serverless-esbuild

1.57.1 verified Mon Apr 27 auth: no javascript

Serverless Framework plugin for zero-config JavaScript and TypeScript bundling using esbuild. Current stable version is 1.57.1 (April 2026), released continuously with semantic release. It automatically bundles and minifies Lambda functions with esbuild, supports TypeScript and JavaScript, integrates with sls package/deploy/deploy function, serverless-offline, and invoke local. Key differentiator: zero-config, extremely fast (esbuild), and supports multiple providers (AWS, Google Cloud, etc.) with runtime support for Node.js 18+. Requires peer dependencies esbuild (0.8 - 0.28) and esbuild-node-externals (^1.0.0). Ships TypeScript types.

Common errors

error Error: Cannot find module 'esbuild' ↓

cause esbuild not installed or not in node_modules

fix

npm install -D esbuild

error Error: serverless-esbuild expects Node >= 18 ↓

cause Running on older Node.js version

fix

Upgrade Node.js to v18 or later

error TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'includes') ↓

cause esbuild version incompatible with serverless-esbuild

fix

Update esbuild to a supported version (0.8 - 0.28)

Warnings

breaking Node.js 18+ required ↓

fix Upgrade Node.js to version 18 or higher.

breaking esbuild peer dependency range updated ↓

fix Ensure esbuild version is 0.8-0.28. For earlier versions, esbuild 0.8-0.25 is supported.

breaking Dropped Node.js 14 and 16 support ↓

fix Upgrade Node.js to 18+.

gotcha Memory leak when skipRebuild is true ↓

fix Upgrade to 1.54.5+ which contains a fix for the memory leak.

gotcha Automatic externalization of all node_modules via esbuild-node-externals ↓

fix To include specific node_modules in the bundle, add them to the 'external' option or override packager options.

Install

npm install serverless-esbuild

yarn add serverless-esbuild

pnpm add serverless-esbuild

Imports

serverless-esbuild
wrong
```
plugins:
  - serverlessEsbuild
```
correct
```
plugins:
  - serverless-esbuild
```
Plugin is loaded by name in serverless.yml. No import in JS code.

Quickstart

Minimal serverless.yml setup with a TypeScript handler bundled by serverless-esbuild.

// Install dependencies
// npm install -D serverless-esbuild esbuild esbuild-node-externals

// serverless.yml
service: my-service
provider:
  name: aws
  runtime: nodejs18.x
plugins:
  - serverless-esbuild
functions:
  hello:
    handler: src/handler.hello
    events:
      - http:
          path: hello
          method: get

// src/handler.ts
export const hello = async (event: any) => {
  return {
    statusCode: 200,
    body: JSON.stringify({ message: 'Hello from esbuild!' }),
  };
};