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esm modules documentation doesn't describe how to implement a module #28060
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/to @nodejs/modules-active-members
Reacted by Sondra CardenasI'm new to contributing to Node.js but I can try to take point on this.
Reacted by Sam RobertsThe section https://nodejs.org/api/esm.html#esm_writing_dual_packages_while_avoiding_or_minimizing_hazards includes some example ES modules with exports.
Admittedly that’s not the
exportequivalent of https://nodejs.org/api/esm.html#esm_code_import_code_specifiers, but as the OP notes, it’s not Node’s job to document the JavaScript language itself. There’s nothing aboutexportthat Node does differently than the spec, or that’s special in Node as compared to any other runtimes. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/web/javascript/reference/statements/export should be sufficient I would think.- added a commit that references this issue
on Apr 30, 2020 - added a commit that references this issue
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on Jul 27, 2026
I read https://nodejs.org/api/esm.html and found that while it had good/exhaustive coverage of
import, it doesn't describe how toexporta module. Unless I very much missed it, there is not even a single example of a ESM module.I know,
importandexportare part of the language base, and node's documentation doesn't cover the Javascript language. In this case, I think its necessary to at least have a single example, such as:Not having this makes the import docs hard to understand, they talk a lot about "exports" and "default exports", but without defining them.
Also, having read through ~600 lines of documentation on ECMAscript modules and still having to scrape the internet to figure out how to write one is not a great documentation experience :-).