Fix - Error [ERR_REQUIRE_ESM]: require() not supported

Fix - Error [ERR_REQUIRE_ESM]: require() not supported #

The error "[ERR_REQUIRE_ESM]: require() not supported" occurs because a package you are importing has been converted to be an ESM only package, which means that the package cannot be imported with require() anymore.

You can solve the "[ERR_REQUIRE_ESM]: require() not supported" by doing one of two things:

1. Use ESM - use import foo from 'foo', instead of const foo = require('foo') and add the following line to your package.json file: "type": "module".
2. Downgrade to the last version of the package that is built with CommonJS. (Preferred approach if you're using TypeScript).

You can see which package is causing the error by looking at the error message in your terminal. The error message in the screenshot above shows that the node-fetch package is causing the error.

If any of the following packages are causing the error click on the link to find the fix, otherwise keep reading:

• node-fetch
• chalk
• gulp
• got

If you go with using ES Modules, you won't be able to use the require() syntax to import any other packages and need to update your import statements to ESM.

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// 👇️ default import
import fetch from 'node-fetch'

// 👇️ named import
import {myPackage} from 'my-package'

And you have to add the following line to your package.json file:

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{
  "type": "module",
  // 👇️ ...rest
}

You can read more about migrating from CommonJS to ESM by visiting this helpful Github Readme.

For example, the node-fetch package has been converted to be an ESM only package in version 3, so we have to downgrade to version 2.6.6, which is the last version that is built with CommonJS and enables us to use the require() syntax.

To downgrade a package to a specific version, open your terminal in the root directory of your project and run a command that installs the specific version.

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npm install node-fetch@2.6.6

# 👇️ NOTE: you only need this if using TypeScript
npm install --save-dev @types/node-fetch@2.x

You can use the npm install package@X.X.X syntax to install a specific version of a package.

Once you have installed a version of the package that is built using CommonJS, you will be able to import the package using require().

I strongly suggest you read this GitHub Readme if you want to learn more about why this error occurs and possible fixes.