babel-plugin-version-inline

1.0.0 verified Sat Apr 25 auth: no javascript maintenance

A Babel plugin that replaces the global constant __VERSION__ with the version string from the project's package.json. Version 1.0.0 is stable but receives no active development; it's a simple compile-time macro for including the package version in code without runtime lookup. Unlike runtime version detection or bundler-specific plugins, this works in any Babel build pipeline. It's unmaintained since 2018 and has no dependencies.

Common errors

error ReferenceError: __VERSION__ is not defined ↓

cause The plugin is not applied (Babel not configured or plugin not installed) or the code is run in an environment where __VERSION__ is not defined.

fix

Install the plugin and add 'version-inline' to your Babel plugins list. If running in Node directly (not built), __VERSION__ will not be defined; ensure you run the compiled output.

error Module not found: Can't resolve 'babel-plugin-version-inline' ↓

cause The plugin is not installed in the project's node_modules or Babel cannot find it.

fix

Run npm install babel-plugin-version-inline --save-dev and ensure you are using the correct plugin name in Babel config.

error Cannot find module 'babel-plugin-version-inline' ↓

cause The plugin is not installed or the project's node_modules is missing.

fix

Install the plugin: npm install babel-plugin-version-inline --save-dev

Warnings

deprecated Plugin is no longer maintained; last update in 2018. ↓

fix Consider using @babel/plugin-transform-version-inline or a custom plugin. Alternatively, bundle version info through other means (e.g., environment variables).

gotcha __VERSION__ is replaced at build time; the version string is the one from the project's package.json at the time of build, not at runtime. ↓

fix Ensure your package.json version is updated before building. No runtime fallback.

gotcha The plugin only replaces __VERSION__ exactly; it does not handle other naming conventions like __VERSION or __version__. ↓

fix Use __VERSION__ exactly, or fork the plugin to modify the replacement pattern.

Install

npm install babel-plugin-version-inline

yarn add babel-plugin-version-inline

pnpm add babel-plugin-version-inline

Imports

default
wrong
```
import plugin from 'babel-plugin-version-inline';
```
correct
```
module.exports = require('babel-plugin-version-inline');
```
This is a Babel plugin, not a typical JS module. It is used via Babel configuration, not imported in user code. ESM import does not work because the plugin uses CommonJS and is not packaged as ESM.
babel config usage
wrong
```
{
  "plugins": ["babel-plugin-version-inline"]
}
```
correct
```
{
  "plugins": ["version-inline"]
}
```
In .babelrc or babel.config.js, the plugin name can be shortened to 'version-inline' (without the babel-plugin- prefix) as Babel automatically resolves it.

programmatic API

wrong

require('babel-core').transform('code', { plugins: [require('babel-plugin-version-inline')] })

correct

require('babel-core').transform('code', { plugins: ['version-inline'] })

Using the plugin name as a string is sufficient; Babel will resolve the package. Explicit require() may work but is not needed.

Quickstart

Demonstrates how to configure the plugin in .babelrc and how __VERSION__ is replaced with the version from package.json.

// package.json
{
  "name": "my-package",
  "version": "2.1.0"
}

// .babelrc
{
  "plugins": ["version-inline"]
}

// src/index.js
const appVersion = __VERSION__;
console.log(appVersion); // becomes "2.1.0"

// After Babel transformation:
// const appVersion = "2.1.0";
// console.log(appVersion);