webpack-bundle-analyzer vs webpack-node-externals
Webpack Plugins Comparison
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What's Webpack Plugins?

Webpack plugins are tools that extend the capabilities of Webpack, a popular module bundler for JavaScript applications. These plugins can optimize the build process, analyze bundle sizes, manage dependencies, and enhance the overall development experience. The two packages discussed here serve distinct purposes: one focuses on analyzing the contents and sizes of bundles, while the other helps manage external dependencies in Node.js applications, allowing for more efficient builds.

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webpack-bundle-analyzer6,668,48312,6171.23 MB3410 months agoMIT
webpack-node-externals4,437,3821,296-554 years agoMIT
Feature Comparison: webpack-bundle-analyzer vs webpack-node-externals

Purpose

  • webpack-bundle-analyzer:

    The primary purpose of webpack-bundle-analyzer is to provide a visual representation of your bundle's contents. It generates an interactive treemap that allows developers to see the size of each module and how they contribute to the overall bundle size, helping to identify potential areas for optimization.

  • webpack-node-externals:

    The main purpose of webpack-node-externals is to exclude Node.js modules from the bundle, ensuring that your application only includes the necessary files. This is particularly useful for server-side applications where many dependencies are already available in the Node.js runtime.

Use Case

  • webpack-bundle-analyzer:

    Ideal for front-end applications where bundle size is critical. It helps developers understand the impact of their dependencies and optimize loading times by reducing the size of the JavaScript files sent to the client.

  • webpack-node-externals:

    Best suited for server-side applications built with Node.js. It allows developers to keep their bundles lightweight by excluding modules that are not needed in the final output, thus improving build times and reducing deployment sizes.

Output

  • webpack-bundle-analyzer:

    Outputs an interactive HTML report that displays the size of each module in a treemap format. This report can be opened in a web browser, providing a clear visual representation of the bundle's structure and size distribution.

  • webpack-node-externals:

    Does not produce a visual output but modifies the Webpack configuration to exclude specified modules from the bundle. This results in a smaller output file that contains only the necessary code for the application.

Integration

  • webpack-bundle-analyzer:

    Easily integrates into the Webpack build process as a plugin. It can be configured in the Webpack configuration file and can be run in development or production modes to analyze the bundle at different stages of the build process.

  • webpack-node-externals:

    Integrates seamlessly with Webpack for Node.js applications. It can be added to the Webpack configuration to specify which modules to exclude, allowing for a straightforward setup without additional configuration.

Performance Impact

  • webpack-bundle-analyzer:

    While it adds some overhead during the build process, the insights gained can lead to significant performance improvements by optimizing bundle sizes, ultimately enhancing application load times.

  • webpack-node-externals:

    By excluding unnecessary modules, it can significantly reduce the size of the output bundle, leading to faster build times and improved performance in server-side applications.

How to Choose: webpack-bundle-analyzer vs webpack-node-externals
  • webpack-bundle-analyzer:

    Choose webpack-bundle-analyzer if you need to visualize the size of your output files with an interactive treemap. This is particularly useful for identifying large dependencies and optimizing your bundle size during the development process.

  • webpack-node-externals:

    Choose webpack-node-externals if you are building a Node.js application and want to exclude certain modules from your bundle. This is beneficial for reducing the size of your bundle by preventing the inclusion of dependencies that are already available in the Node.js environment.

Similar Npm Packages to webpack-bundle-analyzer

webpack-bundle-analyzer is a powerful tool that helps developers visualize the size of their webpack output files with an interactive treemap. This tool provides insights into the composition of your bundles, making it easier to identify large dependencies and optimize your application's performance. By analyzing the bundle size, developers can make informed decisions about code splitting, lazy loading, and other optimization techniques.

While webpack-bundle-analyzer is a popular choice for analyzing bundle sizes, there are several alternatives that offer similar functionalities. Here are a few noteworthy options:

  • bundlewatch is a tool designed to monitor the size of your bundles over time. It allows you to set size limits for your bundles and will notify you if any of them exceed the specified limits. This is particularly useful for maintaining performance standards in large projects and ensuring that new changes do not inadvertently bloat the bundle size.
  • source-map-explorer is a tool that analyzes JavaScript source maps to provide insights into the size of your JavaScript files. It helps you understand which parts of your code contribute to the overall bundle size, making it easier to identify and eliminate unnecessary code. This tool is especially useful for projects that use minification and bundling techniques.
  • stats-webpack-plugin is a webpack plugin that generates a JSON file containing information about the output files. This plugin can be used in conjunction with other tools to analyze the bundle size and structure. It provides a comprehensive overview of the build process, making it easier to debug and optimize your webpack configurations.
  • webpack-dashboard is a tool that provides a visual representation of your webpack build process in the terminal. While it does not focus solely on bundle size analysis, it offers real-time feedback on build performance, allowing developers to identify bottlenecks and optimize their build process.
  • webpack-visualizer-plugin is a plugin that generates a visual representation of your webpack bundle. It creates an HTML file that displays the size of each module in your bundle, helping you understand the structure and size distribution of your code. This tool is useful for quickly identifying large modules and optimizing your bundle.

