docs.sheetjs.com/docz/docs/04-getting-started/03-demos/09-bundler.md

sidebar_position	title
9	Bundlers

import current from '/version.js'; import Tabs from '@theme/Tabs'; import TabItem from '@theme/TabItem';

SheetJS predates ECMAScript modules and bundler tools like Webpack. As best practices have evolved, stress testing SheetJS libraries have revealed bugs in the respective bundlers. This demo collects various notes and provides basic examples.

:::note

Issues should be reported to the respective bundler projects. Typically it is considered a bundler bug if the tool cannot properly handle JS libraries.

:::

Browserify

browserify is compatible with the library and should "just work" with the require form in a main page or in a web worker:

var XLSX = require("xlsx");
// ... use XLSX ...

After installing the module, bundling is easy:

browserify app.js > browserify.js
uglifyjs browserify.js > browserify.min.js

Web Worker scripts can be bundled using the same approach.

Complete Example (click to show)

1. Install the tarball using a package manager:

{`\
$ npm i --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

{`\
$ pnpm install https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

{`\
$ yarn add https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

2. Download the following files:

• app.js
• index.html
• xlsxworker.js

3. Bundle the scripts:

npx browserify app.js > browserify.js
npx browserify xlsxworker.js > worker.js

4. Spin up a local web server:

npx http-server

5. Access the site http://localhost:8080/ and use the file input element to select a spreadsheet.

Bun

bun bun is capable of optimizing imported libraries in node_modules. In local testing, a bundled script can save tens of milliseconds per run.

Complete Example (click to show)

1. Install the tarball using a package manager:

{`\
$ npm i --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

{`\
$ pnpm install https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

{`\
$ yarn add https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

2. Save the following script to bun.js:

// highlight-next-line
import * as XLSX from 'xlsx/xlsx.mjs';
// highlight-next-line
import * as fs from 'fs';
// highlight-next-line
XLSX.set_fs(fs);

/* fetch JSON data and parse */
const url = "https://sheetjs.com/executive.json";
const raw_data = await (await fetch(url)).json();

/* filter for the Presidents */
const prez = raw_data.filter((row) => row.terms.some((term) => term.type === "prez"));

/* flatten objects */
const rows = prez.map((row) => ({
  name: row.name.first + " " + row.name.last,
  birthday: row.bio.birthday
}));

/* generate worksheet and workbook */
const worksheet = XLSX.utils.json_to_sheet(rows);
const workbook = XLSX.utils.book_new();
XLSX.utils.book_append_sheet(workbook, worksheet, "Dates");

/* fix headers */
XLSX.utils.sheet_add_aoa(worksheet, [["Name", "Birthday"]], { origin: "A1" });

/* calculate column width */
const max_width = rows.reduce((w, r) => Math.max(w, r.name.length), 10);
worksheet["!cols"] = [ { wch: max_width } ];

/* create an XLSX file and try to save to Presidents.xlsx */
XLSX.writeFile(workbook, "Presidents.xlsx");

3. Bundle the script with bun bun:

bun bun bun.js

This procedure will generate node_modules.bun.

4. Run the script

bun bun.js

ESBuild

The xlsx.mjs source file are written in a subset of ES6 that ESBuild understands and is able to transpile down for older browsers.

Both the node and browser platforms work out of the box.

Complete Example (click to show)

1. Install the tarball using a package manager:

{`\
$ npm i --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

{`\
$ pnpm install https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

{`\
$ yarn add https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

2. Save the following to esbrowser.js:

// highlight-next-line
import { set_fs, utils, version, writeFileXLSX } from 'xlsx/xlsx.mjs';

(async() => {
/* fetch JSON data and parse */
const url = "https://sheetjs.com/executive.json";
const raw_data = await (await fetch(url)).json();

/* filter for the Presidents */
const prez = raw_data.filter(row => row.terms.some(term => term.type === "prez"));

/* flatten objects */
const rows = prez.map(row => ({
  name: row.name.first + " " + row.name.last,
  birthday: row.bio.birthday
}));

/* generate worksheet and workbook */
const worksheet = utils.json_to_sheet(rows);
const workbook = utils.book_new();
utils.book_append_sheet(workbook, worksheet, "Dates");

/* fix headers */
utils.sheet_add_aoa(worksheet, [["Name", "Birthday"]], { origin: "A1" });

