JS Build Benchmarker

A command-line tool to benchmark and compare JavaScript build tools (webpack, esbuild, vite, rollup, etc.) by measuring build time, memory usage, and output size.

This is a tool that I have used for a while to explore different build tools for old projects, personal projects and legacy projects. Please use with other benchmarking tools.

Installation

Install globally:

npm install -g @goodpie/js-build-benchmarker
# or
bun install -g @goodpie/js-build-benchmarker

Usage

Initialize a benchmark configuration

js-build-benchmarker init

This interactive wizard will help you create a benchmark.config.json file with your build tools and configuration.

Run benchmarks

js-build-benchmarker run

Additional options:

• -f, --file <path> - Specify a custom config file path
• -i, --iterations <number> - Override number of iterations
• --no-cache-clear - Disable cache clearing between runs

Configuration

The benchmark.config.json file contains your benchmark configuration:

{
  "iterations": 30,
  "clearCache": true,
  "tools": [
    {
      "name": "webpack",
      "command": "webpack --mode production",
      "outputDir": "dist/",
      "clearCacheDir": "node_modules/.cache/webpack"
    },
    {
      "name": "esbuild",
      "command": "bun esbuild --bundle --minify",
      "outputDir": "dist/",
      "clearCacheDir": ".esbuild-cache"
    }
  ]
}

Configuration Options

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | iterations | Number of benchmark runs to perform for each tool | | clearCache | Whether to clear caches between runs | | tools | Array of build tools to benchmark | | cwd | Working directory for commands (optional) | | globalEnv | Environment variables for all tools (optional) |

Tool Configuration

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | name | Tool name | | command | Build command to execute | | outputDir | Directory with build output (for size measurement) | | env | Tool-specific environment variables (optional) | | clearCacheCommand | Command to clear cache (optional) | | clearCacheDir | Directory to remove for cache clearing (optional) |

Example Output

===== BENCHMARK SUMMARY =====

WEBPACK:
Build time (s): avg=5.42, min=4.98, max=5.87
Memory usage (MB): avg=245.32, min=220.15, max=265.87
Output Size (MB): avg=1.25, min=1.25, max=1.25

ESBUILD:
Build time (s): avg=0.32, min=0.28, max=0.38
Memory usage (MB): avg=95.42, min=90.18, max=102.33
Output Size (MB): avg=1.32, min=1.32, max=1.32

===== COMPARISONS =====

esbuild vs webpack:
Speed: esbuild is 16.94x faster
Memory: esbuild uses 0.39x less memory
Size: esbuild 0.95x less

Requirements

• Node.js 20.x or later
• Bun.js (recommended for better performance)

License

MIT