Import '.json' extension in ES6 Node.js throws an error

Question

We're trying to use the new ways of exporting and importing modules for ES6 with Node.js. It's important for us to get the version number from the package.json file. The following code should do that:

import {name, version} from '../../package.json' 

However, on execution the following error is thrown:

TypeError [ERR_UNKNOWN_FILE_EXTENSION]: Unknown file extension ".json" for T:\ICP\package.json imported from T:\ICP\src\controllers\about.js 

Is there something we're missing?
Is the extension .json not supported?
Is there another way to retrieve this information using Node.js 13+?

Answer 1

According to the Node.js ES Modules docs --experimental-json-modules. is required for importing JSON files.

Include the --experimental-json-modules flag for the module to work.

node --experimental-json-modules about.js 

Answer 2

You can sill import require in an ES6 module for Node.js:

import { createRequire } from "module"; // Bring in the ability to create the 'require' method const require = createRequire(import.meta.url); // construct the require method const my_json_file = require("path/to/json/your-json-file.json") // use the require method