SyntaxError: Cannot use import statement outside a module

Published 2026-04-13

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Root Cause

Node.js traditionally uses CommonJS (`require()` and `module.exports`) for module resolution. This error occurs when you try to use ECMAScript module syntax (`import` and `export`) in a Node.js script without explicitly telling Node that the file should be treated as an ES module. By default, Node.js treats `.js` files as CommonJS. The JavaScript engine encounters the `import` keyword, doesn't recognize it in the current context, and throws a syntax error.

Fix / Solution

There are two primary ways to fix this. You can change the file extension from `.js` to `.mjs` to explicitly mark it as an ES module. Alternatively, and more commonly for larger projects, you can add `"type": "module"` to your `package.json` file. This tells Node.js to treat all `.js` files in the project as ES modules.

Code Snippet

// ❌ Throws error in a standard Node.js environment
import { myFunc } from './myFile.js';

// ✅ Fix 1: Update package.json
{
  "name": "my-project",
  "type": "module",
  "main": "index.js"
}

// ✅ Fix 2: Use CommonJS instead
const { myFunc } = require('./myFile.js');