# browserify/browserify

browser-side require() the node.js way

Repository: https://github.com/browserify/browserify
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/browserify
Homepage: http://browserify.org/
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: bundler, javascript, module-bundler, commonjs, modules, browser
Last push: 2024-12-21T10:04:24+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5824, "days_push": 620, "days_rel": 699, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: no_readme
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 14701, forks 1201 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:07.489888+00:00)

## What it is
Browserify is a JavaScript module bundler that lets you use Node.js-style require() in the browser by recursively walking the dependency graph and emitting a single bundle file. It is used from the command line or as an API, and supports transforms, source maps, and browser shims for Node core modules.

## Use cases
- bundle npm modules for the browser
- use require() in frontend JavaScript
- combine CommonJS dependencies into a single script tag
- shim node core modules like buffer and events in the browser
- rebuild bundles quickly during development with watchify
- produce optimized production bundles with tree-shaking

## When to choose
- your project uses CommonJS modules and targets the browser
- you want to reuse tens of thousands of npm packages client-side
- you prefer a simple, plugin-based bundler over heavier toolchains
- you need node-isms like __dirname, process.nextTick, or core module shims in browser code

## When to avoid
- you are starting a new project where modern bundlers like Vite, esbuild, or webpack fit better
- your code relies on ES modules and modern tree-shaking as a first-class workflow
- you need built-in dev server, HMR, or framework-specific tooling
- you only target Node.js and never ship code to the browser

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: build-tool, parser, cli, developer-tools
- domain: web-development, frontend, developer-tools
- platform: cli, browser, cross-platform
- tags: module-bundler, commonjs, bundler, npm-modules, browser-compatibility, javascript, nodejs

## Member repositories
- browserify/browserify (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:07.489888+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:07:18.267048+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - homepage: http://browserify.org/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:05:48.471072+00:00, sha 2e01be2da80c)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.