javascriptnode.jsnode-moduleses6-modules

detect whether ES Module is run from command line in Node

When using CommonJS modules in Node, you can detect whether a script is being run from the command line using require.main === module.

What is an equivalent way to detect whether a script is being run from the command line when using ES Modules in Node (with the --experimental-modules flag)?

Solution

  • `import.meta.main` has been merged into Node.js v24: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/57804

    So on Node.js v24 you can do this:

    if (import.meta.main) {
    // run directly as script
} else {
    // imported into another script
}