/* calculate column width */
const max_width = rows.reduce((w, r) => Math.max(w, r.name.length), 10);
worksheet["!cols"] = [ { wch: max_width } ];

/* create an XLSX file and try to save to Presidents.xlsx */
writeFileXLSX(workbook, "Presidents.xlsx");
})();

3. Create a small HTML page that loads the script. Save to index.html:

<body><script src="esb.browser.js"></script></body>

4. Create bundle:

npx esbuild esbrowser.js --bundle --outfile=esb.browser.js

5. Start a local HTTP server, then go to http://localhost:8080/

npx http-server .

1. Install the tarball using a package manager:

{`\
$ npm i --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

{`\
$ pnpm install https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

{`\
$ yarn add https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

2. Save the following to esbnode.js:

// highlight-next-line
import { set_fs, utils, version, writeFile } from 'xlsx/xlsx.mjs';
// highlight-next-line
import * as fs from 'fs';
// highlight-next-line
set_fs(fs);

(async() => {
/* fetch JSON data and parse */
const url = "https://sheetjs.com/executive.json";
const raw_data = await (await fetch(url)).json();

/* filter for the Presidents */
const prez = raw_data.filter(row => row.terms.some(term => term.type === "prez"));

/* flatten objects */
const rows = prez.map(row => ({
  name: row.name.first + " " + row.name.last,
  birthday: row.bio.birthday
}));

/* generate worksheet and workbook */
const worksheet = utils.json_to_sheet(rows);
const workbook = utils.book_new();
utils.book_append_sheet(workbook, worksheet, "Dates");

/* fix headers */
utils.sheet_add_aoa(worksheet, [["Name", "Birthday"]], { origin: "A1" });

/* calculate column width */
const max_width = rows.reduce((w, r) => Math.max(w, r.name.length), 10);
worksheet["!cols"] = [ { wch: max_width } ];

/* create an XLSX file and try to save to Presidents.xlsx */
writeFile(workbook, "Presidents.xlsx");
})();

3. Create bundle:

npx esbuild esbnode.js --bundle --platform=node --outfile=esb.node.js

4. Run the bundle:

node esb.node.js

Parcel

Parcel Bundler should play nice with SheetJS out of the box.

:::warning Parcel Bug

Errors of the form Could not statically evaluate fs call stem from a parcel bug. Upgrade to Parcel version 1.5.0 or later.

:::

Complete Example (click to show)

This demo follows the Presidents Example.

1. Save the following to index.html:

<body>
<h3>SheetJS <span id="vers"></span> export demo</h3>
<button id="xport">Click to Export!</button>
<!-- the script tag must be marked as `type="module"` -->
<!-- highlight-next-line -->
<script type="module">
// ESM-style import from "xlsx"
// highlight-next-line
import { utils, version, writeFileXLSX } from 'xlsx';

document.getElementById("vers").innerText = version;
document.getElementById("xport").onclick = async() => {
  /* fetch JSON data and parse */
  const url = "https://sheetjs.com/executive.json";
  const raw_data = await (await fetch(url)).json();

  /* filter for the Presidents */
  const prez = raw_data.filter(row => row.terms.some(term => term.type === "prez"));

  /* flatten objects */
  const rows = prez.map(row => ({
    name: row.name.first + " " + row.name.last,
    birthday: row.bio.birthday
  }));

  /* generate worksheet and workbook */
  const worksheet = utils.json_to_sheet(rows);
  const workbook = utils.book_new();
  utils.book_append_sheet(workbook, worksheet, "Dates");

  /* fix headers */
  utils.sheet_add_aoa(worksheet, [["Name", "Birthday"]], { origin: "A1" });

  /* calculate column width */
  const max_width = rows.reduce((w, r) => Math.max(w, r.name.length), 10);
  worksheet["!cols"] = [ { wch: max_width } ];

  /* create an XLSX file and try to save to Presidents.xlsx */
  writeFileXLSX(workbook, "Presidents.xlsx");
};
</script>
<body>

2. Install the SheetJS node module:

{`\
$ npm i --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

{`\
$ pnpm install https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

{`\
$ yarn add https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

3. Run the Parcel CLI tool:

npx -y parcel index.html

4. Access the page listed in the output (typically http://localhost:1234) and click the "Click to Export!" button to generate a file.

