babel-loader-exclude-node-modules-except

1.2.4 verified Sat Apr 25 auth: no javascript maintenance

A utility to create a regular expression for excluding all node_modules from Babel transpilation in webpack, except for specified modules. Current stable version is 1.2.4. Release cadence is low (last update 2020). It simplifies the common webpack pattern of allowing certain ES6 modules from node_modules to be transpiled while excluding the rest. Key differentiator: supports wildcard patterns for module names since v1.2.0, unlike manual regex construction.

Common errors

error Error: Cannot find module 'babel-loader-exclude-node-modules-except' ↓

cause Package not installed or not in node_modules.

fix

Run npm install babel-loader-exclude-node-modules-except --save-dev

error TypeError: module names is not iterable ↓

cause Called function with a string instead of an array of strings.

fix

Pass an array: babelLoaderExcludeNodeModulesExcept(['module-name']) not a string.

Warnings

breaking The function returns a RegExp, not a string or array. Do not use it as a string pattern. ↓

fix Use directly in the `exclude` property of webpack rule.

breaking Wildcard support added in v1.2.0. In v1.1.x, wildcards are not supported and will be treated literally. ↓

fix Update to v1.2.0+ or use exact module names.

gotcha The exclude pattern only works for top-level node_modules; it may not correctly handle nested dependencies. ↓

fix Manually add nested module paths if needed, or use a different approach.

Install

npm install babel-loader-exclude-node-modules-except

yarn add babel-loader-exclude-node-modules-except

pnpm add babel-loader-exclude-node-modules-except

Imports

default export

wrong

import babelLoaderExcludeNodeModulesExcept from 'babel-loader-exclude-node-modules-except';

correct

const babelLoaderExcludeNodeModulesExcept = require('babel-loader-exclude-node-modules-except');

Package provides a CommonJS default export; ESM import may fail depending on bundler.

function call result
wrong
```
exclude: babelLoaderExcludeNodeModulesExcept('swiper')
```
correct
```
exclude: babelLoaderExcludeNodeModulesExcept(['swiper', 'dom7'])
```
The function expects an array of module names; passing a string causes unexpected behavior.

wildcard pattern

wrong

exclude: babelLoaderExcludeNodeModulesExcept(['react*'])

correct

exclude: babelLoaderExcludeNodeModulesExcept(['react-*', '@scope/*'])

Wildcard must use '*-' prefix for exact match on module name part; plain '*' not supported.

Quickstart

Shows how to use the package to exclude all node_modules except specified ones from Babel transpilation in webpack.

const babelLoaderExcludeNodeModulesExcept = require('babel-loader-exclude-node-modules-except');

// webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
  module: {
    rules: [
      {
        test: /\.js$/,
        exclude: babelLoaderExcludeNodeModulesExcept([
          'custom-jquery-methods',
          'swiper',
          'dom7'
        ]),
        use: {
          loader: 'babel-loader',
          options: {
            presets: ['@babel/preset-env']
          }
        }
      }
    ]
  }
};