ikatun/nnode

Executes .js files with node + babel

nnode - a nicer node

So nice, you'd introduce it to your parents.

nnode executes .js and .ts files with node + babel.

It works just like node, only nicer.

For using the nnode cli, install the package globally:

npm install -g nnode

When using the nnode package as require('nnode'), install the package as a dependency:

npm install nnode --save

run-me.js

import path from 'path';
const x = { this: 'this', very: 'really' };
const { very } = x;
console.log(`Awww, this is ${very} nice.`);

If you try running node run-me.js, you'll see:

-- SyntaxError: Unexpected token import

That's not very nice, try something nicer, like nnode run-me.js:

-- Awww, this is really nice.

You can also require('nnode') which works just like require('babel-register') without needing to setup .babelrc and installing babel presets, plugins and other non-niceties. Useful when running stuff with pm2 or nodemon. If you're using typescript, you should require('nnode/ts') instead

The Why not babel-node section:

• babel-node requires babel presets, plugins and .babelrc file to be present in the local project
• you don't want to keep finding and installing them one by one every time you want to run something
• sometimes, a combination of plugins and presets or their versions just doesn't work
• this is why nnode depends on them by the exact patch version

Included with nnode are:

• @babel/core
• @babel/preset-env
• @babel/preset-flow
• @babel/plugin-proposal-class-properties
• @babel/plugin-proposal-decorators
• @babel/register
• @babel/preset-typescript

The Transpilation section:

When nnode is called with --transpile flag, it goes into transpilation mode.

This allows us to transpile a directory for older node (v.6.0) which is useful for npm publish.

So, this call:

nnode --transpile

will transpile every .js file within the src directory into the build directory. Build directory and all the subdirectories will be created if necessary. Generated code will be targeted for node version 6.0.