AMD Module Dependency Detective

Common errors

• Error [ERR_REQUIRE_ESM]: require() of ES Module ... not supported.

  cause Attempting to `require()` this package from an ES module context, or the package itself has become ESM-only (which it has not, but this is a common problem in the ecosystem).
  fix This package is CommonJS. If you are in an ES module context (e.g., `"type": "module"` in package.json), you must use dynamic `import()` to load it: `const detectiveModule = await import('detective-amd'); const detective = detectiveModule.default;`

• SyntaxError: Unexpected token 'export' (or 'import')

  cause You are using `detective-amd` in a CJS file, but the source code you are passing to it contains ES module syntax (e.g., `import` or `export` statements). While `detective-amd` supports JSX, it is specifically for AMD syntax analysis, not ESM.
  fix Ensure the source code being passed to `detective-amd` exclusively uses AMD or older JavaScript syntax. If you need to detect ES module dependencies, use a different package designed for ESM analysis.

• TypeError: detective is not a function

  cause This typically occurs when `detective-amd` is imported incorrectly in an ESM context, where `import detective from 'detective-amd';` results in `detective` being the entire module object, not the function itself.
  fix When using `await import('detective-amd')` in ESM, the main function is accessed via the `.default` property: `const detectiveModule = await import('detective-amd'); const detective = detectiveModule.default;`

Warnings

• breaking Version 6.0.0 introduced a breaking change by dropping support for Node.js versions older than 18. Users on older Node.js runtimes will encounter errors or unexpected behavior.
  Fix: Upgrade your Node.js environment to version 18 or higher. If unable to upgrade Node.js, remain on `detective-amd@5.x`.
• breaking Version 5.0.0 dropped support for Node.js 12. Environments running Node.js 12 or earlier will not be able to use this version.
  Fix: Upgrade your Node.js environment to version 14 or higher (or 18+ for v6+). If unable to upgrade Node.js, remain on `detective-amd@4.x`.
• gotcha When an AMD `require` call uses an expression instead of a string literal (e.g., `require('./' + variable)`), `detective-amd` will return a string representation of that expression (e.g., `"'./' + variable"`) rather than attempting to resolve it. This means dynamic dependencies will not yield concrete file paths.
  Fix: Be aware that dynamically resolved paths cannot be fully analyzed statically. Manual inspection or runtime analysis might be needed for these cases.
• gotcha The package is primarily designed for CommonJS consumption. Attempting to use `import detective from 'detective-amd';` in an ES module context will result in a runtime error because `module.exports` is not directly compatible with default ES module imports.
  Fix: In an ESM context, use a dynamic import: `const detectiveModule = await import('detective-amd'); const detective = detectiveModule.default;`

Install

• npm install detective-amd npm
• yarn add detective-amd yarn
• pnpm add detective-amd pnpm

Imports

• detective
  wrong:

  import detective from 'detective-amd';

  correct:

  const detective = require('detective-amd');

  This package is primarily CommonJS. While Node.js >=18 is required, its primary export mechanism is `module.exports`.
• detective (named import attempt)
  wrong:

  import { detective } from 'detective-amd';

  correct:

  const detective = require('detective-amd');

  The package exports a single function as its default. Named imports are not available.
• detective (ESM dynamic import)
  wrong:

  import detective from 'detective-amd';

  correct:

  const detective = await import('detective-amd');

  If used in an ESM context, dynamic `import()` is required to load this CommonJS module, and you'll then access `detective.default`.

Quickstart

Demonstrates how to synchronously extract AMD dependencies from source code, including standard `define` calls, `require` driver scripts, and expression-based requires.

const fs = require('fs');
const detective = require('detective-amd');

// Create a dummy AMD file for demonstration
const fileContent = `
// a.js
define(['./b', './c'], function (b, c) {
  console.log(b, c);
});

// b.js
define({
  name: 'foo'
});

// c.js
define(function () {
  return 'bar';
});

// main.js - A driver script
require(['./a'], function (a) {
  // My app will get booted up from here
});

// another.js - with expression-based require
define(function (require) {
  const dynamicDep = 'dynamic_module';
  const x = require('./' + dynamicDep);
  const y = require('./static_module');
});
`;

fs.writeFileSync('example.js', fileContent, 'utf8');

// Analyze the 'a.js' part of the content
const srcA = `define(['./b', './c'], function (b, c) { console.log(b, c); });`;
console.log('Dependencies for a.js:', detective(srcA));

// Analyze the 'main.js' part of the content
const srcMain = `require(['./a'], function (a) {});`;
console.log('Dependencies for main.js (driver script):', detective(srcMain));

// Analyze the 'another.js' part with expression-based requires
const srcAnother = `
define(function (require) {
  const dynamicDep = 'dynamic_module';
  const x = require('./' + dynamicDep);
  const y = require('./static_module');
});
`;
console.log('Dependencies for another.js (expression-based):', detective(srcAnother));

// Clean up dummy file (optional)
fs.unlinkSync('example.js');