Question 1

How to configure Babel for a React app with JSX?

Accepted Answer

Install @babel/preset-react and add it to your Babel config; this preset handles JSX transformation and integrates with React's specific syntax, ensuring compatibility across browsers. Refer to Babel's website for detailed setup guides with common bundlers like Webpack.

Question 2

Babel vs swc: which should I use in 2024?

Accepted Answer

Babel is better for extensibility and experimental feature support via plugins, while swc excels in speed for straightforward transpilation. Choose Babel if you need custom transformations or early TC39 proposals, but opt for swc if build performance is critical in large projects.

Question 3

Why isn't Babel polyfilling my code for Internet Explorer?

Accepted Answer

Babel only transpiles syntax; for missing built-ins like Promises, you need @babel/polyfill or core-js. Ensure proper import and target environment settings in your Babel config to avoid runtime errors in older browsers.

Question 4

How to speed up slow Babel compilation times?

Accepted Answer

Optimize by caching transforms with babel-loader cache, reducing plugin usage, or switching to faster alternatives like swc for non-experimental features. Also, check for redundant presets and update to the latest Babel version for performance improvements.

Question 5

Can Babel work with TypeScript without conflicts?

Accepted Answer

Yes, use @babel/preset-typescript to strip TypeScript types and transpile syntax, but note Babel doesn't perform type checking—rely on tsc for that. This setup allows leveraging Babel's plugin ecosystem while maintaining type safety separately.

Question 6

What's the difference between Babel presets and plugins?

Accepted Answer

Presets are collections of plugins for common use cases, like @babel/preset-env for ES6+ support, while plugins handle individual transformations. Start with presets for simplicity, but add plugins for custom needs, as detailed in Babel's documentation.

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