Today we are releasing Babel 8. It's been 8 years since we released Babel 7. And that's not without reason.

Babel's platform is a resource for JavaScript developers, offering insights into JavaScript transpilation, ECMAScript standards, and modern JavaScript features. Through articles, documentation, and plugins, Babel offers insights into transforming JavaScript code to ensure compatibility with older browsers and environments. Developers can learn about using Babel presets, plugins, and configuration options to write modern JavaScript code and support a wide range of platforms.

Babel

Babel 8 is officially released after 8 years since Babel 7. The major changes include: Babel is now ESM-only and requires Node.js 24+; @babel/preset-env no longer compiles to ES5 by default, instead targeting Browserslist's defaults (roughly ES2023); TypeScript types are now bundled in all Babel packages eliminating the need for @types/babel__* packages; the loose and spec options are removed/deprecated in favor of assumptions; and polyfill injection via corejs/useBuiltIns options is extracted to separate packages. The release focuses on modernization rather than new features, with a migration guide provided. The Babel team also notes declining donations despite growing download counts (651M weekly) and calls for community support.

Releasing Babel 8 today: ESM-only, drop ES5 default, and a smooth migration path · Babel

<p>Finally, ditching es5 default and moving to esm ❤️</p>
