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.

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:

  • Documentation updates, enhancements, designs, or bugfixes
  • Spelling or grammar fixes
  • README.md corrections or redesigns
  • Adding unit, or functional tests
  • Triaging GitHub issues -- especially determining whether an issue still persists or is reproducible.
  • Searching #webpack on twitter and helping someone else who needs help
  • Teaching others how to contribute to one of the many webpack's repos!
  • Blogging, speaking about, or creating tutorials about one of webpack's many features.
  • Helping others in our webpack gitter channel.

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

If you are worried or don't know where to start, you can always reach out to Sean Larkin (@TheLarkInn) on Twitter or simply submit an issue and a maintainer can help give you guidance!

We have also started a series on our Medium Publication called The Contributor's Guide to webpack. We welcome you to read it and post any questions or responses if you still need help.

Looking to speak about webpack? We'd love to review your talk abstract/CFP! You can email it to webpack [at] opencollective [dot] com and we can give pointers or tips!!!

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!!

Looking for webpack 1 docs? Please check out the old wiki, but note that this deprecated version is no longer supported.

If you want to discuss something or just need help, here is our Gitter room where there are always individuals looking to help out!

If you are still having difficulty, we would love for you to post a question to StackOverflow with the webpack tag. It is much easier to answer questions that include your webpack.config.js and relevant files! So if you can provide them, we'd be extremely grateful (and more likely to help you find the answer!)

If you are twitter savvy you can tweet #webpack with your question and someone should be able to reach out and help also.

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

License

FOSSA Status

Core Team


Tobias Koppers

Core


Founder of webpack
Johannes Ewald

Loaders & Plugins


Early adopter of webpack
Sean T. Larkin

Public Relations


Founder of the core team
Kees Kluskens

Development


Sponsor


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.

Angular MoonMail MONEI

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)

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