babel-plugin-define-variables

A Babel plugin that works like webpack.DefinePlugin for defining global variables and constants at compile time.

🌍 Language

• English (Current)
• 中文

📖 Introduction

babel-plugin-define-variables is a powerful Babel plugin that allows you to define global variables and constants at compile time, similar to webpack's DefinePlugin. This plugin is particularly useful for:

• Injecting environment variables at build time
• Defining build-time constant values
• Getting file information (filename, path, hash, etc.)
• Getting package information and version numbers
• Injecting timestamps and build times

🚀 Installation

npm install --save-dev babel-plugin-define-variables
# or
yarn add -D babel-plugin-define-variables

⚙️ Configuration

Basic Configuration

Minimal Configuration (All Built-ins Enabled)

// babel.config.js
module.exports = {
  presets: [
    '@babel/preset-env'
  ],
  plugins: [
    [
      'babel-plugin-define-variables',
      {
        defines: {
          'process.env.BUILD_ENV': process.env.BUILD_ENV,
          'process.env.NODE_ENV': process.env.NODE_ENV,
          'VERSION': '1.0.0',
          'IS_PRODUCTION': process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production'
        }
        // builtIns not specified - all variables enabled by default
      }
    ]
  ]
};

Explicit Configuration (Same as Minimal)

// babel.config.js
module.exports = {
  presets: [
    '@babel/preset-env'
  ],
  plugins: [
    [
      'babel-plugin-define-variables',
      {
        defines: {
          'process.env.BUILD_ENV': process.env.BUILD_ENV,
          'process.env.NODE_ENV': process.env.NODE_ENV,
          'VERSION': '1.0.0',
          'IS_PRODUCTION': process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production'
        },
        builtIns: {
          filename: true,      // Enable __filename__ (default)
          filehash: true,      // Enable __filehash__ (default)
          dirname: true,       // Enable __dirname__ (default)
          now: true,           // Enable __now__ (default)
          timestamp: true,     // Enable __timestamp__ (default)
          packagename: true,   // Enable __packagename__ (default)
          packageversion: true // Enable __packageversion__ (default)
        }
      }
    ]
  ]
};

Configuration Options

defines Object

Used to define custom global variables, supports the following value types:

• String
• Number
• Boolean
• Object (will be serialized to JSON string)

builtIns Object

Controls the enable/disable state of built-in variables. All built-in variables are enabled by default. If you want to disable any of them, you need to explicitly set them to false.

Important Notes:

• You don't need to specify builtIns if you want all variables enabled (default behavior)
• Only specify the variables you want to disable by setting them to false
• Unspecified variables will remain enabled

Option	Default	Description
filename	true	Whether to enable __filename__ variable
filehash	true	Whether to enable __filehash__ variable
dirname	true	Whether to enable __dirname__ variable
now	true	Whether to enable __now__ variable
timestamp	true	Whether to enable __timestamp__ variable
packagename	true	Whether to enable __packagename__ variable
packageversion	true	Whether to enable __packageversion__ variable

Example of disabling specific built-ins:

{
  builtIns: {
    filename: false,    // Disable __filename__
    filehash: false,   // Disable __filehash__
    now: false         // Disable __now__
    // Other variables remain enabled by default
  }
}

🔧 Built-in Variables

File Information Variables

__filename__

The file path of the current code file relative to the project root directory (where package.json is located).

Example:

console.log(__filename__); // Output: "/src/components/Button.js"

__dirname__

The directory path of the current code file relative to the project root directory.

Example:

console.log(__dirname__); // Output: "/src/components"

__filehash__

The hash value of the current code file, generated based on the filename.

Example:

console.log(__filehash__); // Output: "d7bfcc4a"

Time-related Variables

__now__

The time at build moment, formatted as 'yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss'.

Example:

console.log(__now__); // Output: "2024-01-15 14:30:25"

__timestamp__

The timestamp at build moment (milliseconds).

Example:

console.log(__timestamp__); // Output: 1705312225000

Package Information Variables

__packagename__

The package name of the current project.

Example:

console.log(__packagename__); // Output: "babel-plugin-define-variables"

__packageversion__

The package version of the current project, or the version of a specified package.

Usage:

// Get current project version
console.log(__packageversion__); // Output: "0.0.4"

// Get version of specified package
console.log(__packageversion__('react')); // Output: "18.2.0"
console.log(__packageversion__('@babel/core')); // Output: "7.5.4"

💡 Use Cases

1. Environment Variable Injection

// Configuration
{
  defines: {
    'process.env.API_URL': process.env.API_URL || 'http://localhost:3000',
    'process.env.DEBUG': process.env.DEBUG || false
  }
}

// Usage
if (process.env.DEBUG) {
  console.log('API URL:', process.env.API_URL);
}

2. Build Information Injection

// Configuration
{
  defines: {
    'BUILD_TIME': new Date().toISOString(),
    'GIT_COMMIT': process.env.GIT_COMMIT || 'unknown'
  }
}

// Usage
console.log('Build time:', BUILD_TIME);
console.log('Git commit:', GIT_COMMIT);

3. File Path Processing

// Using built-in variables
const configPath = __dirname__ + '/config.json';
const fileHash = __filehash__;

4. Version Information Management

// Check version
if (__packageversion__('react').startsWith('18.')) {
  console.log('Using React 18');
}

// Display build information
console.log(`Building ${__packagename__} v${__packageversion__} at ${__now__}`);

📝 Complete Example

Source Code (src/index.js)

function test() {
  console.log('__filename__', __filename__);
  console.log('__filehash__', __filehash__);
  console.log('__dirname__', __dirname__);
  console.log('__now__', __now__);
  console.log('__timestamp__', __timestamp__);
  console.log('__packagename__', __packagename__);
  console.log('__packageversion__', __packageversion__);
  console.log('__packageversion__', __packageversion__(''));
  console.log('__packageversion__', __packageversion__('@babel/cli'));
  console.log('process.env.BUILD_ENV', process.env.BUILD_ENV);
  __packageversion__.split('.');
}

export default test;

Compiled Output

function test() {
  console.log('__filename__', "/demo/src/test1.js");
  console.log('__filehash__', "d7bfcc4a");
  console.log('__dirname__', "/demo/src");
  console.log('__now__', "2020-12-03 18:43:46");
  console.log('__timestamp__', 1606992227198);
  console.log('__packagename__', "babel-plugin-define-variables");
  console.log('__packageversion__', "0.0.2");
  console.log('__packageversion__', "");
  console.log('__packageversion__', "7.6.4");
  console.log('process.env.BUILD_ENV', "test");
  "0.0.2".split('.');
}

🔍 Notes

1. Performance: Built-in variables are calculated at compile time and won't affect runtime performance
2. File Paths: File path variables are calculated based on the project root directory (where package.json is located)
3. Version Retrieval: __packageversion__('packageName') will try to resolve the version of the specified package, returning an empty string if the package doesn't exist
4. Time Variables: __now__ and __timestamp__ are generated at each build, not calculated at runtime

🤝 Contributing

Issues and Pull Requests are welcome!

📄 License

MIT License

🔗 Related Links

• Babel
• webpack DefinePlugin
• hash-sum