Your ESLint Plugin Installs 205 Packages. 69 Are ESLint.
npm i -D eslint-plugin-import installs 205 packages . That number is true and almost useless, which is the problem with every dependency-weight argument I have read. 69 of those packages are ESLint itself. Since npm 7, peer dependencies install automatically, so any plugin declaring eslint as a peer drags the entire linter into the count — and every plugin should declare it that way. So I…
The npm package "eslint-plugin-import" installs 205 packages, with 69 of those packages being ESLint itself. This issue arises because of how peer dependencies work starting from npm 7, causing any plugin declaring ESLint as a peer dependency to automatically include ESLint in the count. The actual number of packages each plugin adds varies greatly, with some declaring many dependencies but only adding a few, while others declare few dependencies but add many.
For example, "eslint-plugin-promise" declares only one direct dependency but adds one package, while "eslint-plugin-unicorn" declares twenty dependencies but adds 41. The total number of packages installed depends on the overlap between plugins, as shown by a conventional React setup installing 228 packages instead of the sum of individual plugin packages.
It is essential to measure the actual packages installed rather than relying on the declared dependencies, as this provides a more accurate representation of the dependency weight.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
