vite-plugin-require

Let Vite projects support require("xxx") syntax. vite-plugin-require

Install and use to achieve painless support for require("xxx").

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Community

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Supported Vite Versions

• √ vite2
• √ vite3
• √ vite4
• √ vite5
• √ vite6
• √ vite7
• √ vite8

Install

npm i vite-plugin-require | yarn add vite-plugin-require

Usage

import vue from '@vitejs/plugin-vue'
import vitePluginRequire from "vite-plugin-require";

export default {
	plugins: [
        vue(),

        // Must be placed after the vue plugin
		vitePluginRequire(),

        // vite4、vite5、vite6 (ESM)
        // vitePluginRequire.default()
	],
};

Supported Features

File Types

By default, the plugin transforms files matching /(.jsx?|.tsx?|.vue)$/.

| Extension | Supported | |-----------|-----------| | .js / .jsx | √ | | .ts / .tsx | √ | | .vue | √ (must be placed after @vitejs/plugin-vue) |

Files under node_modules are excluded automatically.

require() Argument Types

1. String Literal

Static path, converted to a top-level import.

<img src={require("./imgs/logo.png")} alt="logo" />

2. Identifier (Variable)

The variable must be initialized with a string literal in the same file. The plugin resolves the variable to a static path at compile time.

const img = "./imgs/logo.png";
<img src={require(img)} alt="logo" />

3. String Concatenation (BinaryExpression)

Supports + concatenation of string literals, variables, and nested expressions.

const prefix = "./imgs/";
const suffix = "logo";
<img src={require(prefix + suffix + ".png")} alt="logo" />

4. Conditional Expression (ConditionalExpression)

Supports ternary expressions inside require().

Both branches are static paths (default translateType: "import"):

The plugin imports both assets and replaces require() with a ternary expression.

<img src={require(isPrimary ? "./imgs/logo-blue.svg" : "./imgs/logo.svg")} alt="logo" />

Either branch is dynamic, or translateType: "importMetaUrl":

Falls back to new URL(..., import.meta.url).href.

<img src={require(isPrimary ? "./imgs/logo-blue.svg" : dynamicPath)} alt="logo" />

5. Template Literal (TemplateLiteral)

No interpolation — treated as a static path:

<img src={require(`./imgs/logo.png`)} alt="logo" />

With interpolation — converted to runtime URL resolution:

<img src={require(`./imgs/${icon}.svg`)} alt="icon" />
// → new URL(`./imgs/${icon}.svg`, import.meta.url).href

<img src={require(`./imgs/${active ? `${name}_active` : name}.svg`)} alt="icon" />
// → new URL(`./imgs/${active ? `${name}_active` : name}.svg`, import.meta.url).href

Path Resolution

• Relative paths (./, ../) are resolved relative to the current file.
• Deeply nested directories are supported.
• Vite resolve.alias is supported.

// src/views/Page1/index.jsx
<img src={require("../../../imgs/logo.png")} alt="logo" />
<img src={require("./imgs/logo.png")} alt="logo" />

// with alias: @imgs → ./src/imgs/
<img src={require("@imgs/logo.png")} alt="logo" />

Conversion Modes (translateType)

| Mode | Description | |------|-------------| | import (default) | Hoists static assets to top-level import statements | | importMetaUrl | Converts to new URL(path, import.meta.url).href. See Vite assets docs |

translateType: "import"

All resolvable static require() calls are replaced with top-level imports.

translateType: "importMetaUrl"

Uses import.meta.url instead of import. Supports on-demand loading — the original code is not removed at build time.

Only works when the asset variable exists before rendering:

let imgUrl = process.env.NODE_ENV !== "development" ? require("../imgs/logo.png") : null;

return <>
    { imgUrl ? <img src={imgUrl}/> : null }
</>

Do not put the conditional inside src, e.g. src={xx ? require("../imgs/logo.png") : null}. See issue #28.

Limitations

| Scenario | Status | |----------|--------| | Variable assigned a non-literal value | ✗ Cannot resolve | | Complex variable reassignment | ✗ Only simple const x = "path" is supported | | require() with unsupported argument types | ✗ Throws Unsupported type: xxx | | require(new URL(...)) (MemberExpression) | ✗ Not implemented yet |

Options

All options are optional.

fileRegex

Files to transform. Default: /(.jsx?|.tsx?|.vue)$/

vitePluginRequire({ fileRegex: /(.jsx?|.tsx?|.vue)$/ })

translateType

Conversion mode. Default: "import"

vitePluginRequire({ translateType: "import" })
vitePluginRequire({ translateType: "importMetaUrl" })

log

Debug logger, receives internal transform info.

vitePluginRequire({ log: (...args) => console.log(...args) })

Demo

Suppose there are app.jsx and imgs folder in the src directory:

// app.jsx
function App() {
    const img2 = "./img/1.png";
    const img3_1 = "./img/";
    const img3_2 = "./1/";
    const icon = "home";

    return (
        <div>
            {/* Static path */}
            <img src={require("./imgs/logo.png")} alt="logo1" />

            {/* Variable */}
            <img src={require(img2)} alt="logo2" />

            {/* String concatenation */}
            <img src={require(img3_1 + img3_2 + ".png")} alt="logo3" />

            {/* Conditional expression */}
            <img src={require(isBlue ? "./imgs/logo-blue.svg" : "./imgs/logo.svg")} alt="logo4" />

            {/* Template literal */}
            <img src={require(`./imgs/${icon}.svg`)} alt="logo5" />
        </div>
    );
}
export default App;

Upgrade Log

https://github.com/wangzongming/vite-plugin-require/blob/master/version-log.md

Alias

vite.config.js

resolve: {
  alias: [
    { find: "@imgs", replacement: path.resolve(__dirname, "./src/imgs/") },
  ],
},

page.jsx

<img src={require("@imgs/logo.png")} alt="" />

FAQ

1. vitePluginRequire is not a function

import vitePluginRequire from "vite-plugin-require";

export default {
	plugins: [
        vitePluginRequire.default()
	],
};

2. Unsupported type: ConditionalExpression / TemplateLiteral

Upgrade to the latest version. Both are supported since v1.3.0+.