unicorn/prefer-module

require, module, exports, __filename and __dirname are CommonJS. In an ES module, Node.js throws a ReferenceError for them, and bundlers can't tree-shake a require() the way they do an import.

The rule reports those five globals. It also reports the "use strict" directive, because an ES module is always strict.

Files that end in .cjs aren't checked.

Configure

Off by default. To turn it on:

[lint.rules]
"unicorn/prefer-module" = "error" # or "warn"

Examples

Reported:

"use strict";

const path = require("path");

module.exports = path.join(__dirname, "config.json");

Not reported:

import path from "node:path";

export default path.join(import.meta.dirname, "config.json");

A local variable with one of those names isn't reported:

export function load(require) {
  return require("./plugin.js");
}

Nothing is reported in a .cjs file:

module.exports = require("./defaults.json");

When not to use it

Turn it off in a package that's still CommonJS, or name the CommonJS files .cjs.