dist-package — clean up package.json for publishing

A Rolldown / Rollup / Vite / tsup / tsdown plugin that automatically writes a cleaned package.json into your build output directory.

When you publish from a dist/ folder, your package.json contains paths like ./dist/index.js and fields like scripts or devDependencies that don't belong in the published package. This plugin fixes that at build time — no manual maintenance required.

What it does

• Strips outDir prefixes — ./dist/index.js → ./index.js
• Removes fields you don't want consumers to see (e.g. scripts, devDependencies)
• Handles bin — ./dist/cli.js → cli.js (Node.js expects bare paths for executables)
• Copies extra files (README, LICENSE, CHANGELOG, …) into the output directory
• Sets / overrides fields — e.g. force sideEffects: false or type: 'module'
• Rewrites dependency versions — strip workspace: protocol, pin versions, etc.
• Custom transform function — full control over the final package object
• Validates the output — warns when required fields are missing
• Works with Rolldown, Rollup, Vite, Tsdown, Tsup, …

Example

Let's say your package.json looks something like this — full of dist/ paths, scripts, and devDependencies that have no place in a published package. The plugin rewrites it and drops a clean copy into your output directory, ready to publish as-is. Everything is fully configurable:

  {
    "name": "my-lib",
    "version": "1.0.0",
-   "main": "./dist/index.js",
-   "types": "./dist/index.d.ts",
+   "main": "./index.js",
+   "types": "./index.d.ts",
    "exports": {
      ".": {
-       "import": "./dist/index.js",
-       "types": "./dist/index.d.ts"
+       "import": "./index.js",
+       "types": "./index.d.ts"
      }
    },
    "bin": {
-     "my-cli": "./dist/cli.js"
+     "my-cli": "cli.js"
    },
-   "scripts": { "build": "rolldown" },
-   "devDependencies": { "rolldown": "^1.0.0" }
+   "funding": "https://github.com/sponsors/you"
  }

Installation

npm install -D rolldown-plugin-dist-package
# yarn add -D rolldown-plugin-dist-package
# pnpm add -D rolldown-plugin-dist-package

Usage

🐶 Fun fact: This plugin builds and packages itself — it's eating its own dog food! Check out tsdown.config.ts for a real-world example.

// rolldown.config.ts, rollup.config.ts, tsdown.config.ts, ...
import { defineConfig } from 'rolldown';
import { distPackage } from 'rolldown-plugin-dist-package';

export default defineConfig({
  input: 'src/index.ts',
  output: { dir: 'dist' },
  plugins: [
    distPackage({
      // outDir: 'dist',         // auto-detected from bundler output options
      removeFields: ['scripts', 'devDependencies', 'lint-staged'],
      // bareFields: ['bin'],    // strip outDir prefix without adding './'
      // copyFiles: ['README.md', 'LICENSE', 'CHANGELOG.md'],
      // set: { sideEffects: false, type: 'module' },
      // rewriteDependencies: (_, v) => v.startsWith('workspace:') ? v.slice(10) || '*' : undefined,
      // transform: (pkg) => ({ ...pkg, funding: 'https://github.com/sponsors/you' }),
      // validate: true,         // warn if name or version is missing
    }),
  ],
});

Options

| Option | Type | Default | Description | | --------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | outDir | string | auto-detected | Output directory. If omitted, read from the bundler's own output options. | | removeFields | string[] | [] | Top-level fields to delete from the output. | | bareFields | string[] | ['bin'] | Fields whose path values are stripped of the outDir prefix but do not get the ./ prepended. | | copyFiles | string \| string[] | — | Files to copy from the project root into the output directory. | | set | Record<string, unknown> | — | Fields to add or override in the output package.json. | | rewriteDependencies | Record<string, string> \| Function | — | Rewrite versions in all dependency fields. See below. | | transform | (pkg) => pkg \| Promise<pkg> | — | Custom transform applied last, after all other options. | | validate | boolean \| string[] | false | Warn about missing fields. true checks name and version. |

rewriteDependencies

Object form — replace specific versions:

distPackage({
  rewriteDependencies: { 'my-local-pkg': '^1.2.0' },
});

Function form — strip Yarn workspace: protocol:

distPackage({
  rewriteDependencies: (_, version) =>
    version.startsWith('workspace:')
      ? version.slice('workspace:'.length) || '*'
      : undefined,
});

transform

Runs last, after all other options. Full control over the final package object:

distPackage({
  transform: (pkg) => ({
    ...pkg,
    // add fields, remove conditionally, etc.
    funding: 'https://github.com/sponsors/yourname',
  }),
});

⭐️ Support

If you find this project useful and you are brave enough consider making a donation for some 🍺 or 🍵 ;)

• Giving it a ⭐️ on GitHub
• Sharing it with others who might benefit
• Sponsoring the project to support ongoing development

Your support helps maintain and improve this library! 🙏

🔒 Privacy & Security

This library does not collect, store, or transmit any user data.

I physically can't. I have nowhere to store it. I don't even have a server database to store it. So even if Justin Bieber asked nicely to see your data, I wouldn't have anything to show him.

📝 License

MIT © 2026 Lukas Bartak

See LICENSE for full details.

Built with ❤️ by Lukas Bartak

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