Remove Source Webpack Plugin

0.1.1 verified Sat Apr 25 auth: no javascript

A lightweight webpack plugin that removes specified assets from the compilation output, commonly used in conjunction with html-webpack-inline-source-plugin to eliminate inlined source files from the final bundle. The current version is 0.1.1. It accepts regex or an array of regex patterns to match assets for removal. The plugin is available as an npm package under an MIT license.

Common errors

error TypeError: Super expression must either be null or a function ↓

cause Webpack version mismatch (e.g., webpack 3)

fix

Upgrade to webpack 4 or 5.

error ERROR: RemoveSourceWebpackPlugin is not a constructor ↓

cause Attempted to import using named import 'RemoveSourceWebpackPlugin'

fix

Use default import: const RemoveSourceWebpackPlugin = require('remove-source-webpack-plugin');

error Module not found: Error: Can't resolve 'remove-source-webpack-plugin' ↓

cause Package not installed or webpack config path issue

fix

Run npm install remove-source-webpack-plugin --save-dev.

Warnings

gotcha Plugin only works in webpack 4 and 5, not webpack 3. ↓

fix Ensure webpack version is 4 or 5.

gotcha Using an empty array or no patterns removes nothing; patterns must match asset names exactly. ↓

fix Provide regex patterns that match asset filenames, not paths.

gotcha The plugin removes assets from compilation, not from the file system. ↓

fix It works after emit hooks, so removed assets won't appear in output directory.

gotcha Multiple plugins of same type can be added; each removes matching assets. ↓

fix You can add multiple instances with different patterns.

Install

npm install remove-source-webpack-plugin

yarn add remove-source-webpack-plugin

pnpm add remove-source-webpack-plugin

Imports

RemoveSourceWebpackPlugin

wrong

import RemoveSourceWebpackPlugin from 'remove-source-webpack-plugin'

correct

const RemoveSourceWebpackPlugin = require('remove-source-webpack-plugin')

ESM import works, but the package is CommonJS by default; require is safe for all environments

default export

wrong

const plugin = require('remove-source-webpack-plugin').default

correct

const RemoveSourceWebpackPlugin = require('remove-source-webpack-plugin')

Default export is the class itself, no .default needed

alias import

wrong

import { RemoveSourceWebpackPlugin } from 'remove-source-webpack-plugin'

correct

import RemoveSourceWebpackPlugin from 'remove-source-webpack-plugin'

Named import fails because it's a default export

Quickstart

Shows how to require and instantiate the plugin with a regex pattern to remove runtime chunk files.

const RemoveSourceWebpackPlugin = require('remove-source-webpack-plugin');

module.exports = {
  // ... other webpack config
  plugins: [
    new RemoveSourceWebpackPlugin(/runtime\..*\.js$/),
  ],
};