NPM module of the week: ESLint-plugin-import

NPM module of the week: ESLint-plugin-import

Save yourself some time debugging whether or not you have the correct paths to modules you are importing.

I have found myself in a lot of discussion around Javascript standards and style. I have been a long time fan of the airbnb javascript style guide and while documenting the use of the style guide I noticed that Airbnb employs a number of modules that they themselves are not owners of yet they are some of my favorite features of the linting stack.

The javascript module I would like to highlight in this post is the eslint-plugin-import. This ESLint plugin tries to help you write the appropriate paths to modules you are looking to import into your working module.

Let's say you are writing a new module using Javascript modules and syntax:

import React from 'react'
import PropTypes from 'prop-types'
import MyComponent from '../../components/MyComponent'

Sometimes we just don't get the path to our components right the first time and we end up spending some of our mental energy in tracking them down. eslint-plugin-import warnings us in advance as to whether or not we have the path or name of the javascript module exactly right.

I have found this plugin particularly helpful in saving me time doing any work prior to getting my imports down correctly. In recent discussions, I have been sharing this with other engineers and they have also been finding this helpful in their own work.

Screenshots

Here are some simple examples of eslint-plugin-import in action. I am using Atom as my editor in these screens.

Validating the import of absolute modules

Importing absolute components that may not exist in your system yet.

Validating the import of relative modules

Importing relative files

Other features

There is a list of additional types of validations that eslint-plugin-import handles for us and they are worth a study. Some examples are:

  • Forbidding the use of require. Great for codebases that are interested in migrating to ES modules. Or if you have a team of engineers that are more accustomed to using Common JS.

  • Forbidding dynamic requires.

  • Forbidding webpack loader syntax.

You may take or leave any of these linting rules, but they may be good for you and your team to consider.

Additional resources

eslint-plugin-import

eslint

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