# terser/terser

🗜 JavaScript parser, mangler and compressor toolkit for ES6+

Repository: https://github.com/terser/terser
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/terser
Homepage: https://terser.org
Language: JavaScript
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: parser, compressor, mangler, es6, uglifyjs, javascript
Last push: 2026-08-26T10:55:27+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 77/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4252, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 9326, forks 470 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:30.532819+00:00)

## What it is
Terser is a JavaScript parser, mangler, and compressor toolkit for ES6+ that serves as the industry-standard minifier, forked from the unmaintained uglify-es. It can be used via CLI or Node.js API to shrink variable names, remove whitespace and dead code, and generate source maps.

## Use cases
- minify javascript for production
- mangle variable names in es6 code
- compress and dead-code eliminate js bundles
- generate source maps while minifying
- replace uglify-es for es6+ support
- integrate a minifier into a build pipeline

## When to choose
- you need a battle-tested ES6+ JavaScript minifier
- you want CLI or programmatic Node.js API minification with source maps
- you're migrating from uglify-js/uglify-es and need API compatibility

## When to avoid
- you need code beautification/formatting (use Prettier instead)
- you want an all-in-one bundler (use Rollup, esbuild, or webpack)
- you're minifying non-JavaScript assets like CSS

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: parser, compiler, build-tool, cli
- domain: developer-tools, web-development, frontend, performance
- platform: cli, browser, cross-platform
- tags: minifier, javascript, es6, mangler, compressor, uglifyjs-fork, source-maps, code-optimization, nodejs

## Member repositories
- terser/terser (main) score 77

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:30.532819+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 2026-08-29T17:22:29.732263+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/terser/terser (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:30.532819+00:00, sha 42b819983df0)
  - homepage: https://terser.org (fetched 2026-08-29T08:22:52.193636+00:00, sha a1680470371b)
  - site_page: https://terser.org/docs/api-reference (fetched 2026-08-29T08:22:52.196311+00:00, sha 232a38027497)
  - site_page: https://terser.org/docs/cli-usage (fetched 2026-08-29T08:22:52.198438+00:00, sha a72ca5ec40d6)
  - site_page: https://terser.org/docs/options (fetched 2026-08-29T08:22:52.200571+00:00, sha 0314fea5e03c)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.