webpack-exclude-assets-plugin

0.1.1 verified Sat Apr 25 auth: no javascript maintenance

Webpack 4 plugin to exclude assets from the output bundle based on a path RegExp pattern. Version 0.1.1 is the latest stable release with no further updates since 2018. It is designed to remove unwanted JS files generated alongside extracted CSS/Stylus files when using extract plugins like mini-css-extract-plugin. Lightweight alternative to manual asset filtering in webpack configuration, but only compatible with webpack 4 and does not support webpack 5. Ideal for projects that use style entry points and want to eliminate empty JS output files. Last published 6 years ago; no active maintenance.

Common errors

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

cause The plugin expects the compilation.assets object to have named keys, but it may be empty or undefined if used asynchronously.

fix

Ensure that the plugin is added to the plugins array and that compilation is not deferred. Use synchronous loaders.

error Error: ExcludeAssetsPlugin: path must be a string or an array of strings ↓

cause Passed a RegExp object instead of a string pattern.

fix

Convert the RegExp to a string: path: ['^js\\/css\\.*\\.js$']

error TypeError: excludeAssetsPlugin is not a constructor ↓

cause Using named import incorrectly (e.g., const { ExcludeAssetsPlugin } = require(...)).

fix

Use default require: const ExcludeAssetsPlugin = require('webpack-exclude-assets-plugin').default;

Warnings

breaking Plugin does not work with webpack 5. It relies on internal webpack 4 hooks (compilation.hooks.optimizeAssets) that are removed in webpack 5. ↓

fix Use webpack 4 or find an alternative such as 'webpack-files-archive-plugin' or custom plugin for webpack 5.

gotcha The `path` option expects regex strings, not actual RegExp objects. The plugin throws if you pass a RegExp literal. ↓

fix Pass a string or array of strings representing the regex pattern. Example: path: ['^js\\/css\\.*\\.js$']

gotcha The plugin does not handle file extensions with dashes or dots correctly in some regex patterns due to missing escaping. ↓

fix Manually escape special regex characters in the path patterns (e.g., use '\\.' instead of '.').

deprecated Package has not been updated since 2018 and is considered deprecated for new projects. ↓

fix Migrate to webpack 5 native asset filtering using 'webpack.IgnorePlugin' or 'output.clean' option.

Install

npm install webpack-exclude-assets-plugin

yarn add webpack-exclude-assets-plugin

pnpm add webpack-exclude-assets-plugin

Imports

ExcludeAssetsPlugin

wrong

import ExcludeAssetsPlugin from 'webpack-exclude-assets-plugin';

correct

const ExcludeAssetsPlugin = require('webpack-exclude-assets-plugin');

CommonJS is the only supported module system; ESM import may fail depending on bundler config.

ExcludeAssetsPlugin

wrong

const { ExcludeAssetsPlugin } = require('webpack-exclude-assets-plugin');

correct

import ExcludeAssetsPlugin = require('webpack-exclude-assets-plugin');

The default export is the constructor; named destructuring will not work.

ExcludeAssetsPlugin
wrong
```
const ExcludeAssetsPlugin = require('webpack-exclude-assets-plugin');
```
correct
```
const ExcludeAssetsPlugin = require('webpack-exclude-assets-plugin').default;
```
The package has both a CommonJS default and a named export 'default'; require returns an object with 'default' as the plugin constructor in some environments. Use .default to be safe.

Quickstart

Configures webpack 4 to exclude empty JS files generated from CSS entries using regex pattern.

const path = require('path');
const MiniCssExtractPlugin = require('mini-css-extract-plugin');
const ExcludeAssetsPlugin = require('webpack-exclude-assets-plugin').default;

module.exports = {
  entry: {
    app: path.resolve(__dirname, 'js/app.js'),
    'css/app': path.resolve(__dirname, 'css/app.css')
  },
  output: {
    path: path.join(__dirname, 'dist'),
    filename: 'js/[name].js'
  },
  plugins: [
    new MiniCssExtractPlugin({ filename: '[name].css' }),
    new ExcludeAssetsPlugin({
      path: ['^js\\/css\\.*\\.js$']
    })
  ],
  module: {
    rules: [
      {
        test: /\.css$/,
        exclude: /node_modules/,
        use: [MiniCssExtractPlugin.loader, 'css-loader']
      }
    ]
  },
  resolve: { extensions: ['.css'] }
};