Babel Minify Webpack Plugin

0.3.1 verified Sat Apr 25 auth: no javascript maintenance

A webpack plugin that uses babel-minify (formerly babili) to minify JavaScript bundles. Current stable version is 0.3.1, released March 2018. Last release was a bugfix for webpack 4 tapable deprecation warnings. The plugin operates on entire chunks rather than individual files, enabling optimizations not possible with loader-based minification. However, it is slower than using babel-loader with the minify preset. The package has narrow engine requirements (Node 4.3–5.0 or >=5.10) and is essentially in maintenance mode, with no releases since 2018 and webpack 5 not officially supported. Alternatives include terser-webpack-plugin and babel-loader with preset-minify.

Common errors

error Error: Cannot find module 'babel-minify-webpack-plugin' ↓

cause Package not installed or incorrectly named.

fix

Run npm install babel-minify-webpack-plugin --save-dev and use correct import.

error TypeError: MinifyPlugin is not a constructor ↓

cause Using ES6 import when the package does not have a default ESM export.

fix

Use const MinifyPlugin = require('babel-minify-webpack-plugin'); instead of import MinifyPlugin from '...'.

error Error: Plugin invalid: A non-default property of a plugin was used ↓

cause Incorrect usage in webpack configuration (e.g., not instantiating the plugin).

fix

Ensure the plugin is instantiated with new MinifyPlugin(...) inside the plugins array.

Warnings

breaking API changed from `new BabiliPlugin(options)` to `new BabiliPlugin(babiliOptions, overrides)` in v0.0.9. ↓

fix Update constructor to `new BabiliPlugin(babiliOptions, overrides)` or use v0.3.1 (named babel-minify-webpack-plugin) with `new MinifyPlugin(minifyOpts, pluginOpts)`.

deprecated Renamed from babili-webpack-plugin to babel-minify-webpack-plugin in v0.2.0. Old package is deprecated. ↓

fix Install babel-minify-webpack-plugin instead of babili-webpack-plugin.

gotcha Node engine requirement: ">= 4.3 < 5.0.0 || >= 5.10". Node 5.0.0–5.9.x is not supported. ↓

fix Use Node >= 4.3 < 5.0 or >= 5.10 (e.g., Node 6+).

gotcha Webpack 5 is not officially supported. The last release targets webpack 2, 3, and 4. ↓

fix Use terser-webpack-plugin for webpack 5, or test with this plugin but expect issues.

gotcha The plugin operates on the entire chunk, which can be slow for large bundles. Consider using babel-loader with preset-minify for faster builds. ↓

fix Use babel-loader with `presets: ['minify']` and enable `mangle.topLevel` if needed.

Install

npm install babel-minify-webpack-plugin

yarn add babel-minify-webpack-plugin

pnpm add babel-minify-webpack-plugin

Imports

MinifyPlugin

wrong

import MinifyPlugin from 'babel-minify-webpack-plugin';

correct

const MinifyPlugin = require('babel-minify-webpack-plugin');

This package does not ship a default ESM export; use CommonJS require.

MinifyPlugin

wrong

const Minify = require('babel-minify-webpack-plugin').default;

correct

// webpack.config.js
const MinifyPlugin = require('babel-minify-webpack-plugin');

Direct require yields the constructor; .default is not defined.

MinifyPlugin
wrong
```
plugins: [new MinifyPlugin({ comments: false })]
```
correct
```
plugins: [new MinifyPlugin({ mangle: { topLevel: true } }, { sourceMap: true })]
```
First argument is minify options (babel-preset-minify), second is plugin options (test, include, exclude, comments, sourceMap, etc.). Confusing the two arguments is common.

Quickstart

Webpack 4 configuration with babel-minify-webpack-plugin, including minify and plugin options.

// webpack.config.js
const path = require('path');
const MinifyPlugin = require('babel-minify-webpack-plugin');

module.exports = {
  mode: 'production',
  entry: './src/index.js',
  output: {
    path: path.resolve(__dirname, 'dist'),
    filename: 'bundle.js'
  },
  plugins: [
    new MinifyPlugin(
      { mangle: { topLevel: true } },
      { comments: false, sourceMap: false }
    )
  ]
};