To see how webpack-bundle-analyzer compares with these alternatives, check out the comparison: Comparing bundlewatch vs source-map-explorer vs stats-webpack-plugin vs webpack-bundle-analyzer vs webpack-dashboard vs webpack-visualizer-plugin.

Similar Npm Packages to webpack-node-externals

webpack-node-externals is a Webpack plugin designed to exclude Node.js modules from the bundle when building server-side applications. This is particularly useful for Node.js applications where you want to avoid bundling dependencies that are already available in the Node.js environment, such as core modules or packages installed in the node_modules directory. By using webpack-node-externals, you can significantly reduce the size of your output bundle and improve build performance.

While webpack-node-externals serves a specific purpose, there are other tools in the Webpack ecosystem that can complement or provide alternative functionalities. One notable alternative is:

  • webpack-bundle-analyzer. This tool provides a visual representation of your bundle's contents, allowing you to analyze the size of your JavaScript files and their dependencies. By generating an interactive treemap, webpack-bundle-analyzer helps developers understand which modules are contributing to the bundle size and identify opportunities for optimization. While it does not exclude modules from the bundle like webpack-node-externals, it provides valuable insights that can guide developers in making informed decisions about their dependencies and optimizing their builds.

To see how webpack-node-externals compares with webpack-bundle-analyzer, check out the comparison: Comparing webpack-bundle-analyzer vs webpack-node-externals.

README for webpack-bundle-analyzer

npm node tests downloads

Webpack Bundle Analyzer

Visualize size of webpack output files with an interactive zoomable treemap.

Install

# NPM
npm install --save-dev webpack-bundle-analyzer
# Yarn
yarn add -D webpack-bundle-analyzer

Usage (as a plugin)

const BundleAnalyzerPlugin = require('webpack-bundle-analyzer').BundleAnalyzerPlugin;

module.exports = {
  plugins: [
    new BundleAnalyzerPlugin()
  ]
}

It will create an interactive treemap visualization of the contents of all your bundles.

webpack bundle analyzer zoomable treemap

This module will help you:

  1. Realize what's really inside your bundle
  2. Find out what modules make up the most of its size
  3. Find modules that got there by mistake
  4. Optimize it!

And the best thing is it supports minified bundles! It parses them to get real size of bundled modules. And it also shows their gzipped sizes!

Options (for plugin)

new BundleAnalyzerPlugin(options?: object)

|Name|Type|Description| |:--:|:--:|:----------| |analyzerMode|One of: server, static, json, disabled|Default: server. In server mode analyzer will start HTTP server to show bundle report. In static mode single HTML file with bundle report will be generated. In json mode single JSON file with bundle report will be generated. In disabled mode you can use this plugin to just generate Webpack Stats JSON file by setting generateStatsFile to true. | |analyzerHost|{String}|Default: 127.0.0.1. Host that will be used in server mode to start HTTP server.| |analyzerPort|{Number} or auto|Default: 8888. Port that will be used in server mode to start HTTP server. If analyzerPort is auto, the operating system will assign an arbitrary unused port | |analyzerUrl|{Function} called with { listenHost: string, listenHost: string, boundAddress: server.address}. server.address comes from Node.js| Default: http://${listenHost}:${boundAddress.port}. The URL printed to console with server mode.| |reportFilename|{String}|Default: report.html. Path to bundle report file that will be generated in static mode. It can be either an absolute path or a path relative to a bundle output directory (which is output.path in webpack config).| |reportTitle|{String\|function}|Default: function that returns pretty printed current date and time. Content of the HTML title element; or a function of the form () => string that provides the content.| |defaultSizes|One of: stat, parsed, gzip|Default: parsed. Module sizes to show in report by default. Size definitions section describes what these values mean.| |openAnalyzer|{Boolean}|Default: true. Automatically open report in default browser.| |generateStatsFile|{Boolean}|Default: false. If true, webpack stats JSON file will be generated in bundle output directory| |statsFilename|{String}|Default: stats.json. Name of webpack stats JSON file that will be generated if generateStatsFile is true. It can be either an absolute path or a path relative to a bundle output directory (which is output.path in webpack config).| |statsOptions|null or {Object}|Default: null. Options for stats.toJson() method. For example you can exclude sources of your modules from stats file with source: false option. See more options here. | |excludeAssets|{null\|pattern\|pattern[]} where pattern equals to {String\|RegExp\|function}|Default: null. Patterns that will be used to match against asset names to exclude them from the report. If pattern is a string it will be converted to RegExp via new RegExp(str). If pattern is a function it should have the following signature (assetName: string) => boolean and should return true to exclude matching asset. If multiple patterns are provided asset should match at least one of them to be excluded. | |logLevel|One of: info, warn, error, silent|Default: info. Used to control how much details the plugin outputs.|

