rollup-plugin-del

1.0.1 verified Mon Apr 27 auth: no javascript

A Rollup plugin that deletes specified files or directories before or after a build, commonly used to clean the output directory (e.g., dist). Version 1.0.1, last updated 2022. It wraps the `del` package to support glob patterns and automatically falls back to Rollup's output dir/file. Lightweight, no external plugin dependencies. Differentiates from @rollup/plugin-clean by offering glob flexibility and automatic output detection.

Common errors

error Error: Cannot find module 'del' ↓

cause Missing peer dependency `del`.

fix

Install del: npm install del --save-dev

error TypeError: del is not a function ↓

cause Using named import { del } instead of default import.

fix

Change to import del from 'rollup-plugin-del'

error Error: EACCES: permission denied, unlink '...' ↓

cause Attempting to delete files that the process does not have permissions for.

fix

Run with appropriate permissions or adjust file paths.

Warnings

gotcha Uses `del` under the hood which cannot delete the current working directory itself – avoid using dest: process.cwd() ↓

fix Specify a subdirectory like 'dist', not the root.

gotcha Plugin runs once on build start – not on watch rebuild. Files deleted during watch may cause errors. ↓

fix Restart Rollup after changes or consider other cleanup strategies.

gotcha The `del` peer dependency is not bundled; you must install `del` separately if not already present. ↓

fix Run `npm install del -D` alongside rollup-plugin-del.

Install

npm install rollup-plugin-del

yarn add rollup-plugin-del

pnpm add rollup-plugin-del

Imports

default

wrong

import { del } from 'rollup-plugin-del'

correct

import del from 'rollup-plugin-del'

Plugin is exported as default. Named export does not exist.

default
wrong
```
const del = require('rollup-plugin-del')
```
correct
```
const del = require('rollup-plugin-del').default
```
In CommonJS, the default export is accessed via .default because the package uses ESM.
default
wrong
```
import del = require('rollup-plugin-del')
```
correct
```
import del from 'rollup-plugin-del'
```
TypeScript with `esModuleInterop: false` may require `import del = require('rollup-plugin-del')` but that syntax is uncommon; prefer `esModuleInterop: true`.

Quickstart

Basic Rollup config that cleans the dist directory using default output detection before bundling.

// rollup.config.js
import del from 'rollup-plugin-del';
import resolve from '@rollup/plugin-node-resolve';
import commonjs from '@rollup/plugin-commonjs';

export default {
  input: 'src/index.js',
  output: {
    dir: 'dist',
    format: 'esm'
  },
  plugins: [
    del(), // deletes dist before build
    resolve(),
    commonjs()
  ]
};