This release reduces the number of npm dependencies needed by Parcel by over 60%. This builds upon previous work in 2.2.0, so combined Parcel now installs over 70% fewer dependencies! This is accomplished by:
- Pre-bundling some dependencies with Parcel itself rather than loading them from npm. This is done for packages that are small and internal to Parcel (i.e. you don't interact with them directly in your project). This reduces maintenance burden for users of Parcel.
- Auto installing node builtin polyfills on demand (e.g.
buffer,stream, etc.). These are rarely used but account for a large number of installed dependencies. Now, when you use one of these, or a dependency in your project does, it'll be installed into your project on demand. - Removing built-in Babel and PostCSS modules dependencies, and installing them into projects on demand, only when actually used.
We will continue reducing Parcel's footprint in future releases by further reducing our use of dependency-heavy ecosystems such as PostCSS as we replace them with Rust-based equivalents.