How to run Node.js app with ES6 features enabled?

Question

I use the require hook of BabelJS (formerly named 6to5) to run node apps with es6features:

// run.js require("babel/register"); require("./app.js6"); 

I call node run.js to run my app.js6. I need to install BabelJS and provide a run.js for each project I'd like to use es6features. I would prefer a call like nodejs6 app.js6. How can I achieve this system independently (Unix and Windows)?

Answer 1

Add the babel-cli and babel-preset-es2015 (aka ES6) dependencies to your app's package.json file and define a start script:

{   "dependencies": {     "babel-cli": "^6.0.0",     "babel-preset-es2015": "^6.0.0"   },   "scripts": {     "start": "babel-node --presets es2015 app.js"   } } 

Then you can simply execute the following command to run your app:

npm start 

If you ever decide to stop using Babel (e.g. once Node.js supports all ES6 features), you can just remove it from package.json:

{   "dependencies": {},   "scripts": {     "start": "node app.js"   } } 

One benefit of this is that the command to run your app remains the same, which helps if you are working with other developers.

Answer 2

How configure node.js app with es6 support and server reload on file change.

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I.Configuration steps ( creating project from the scratch ):

1.Go in terminal to Your project main directory

npm init //create package.json for project

2.Install dependencies

npm install --save-dev babel npm install --save-dev babel-cli npm install --save-dev babel-preset-es2015 npm install --save-dev babel-preset-stage-0 //*1 npm install --save-dev nodemon 

1 - it can be also stage-1 or 2, it depends what features of es We want to use

3.We should have in package.json file something like that ( for sure package version will be different but it is ok ):

"devDependencies": {   "babel": "^6.5.2",   "babel-cli": "^6.16.0",   "babel-preset-es2015": "^6.16.0",   "babel-preset-stage-0": "^6.16.0",   "nodemon": "^1.11.0" } 

4.Create .babelrc file in root project directory ( there is package.json file )

{  "presets": ["es2015", "stage-0"] } 

5.Create two directories:

src - here is working directory with files writen in es6

dist - here files will compile to es5 using babel

Your project root directory should look like this:

• project
  • src
    • index.js //main project file
  • dist
  • package.json
  • .babelrc

7.Add to package.json needed commands:

"scripts": {   "watch": "babel -w src/ -d dist/",   "build": "babel src/ -d dist/",   "serve": "babel -w src/ -d dist/ | nodemon --watch dist",   "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1" } 

8.Available commands:

npm run watch //starts watch watch changes in src directory and compiles in to dist

npm run build //compiles files from src directory to dist

npm run serve //it is doing watch + start node server, on every file change it will restart node server using nodemon which is watching dist directory changes

9.Final notes

• Server will run dist/index.js file as main file.
• File dist/index.js will be compiled from src/index.js so there should be main file of project.
• dist directory should be added to ignore by git ( but not ignore it for npm if it will be a node package )

10.Run server and start creating app in src directory.

npm run serve 

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II. Easier way ( ready to use boilerplate )

If it is too many points for You then full woking boilerplate is available on github - https://github.com/maciejsikora/node-express-babel-boilerplate.