Rolldown
Rolldown is a free, open-source JavaScript bundler written in Rust and designed as the unified bundler powering Vite 8+. It offers a Rollup-compatible plugin API that can reuse most existing Rollup plugins. Built-in capabilities include TypeScript and JSX transforms, syntax lowering, module resolution, and minification. Rolldown handles mixed ESM and CommonJS module graphs and supports configurable manual code splitting. Its installation guide provides commands for npm, pnpm, yarn, bun, and vp, and lists prebuilt binaries for Linux, Windows, Apple platforms, Android, and other targets. Where no prebuilt binary is distributed, users can use the Wasm build or build from source. The guide recommends using Rolldown through Vite for most applications and points library authors to tsdown. Module types are experimental, and the JavaScript build() API may change in patch releases. The troubleshooting guide notes that Windows file-system access can slow builds, especially when transforms run without plugins. An online REPL is available, and the project links to GitHub, Discord, and contribution resources.
Who it is for
Rolldown suits developers building JavaScript applications or bundler tooling who want a Rollup-compatible API and built-in transforms. The maker recommends using it through Vite for most applications and points library authors to tsdown.
What is good
- Free and open source under the MIT license.
- Rollup-compatible API can reuse most existing Rollup plugins.
- Built-in TypeScript and JSX transforms.
- Supports mixed ESM and CommonJS module graphs.
- Configurable manual code splitting is available.
What to know first
- Module types are experimental.
- The JavaScript build() API may change in patch releases.
- Windows file-system access can slow builds in some cases.
- Direct eval can expose variables from other files.
Verdict
Rolldown offers a Rust-based bundling option with a Rollup-compatible plugin API and built-in transforms. Its experimental module types and build() API caveat matter for teams depending on those interfaces.
Rolldown plans and pricing
All plansCompared on JavaScript build tools
- Free plan
- Yes
- TypeScript support
- Yes
- Code splitting
- Yes
- Tree shaking
- Yes
- Source maps
- Yes
- Plugin API
- Yes
