The Most Popular Build Tools for Front-end Developers in 2023
Build tools are software applications that automate the process of building, testing, and deploying front-end code, helping developers to streamline their workflows and ensure consistent, high-quality results. In this article, we will explore some of the most popular build tools for front-end developers and discuss their key features and benefits.
So, what are build tools, exactly? Well, they're a set of tools that help you automate repetitive tasks, optimize your code, and improve your workflow. There are three main categories of build tools: task runners, bundlers, and compilers.
Task runners are tools that automate repetitive tasks such as testing, linting, and minifying code. Bundlers allow developers to bundle multiple files into one file, reducing load times and improving performance. Compilers enable developers to write code in one language and compile it into another, such as using TypeScript to write JavaScript code.
Using build tools has several benefits to improve the development workflow, including reducing development time, improving code quality, and streamlining the deployment process.
By automating repetitive tasks, optimizing code, and providing real-time feedback on errors and code quality, build tools help improve the overall developer experience and make development less stressful.
Let's look at the currently most popular build tools that front-end developers are using:
| Rank | Tool | Description | Stars |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vite | Next generation frontend tooling. It's fast! |  |
| 2 | Turbo | Incremental bundler and build system optimized for JavaScript and TypeScript, written in Rust – including Turbopack and Turborepo. |  |
| 3 | swc | SWC is a super-fast TypeScript / JavaScript compiler written in Rust. |  |
| 4 | Nx | Nx is a next generation build system with first class monorepo support and powerful integrations. |  |
| 5 | Rome | Rome is a formatter, linter, bundler, and more for JavaScript, TypeScript, JSON, HTML, Markdown, and CSS. |  |
| 6 | esbuild | An extremely fast bundler for the web |  |
| 7 | Lerna | Lerna is a fast, modern build system for managing and publishing multiple JavaScript/TypeScript packages from the same repository. |  |
| 8 | Webpack | Webpack is a module bundler. Its main purpose is to bundle JavaScript files for usage in a browser, yet it is also capable of transforming, bundling, or packaging just about any resource or asset. |  |
| 9 | Parcel | The zero configuration build tool for the web. |  |
| 10 | Rollup | Next-generation ES module bundler |  |