An Introduction to the Rollup.js JavaScript Bundler

Snowpack, Webpack and Parcel bundle your JavaScript. Rollup.js is faster and more configurable. Rollup.js primarily concentrates on JavaScript (although there are plugins for HTML templates and CSS). This tutorial explains how to use typical configurations within your own projects.

Snowpack, Webpack and Parcel bundle your JavaScript but are hard to custom configure. Rollup.js is faster and more configurable. Learn how to set it up!

Rollup.js is a next-generation JavaScript module bundler from Rich Harris, the author of Svelte. It compiles multiple source files into a single bundle.

The benefits include:

• development is easier to manage when using smaller, self-contained source files
• the source can be linted, prettified, and syntax-checked during bundling
• tree-shaking removes unused functions
• transpiling to ES5 for backward compatibility is possible
• multiple output files can be generated — for example, your library could be provided in ES5, ES6 modules, and Node.js-compatible CommonJS
• production bundles can be minified and have logging removed

Other bundler options, such as webpack, Snowpack, and Parcel, attempt to magically handle everything: HTML templating, image optimization, CSS processing, JavaScript bundling, and more. This works well when you’re happy with the default settings, but custom configurations can be difficult and processing is slower.

Rollup.js primarily concentrates on JavaScript (although there are plugins for HTML templates and CSS). It has a daunting number of options, but it’s easy to get started and bundling is fast. This tutorial explains how to use typical configurations within your own projects.

javascript rollup snowpack webpack parcel

Bundlers serve as a cornerstone technology for all modern web apps. We've benchmarked Rollup, Parcel.js, and webpack across multiple criteria.

What is a Module Bundler? And why do I need one? Learn how tools like Webpack, Rollup, Parcel, and Snowpack can package your code as a production-ready web application.

Here's a brief comparison between webpack and Snowpack and a step-by-step guide to getting started with Snowpack. Snowpack is a new-generation, front-end build tool for JavaScript applications. Snowpack uses JavaScript’s ES module system (ESM) to write your file changes directly and instantly to the browser with no wait time.

Fast and straightforward bundle-free build tool for modern web apps

Why you should embrace the power of ES modules by simplifying and speeding up your development process