tsdown - The Elegant Library Bundler
Blazing-fast bundler for TypeScript/JavaScript libraries powered by Rolldown and Oxc.
Runtime Requirement
tsdown requires Node.js 22.18.0 or higher to run (build-time only). However, the bundled output can target much lower Node.js versions via the target [blocked] option, so libraries built with tsdown are not locked to Node.js 22+ at runtime .
If your package needs to support Node.js 18 / 20:
Build with Node.js 22+ in CI (e.g. set target: 'node18' or target: 'node20').
Test the built output (or the packed tarball) on the lower Node.js versions you intend to support — e.g. using a matrix job that runs the published package's tests on Node.js 18 / 20 / 22.
When to Use
Building TypeScript/JavaScript libraries for npm
Generating TypeScript declaration files (.d.ts)
Bundling for multiple formats (ESM, CJS, IIFE, UMD)
Optimizing bundles with tree shaking and minification
Migrating from tsup with minimal changes
Building React, Vue, Solid, or Svelte component libraries
Quick Start
bash # Install
pnpm add -D tsdown
# Basic usage
npx tsdown
# With config file
npx tsdown --config tsdown.config.ts
# Watch mode
npx tsdown --watch
# Migrate from tsup
npx tsdown-migrate
Basic Configuration
typescript import { defineConfig } from 'tsdown'
export default defineConfig ({
entry : [ './src/index.ts' ] ,
format : [ 'esm' , 'cjs' ] ,
dts : true ,
clean : true ,
})
Core References
Topic Description Reference Getting Started Installation, first bundle, CLI basics guide-getting-started [blocked] Configuration File Config file formats, multiple configs, workspace option-config-file [blocked] CLI Reference All CLI commands and options reference-cli [blocked] Migrate from tsup Migration guide and compatibility notes guide-migrate-from-tsup [blocked] Plugins Rolldown, Rollup, Unplugin support advanced-plugins [blocked]
For comprehensive migration assistance with complete option mappings, install the dedicated
tsdown-migrate skill:
npx skills add rolldown/tsdown --skill tsdown-migrate
| Hooks | Lifecycle hooks for custom logic |
advanced-hooks [blocked] |
| Programmatic API | Build from Node.js scripts |
advanced-programmatic [blocked] |
| Rolldown Options | Pass options directly to Rolldown |
advanced-rolldown-options [blocked] |
| CI Environment | CI detection,
'ci-only' /
'local-only' values |
advanced-ci [blocked] |
Build Options
Option Usage Reference Entry points entry: ['src/*.ts', '!**/*.test.ts']option-entry [blocked] Output formats format: ['esm', 'cjs', 'iife', 'umd']option-output-format [blocked] Output directory outDir: 'dist', outExtensionsoption-output-directory [blocked] Type declarations dts: true, dts: { sourcemap, compilerOptions, vue }option-dts [blocked] Target environment target: 'es2020', target: 'esnext'option-target [blocked] Platform platform: 'node', platform: 'browser'option-platform [blocked] Tree shaking treeshake: true, custom optionsoption-tree-shaking [blocked] Minification minify: true, minify: 'dce-only'option-minification [blocked] Source maps sourcemap: true, 'inline', 'hidden'option-sourcemap [blocked] Watch mode watch: true, watch optionsoption-watch-mode [blocked] Cleaning clean: true, clean patternsoption-cleaning [blocked] Log level logLevel: 'silent', failOnWarn: falseoption-log-level [blocked]
Dependency Handling
Feature Usage Reference Never bundle deps: { neverBundle: ['react', /^@myorg\//] }option-dependencies [blocked] Always bundle deps: { alwaysBundle: ['dep-to-bundle'] }option-dependencies [blocked] Only bundle deps: { onlyBundle: ['cac', 'bumpp'] } - Whitelistoption-dependencies [blocked] Skip node_modules deps: { skipNodeModulesBundle: true }option-dependencies [blocked] Auto external Automatic dependency/peer/optional externalization option-dependencies [blocked]
Output Enhancement
Feature Usage Reference Shims shims: true - Add ESM/CJS compatibilityoption-shims [blocked] CJS default cjsDefault: true (default) / falseoption-cjs-default [blocked] Package exports exports: true - Generate exports fieldoption-package-exports [blocked] CSS handling [experimental] css: { ... } — full pipeline with preprocessors, Lightning CSS, PostCSS, CSS modules, code splitting; requires @tsdown/cssoption-css [blocked] CSS modules css: { modules: { localsConvention: 'camelCase' } } — scoped class names for .module.css filesoption-css [blocked] CSS inject css: { inject: true } — preserve CSS imports in JS outputoption-css [blocked] Unbundle mode unbundle: true - Preserve directory structureoption-unbundle [blocked] Root directory root: 'src' - Control output directory mappingoption-root [blocked] Executable [experimental] exe: true - Bundle as standalone executable, cross-platform via @tsdown/exeoption-exe [blocked] Package validation publint: true, attw: true - Validate packageoption-lint [blocked]
Framework & Runtime Support
Framework Guide Reference React JSX transform, React Compiler recipe-react [blocked] Vue SFC support, JSX recipe-vue [blocked] Solid SolidJS JSX transform recipe-solid [blocked] Svelte Svelte component libraries (source distribution recommended) recipe-svelte [blocked] WASM WebAssembly modules via rolldown-plugin-wasm recipe-wasm [blocked]
