How to import/export modules in Node.js

In this tutorial we’ll look at a few different ways of how to use modules in Node.js including importing and exporting function.

Let’s take a look at a common situation.

You want to separate your code into individual files to make them modular, more maintainable and reusable.

The first thing you’ll want to do is to export your functions:

library.js

const addNumbers = (a,b) => a + b;

module.exports = {
    addNumbers,
};

The above will create a new function called addNumbers and export it for use in other files.

The key thing to look at is the module.exports property which essentially is a property that contains an object where you define the functions (or values) you want to make available elsewhere.

To use the addNumbers function in another file:

app.js

const lib = require('./library.js');

console.log(lib.addNumbers(2, 8));

Notice how we import the entire library.js file and then call the addNumbers function as if it were a property of the lib variable.

We could just as easily have destructured the addNumbers function from the require statement.

const { addNumbers } = require('./library');

console.log(addNumbers(2, 8));

Using import/export

You might have noticed some code that makes use of the JavaScript keywords import and export so can we use those instead of the module.export / require format.

No is the short answer.

Currently even the latest version of Node.js (14.4.0) won’t allow you to use these keywords unless you use an .mjs suffix on both the module and import file.

However you can make use of import/export if you run your code through Babel or another transpiler.

Here’s a quick overview of how you might do that:

Install Babel into your current projec

npm install --save-dev @babel/core @babel/cli @babel/preset-env

Setup a .babelrc file

.babelrc

{
  "presets": ["@babel/preset-env"]
}

Create a script to run babel

"start": "babel src --out-dir dist"

Create your source files

library.js

const addNumbers = (a,b) => a + b;

export { addNumbers };

app.js

import { addNumbers } from './library';

console.log(addNumbers(2, 8));

Compile your source files

npm run start

Run the compiled files

node dist/app.js