browserify-middleware

8.1.1 verified Sat Apr 25 auth: no javascript maintenance

Express/Connect middleware for Browserify v2, currently at version 8.1.1. Provides sensible defaults: automatic source maps, file watching in development, minification, gzip, and etag caching in production. Supports serving individual files, directories of files, and npm package bundles with external dependencies for optimized caching. Allows use without Express except for directory serving. Last updated in 2013; depends on browserify >=2.x and uses uglify-js. Compared to alternatives like budo or watchify, it integrates directly as middleware for existing Express apps.

Common errors

error Cannot find module 'browserify' ↓

cause browserify is not installed as a peer dependency.

fix

npm install browserify --save

error browserify is not a function ↓

cause Incorrect import: trying to use named export instead of default.

fix

Use: var browserify = require('browserify-middleware');

error Uncaught Error: module 'xyz' not found ↓

cause Passed separate arguments instead of array to browserify().

fix

browserify(['module-a', 'module-b']) not browserify('module-a', 'module-b')

Warnings

deprecated Package uses outdated browserify v2 API and may not work with newer Node.js versions. ↓

fix Consider migrating to modern bundler middleware like budo or webpack-dev-middleware.

gotcha Directory paths are relative to the calling module, not process.cwd(). ↓

fix Use __dirname to construct absolute paths: browserify(__dirname + '/client/dir')

gotcha When passing an array of npm packages, they are bundled into a single file exposing require, not separate entries. ↓

fix Use the array form only for shared dependencies; use .external option for external referencing.

Install

npm install browserify-middleware

yarn add browserify-middleware

pnpm add browserify-middleware

Imports

default

wrong

import browserify from 'browserify-middleware';

correct

var browserify = require('browserify-middleware');

Package is CJS only, no ESM support.

browserify (as middleware)

wrong

app.get('/js/bundle.js', browserify.middleware('./client/file.js'));

correct

app.get('/js/bundle.js', browserify('./client/file.js'));

The default export is the middleware function itself; no submodule.

browserify (array of packages)
wrong
```
browserify('hyperquest', 'concat-stream')
```
correct
```
browserify(['hyperquest', 'concat-stream'])
```
Pass an array of module names, not separate arguments.

Quickstart

Sets up an Express server that serves a browserified version of client/main.js at /js/bundle.js.

var browserify = require('browserify-middleware');
var express = require('express');
var app = express();

app.get('/js/bundle.js', browserify(__dirname + '/client/main.js', {
  // options: external, noParse, cache, etc.
}));

app.listen(3000);
console.log('Server running on port 3000');