Common Patterns
Basic Library Bundle
typescript export default defineConfig ({
entry : [ 'src/index.ts' ] ,
format : [ 'esm' , 'cjs' ] ,
dts : true ,
clean : true ,
})
Multiple Entry Points
typescript export default defineConfig ({
entry : {
index : 'src/index.ts' ,
utils : 'src/utils.ts' ,
cli : 'src/cli.ts' ,
} ,
format : [ 'esm' , 'cjs' ] ,
dts : true ,
})
Browser Library (IIFE/UMD)
typescript export default defineConfig ({
entry : [ 'src/index.ts' ] ,
format : [ 'iife' ] ,
globalName : 'MyLib' ,
platform : 'browser' ,
minify : true ,
})
React Component Library
typescript export default defineConfig ({
entry : [ 'src/index.tsx' ] ,
format : [ 'esm' , 'cjs' ] ,
dts : true ,
deps : {
neverBundle : [ 'react' , 'react-dom' ] ,
} ,
inputOptions : {
jsx : { runtime : 'automatic' } ,
} ,
})
Preserve Directory Structure
typescript export default defineConfig ({
entry : [ 'src/**/*.ts' , '!**/*.test.ts' ] ,
unbundle : true , // Preserve file structure
format : [ 'esm' ] ,
dts : true ,
})
CI-Aware Configuration
typescript export default defineConfig ({
entry : [ 'src/index.ts' ] ,
format : [ 'esm' , 'cjs' ] ,
dts : true ,
failOnWarn : 'ci-only' , // opt-in: fail on warnings in CI
publint : 'ci-only' ,
attw : 'ci-only' ,
})
WASM Support
typescript import { wasm } from 'rolldown-plugin-wasm'
import { defineConfig } from 'tsdown'
export default defineConfig ({
entry : [ 'src/index.ts' ] ,
plugins : [ wasm ()] ,
})
Library with CSS and Sass
typescript export default defineConfig ({
entry : [ 'src/index.ts' ] ,
format : [ 'esm' , 'cjs' ] ,
dts : true ,
target : 'chrome100' ,
css : {
preprocessorOptions : {
scss : {
additionalData : `@use "src/styles/variables" as *;` ,
} ,
} ,
} ,
})
Standalone Executable
typescript export default defineConfig ({
entry : [ 'src/cli.ts' ] ,
exe : true ,
})
Cross-Platform Executable (requires @tsdown/exe)
typescript export default defineConfig ({
entry : [ 'src/cli.ts' ] ,
exe : {
targets : [
{ platform : 'linux' , arch : 'x64' , nodeVersion : '25.7.0' } ,
{ platform : 'darwin' , arch : 'arm64' , nodeVersion : '25.7.0' } ,
{ platform : 'win' , arch : 'x64' , nodeVersion : '25.7.0' } ,
] ,
} ,
})
Advanced with Hooks
typescript export default defineConfig ({
entry : [ 'src/index.ts' ] ,
format : [ 'esm' , 'cjs' ] ,
dts : true ,
hooks : {
'build:before' : async (context) => {
console .log ( 'Building...' )
} ,
'build:done' : async (context) => {
console .log ( 'Build complete!' )
} ,
} ,
})
Configuration Features
Multiple Configs
Export an array for multiple build configurations:
typescript export default defineConfig ([
{
entry : [ 'src/index.ts' ] ,
format : [ 'esm' , 'cjs' ] ,
dts : true ,
} ,
{
entry : [ 'src/cli.ts' ] ,
format : [ 'esm' ] ,
platform : 'node' ,
} ,
])
Conditional Config
Use functions for dynamic configuration:
typescript export default defineConfig ((options) => {
const isDev = options .watch
return {
entry : [ 'src/index.ts' ] ,
format : [ 'esm' , 'cjs' ] ,
minify : ! isDev ,
sourcemap : isDev ,
}
})
Workspace/Monorepo
Use glob patterns to build multiple packages:
typescript export default defineConfig ({
workspace : 'packages/*' ,
entry : [ 'src/index.ts' ] ,
format : [ 'esm' , 'cjs' ] ,
dts : true ,
})
CLI Quick Reference
bash # Basic commands
tsdown # Build once
tsdown --watch # Watch mode
tsdown --config custom.ts # Custom config
npx tsdown-migrate # Migrate from tsup
# Output options
tsdown --format esm,cjs # Multiple formats
tsdown -d lib # Custom output directory (--out-dir)
tsdown --minify # Enable minification
tsdown --dts # Generate declarations
tsdown --exe # Bundle as standalone executable
tsdown --unbundle # Bundleless mode
# Entry options
tsdown src/index.ts # Single entry
tsdown src/*.ts # Glob patterns
tsdown src/a.ts src/b.ts # Multiple entries
# Workspace / Monorepo
tsdown -W # Enable workspace mode
tsdown -W -F my-package # Filter specific package
tsdown --filter /^pkg-/ # Filter by regex
# Development
tsdown --watch # Watch mode
tsdown --sourcemap # Generate source maps
tsdown --clean # Clean output directory
tsdown --from-vite # Reuse Vite config
tsdown --tsconfig tsconfig.build.json # Custom tsconfig
Best Practices
Always generate type declarations for TypeScript libraries:
typescript { dts : true }
Externalize dependencies to avoid bundling unnecessary code:
typescript { deps : { neverBundle : [ / ^ react/ , / ^ @myorg\// ] } }
Use tree shaking for optimal bundle size:
typescript { treeshake : true }
Enable minification for production builds:
typescript { minify : true }
Add shims for better ESM/CJS compatibility:
typescript { shims : true } // Adds __dirname, __filename, etc.
Auto-generate package.json exports :
typescript { exports : true } // Creates proper exports field
Use watch mode during development:
bash tsdown --watch
Preserve structure for utilities with many files:
typescript { unbundle : true } // Keep directory structure
Validate packages in CI before publishing:
typescript { publint : 'ci-only' , attw : 'ci-only' }
Resources