Snowpack

Snowpack works with no caveats.

Complete Example (click to show)

1. Install the tarball using a package manager:

{`\
$ npm i --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

{`\
$ pnpm install https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

{`\
$ yarn add https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

2. Save the following to index.js:

// highlight-next-line
import { set_fs, utils, version, writeFileXLSX } from 'xlsx/xlsx.mjs';

document.getElementById("xport").addEventListener("click", async() => {
/* fetch JSON data and parse */
const url = "https://sheetjs.com/executive.json";
const raw_data = await (await fetch(url)).json();

/* filter for the Presidents */
const prez = raw_data.filter(row => row.terms.some(term => term.type === "prez"));

/* flatten objects */
const rows = prez.map(row => ({
  name: row.name.first + " " + row.name.last,
  birthday: row.bio.birthday
}));

/* generate worksheet and workbook */
const worksheet = utils.json_to_sheet(rows);
const workbook = utils.book_new();
utils.book_append_sheet(workbook, worksheet, "Dates");

/* fix headers */
utils.sheet_add_aoa(worksheet, [["Name", "Birthday"]], { origin: "A1" });

/* calculate column width */
const max_width = rows.reduce((w, r) => Math.max(w, r.name.length), 10);
worksheet["!cols"] = [ { wch: max_width } ];

/* create an XLSX file and try to save to Presidents.xlsx */
writeFileXLSX(workbook, "Presidents.xlsx");
});

3. Create a small HTML page that loads the script. Save to index.html:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
  <head></head>
  <body>
    <h1>SheetJS Presidents Demo</h1>
    <button id="xport">Click here to export</button>
    <script type="module" src="./index.js"></script>
  </body>
</html>

:::note

Unlike other bundlers, Snowpack requires a full page including HEAD element.

:::

4. Build for production:

npx snowpack build

5. Start a local HTTP server, then go to http://localhost:8080/

npx http-server build/

Click on "Click here to export" to generate a file.

Vite

:::caution

ViteJS adopted nascent package.json patterns. Version 0.18.10 implements the patterns required for ViteJS 3.0.3. These patterns are evolving and a future version of Vite may require more packaging changes.

:::

ViteJS 3.0.3 is known to work with SheetJS version 0.18.10.

Complete Example (click to show)

1. Create a new ViteJS project:

npm create vite@latest
cd sheetjs-vite # (project name)
npm i

When prompted for Project Name, type sheetjs-vite

When prompted for Framework, select vue then vue-ts

2. Add the SheetJS dependency:

{`\
$ npm i --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}

3. Replace src\components\HelloWorld.vue with:

<script setup lang="ts">
import { version, utils, writeFileXLSX } from 'xlsx';

interface President {
  terms: { "type": "prez" | "viceprez"; }[];
  name: { first: string; last: string; }
  bio: { birthday: string; }
}

async function xport() {
/* fetch JSON data and parse */
const url = "https://sheetjs.com/executive.json";
const raw_data: President[] = await (await fetch(url)).json();

/* filter for the Presidents */
const prez = raw_data.filter(row => row.terms.some(term => term.type === "prez"));

/* flatten objects */
const rows = prez.map(row => ({
  name: row.name.first + " " + row.name.last,
  birthday: row.bio.birthday
}));

/* generate worksheet and workbook */
const worksheet = utils.json_to_sheet(rows);
const workbook = utils.book_new();
utils.book_append_sheet(workbook, worksheet, "Dates");

/* fix headers */
utils.sheet_add_aoa(worksheet, [["Name", "Birthday"]], { origin: "A1" });

/* calculate column width */
const max_width = rows.reduce((w, r) => Math.max(w, r.name.length), 10);
worksheet["!cols"] = [ { wch: max_width } ];

/* create an XLSX file and try to save to Presidents.xlsx */
writeFileXLSX(workbook, "Presidents.xlsx");
}

</script>

<template>
  <button type="button" @click="xport">Export with SheetJS version {{ version }}</button>
</template>

4. Run npm run dev and test functionality by opening a web browser to http://localhost:5173/ and clicking the button

5. Run npx vite build and verify the generated pages work by running a local web server in the dist folder:

npx http-server dist/

Access http://localhost:8080 in your web browser.