babel-compat

0.22.4 verified Sat Apr 25 auth: no javascript

Custom Babel helpers for compatibility with older environments. Version 0.22.4, actively maintained. Provides thin wrappers around core Babel utilities for safer transpilation. Use alongside @babel/preset-env for targeted polyfilling. Differentiator: minimal overhead and explicit compat targets.

Common errors

error Cannot find module 'babel-compat' ↓

cause Missing dependency or installed via npm with wrong registry.

fix

npm install babel-compat@0.22.4 --save-dev

error TypeError: babelCompatPlugin is not a function ↓

cause Using CommonJS require() which is not supported since v0.20.

fix

Switch to ESM import syntax: import { babelCompatPlugin } from 'babel-compat'

error Error: Plugin babel-compat: 'target' option is deprecated, use 'compatTargets' ↓

cause Using deprecated 'target' option in v0.22+.

fix

Replace target: 'ie11' with compatTargets: ['ie11']

error Error: Unknown option 'include' for babel-compat ↓

cause Using deprecated 'include' option in v0.22+.

fix

Replace include with exclude (option inverted).

Warnings

breaking ESM-only since v0.20; CommonJS require() no longer works. ↓

fix Use import syntax or upgrade to Node.js v14+ with --experimental-modules.

deprecated Option 'target' is deprecated in v0.22; use 'compatTargets' array instead. ↓

fix Replace target: 'ie11' with compatTargets: ['ie11'].

gotcha Plugin order matters: must be placed after @babel/preset-env to override helpers correctly. ↓

fix Ensure babel-compat plugin appears after @babel/preset-env in plugins array.

gotcha Does not automatically polyfill; only rewrites helper calls. Use with core-js for full polyfills. ↓

fix Add useBuiltIns: 'usage' and corejs: 3 in @babel/preset-env options.

deprecated The 'include' option for selective helpers is deprecated since v0.22; use 'exclude' instead. ↓

fix Replace include: ['es6.object.assign'] with exclude: ['es6.object.assign'] (note inversion).

Install

npm install babel-compat

yarn add babel-compat

pnpm add babel-compat

Imports

babelCompatPlugin

wrong

const babelCompatPlugin = require('babel-compat').babelCompatPlugin

correct

import { babelCompatPlugin } from 'babel-compat'

ESM-only since v0.20, no CommonJS support

default
wrong
```
const babelCompat = require('babel-compat')
```
correct
```
import babelCompat from 'babel-compat'
```
Default export is ESM-only; requires bundler or Node.js --experimental-modules

CompatTarget

wrong

import { CompatTarget } from 'babel-compat/types'

correct

import { CompatTarget } from 'babel-compat'

Type is exported from main entry, do not import from 'types' subpath

Quickstart

Basic Babel config using babel-compat plugin with IE11 target.

import { babelCompatPlugin } from 'babel-compat';

export default {
  plugins: [
    [babelCompatPlugin, { target: 'ie11' }]
  ]
};