Usage (as a CLI utility)

You can analyze an existing bundle if you have a webpack stats JSON file.

You can generate it using BundleAnalyzerPlugin with generateStatsFile option set to true or with this simple command:

webpack --profile --json > stats.json

If you're on Windows and using PowerShell, you can generate the stats file with this command to avoid BOM issues:

webpack --profile --json | Out-file 'stats.json' -Encoding OEM

Then you can run the CLI tool.

webpack-bundle-analyzer bundle/output/path/stats.json

Options (for CLI)

webpack-bundle-analyzer <bundleStatsFile> [bundleDir] [options]

Arguments are documented below:

bundleStatsFile

Path to webpack stats JSON file

bundleDir

Directory containing all generated bundles.

options

  -V, --version               output the version number
  -m, --mode <mode>           Analyzer mode. Should be `server`, `static` or `json`.
                              In `server` mode analyzer will start HTTP server to show bundle report.
                              In `static` mode single HTML file with bundle report will be generated.
                              In `json` mode single JSON file with bundle report will be generated. (default: server)
  -h, --host <host>           Host that will be used in `server` mode to start HTTP server. (default: 127.0.0.1)
  -p, --port <n>              Port that will be used in `server` mode to start HTTP server. Should be a number or `auto` (default: 8888)
  -r, --report <file>         Path to bundle report file that will be generated in `static` mode. (default: report.html)
  -t, --title <title>         String to use in title element of html report. (default: pretty printed current date)
  -s, --default-sizes <type>  Module sizes to show in treemap by default.
                              Possible values: stat, parsed, gzip (default: parsed)
  -O, --no-open               Don't open report in default browser automatically.
  -e, --exclude <regexp>      Assets that should be excluded from the report.
                              Can be specified multiple times.
  -l, --log-level <level>     Log level.
                              Possible values: debug, info, warn, error, silent (default: info)
  -h, --help                  output usage information

Size definitions

webpack-bundle-analyzer reports three values for sizes. defaultSizes can be used to control which of these is shown by default. The different reported sizes are:

stat

This is the "input" size of your files, before any transformations like minification.

It is called "stat size" because it's obtained from Webpack's stats object.

parsed

This is the "output" size of your files. If you're using a Webpack plugin such as Uglify, then this value will reflect the minified size of your code.

gzip

This is the size of running the parsed bundles/modules through gzip compression.

Selecting Which Chunks to Display

When opened, the report displays all of the Webpack chunks for your project. It's possible to filter to a more specific list of chunks by using the sidebar or the chunk context menu.

Sidebar

The Sidebar Menu can be opened by clicking the > button at the top left of the report. You can select or deselect chunks to display under the "Show chunks" heading there.

Chunk Context Menu

The Chunk Context Menu can be opened by right-clicking or Ctrl-clicking on a specific chunk in the report. It provides the following options:

  • Hide chunk: Hides the selected chunk
  • Hide all other chunks: Hides all chunks besides the selected one
  • Show all chunks: Un-hides any hidden chunks, returning the report to its initial, unfiltered view

Troubleshooting

I don't see gzip or parsed sizes, it only shows stat size

It happens when webpack-bundle-analyzer analyzes files that don't actually exist in your file system, for example when you work with webpack-dev-server that keeps all the files in RAM. If you use webpack-bundle-analyzer as a plugin you won't get any errors, however if you run it via CLI you get the error message in terminal:

Error parsing bundle asset "your_bundle_name.bundle.js": no such file
No bundles were parsed. Analyzer will show only original module sizes from stats file.

To get more information about it you can read issue #147.

Other tools

  • Statoscope - Webpack bundle analyzing tool to find out why a certain module was bundled (and more features, including interactive treemap)

Maintainers


Yuriy Grunin
Vesa Laakso

Contributing

Check out CONTRIBUTING.md for instructions on contributing :tada:

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