Because JavaScript can be written for both server and browser, webpack offers multiple deployment targets that you can set in your webpack configuration.

W> The webpack target property is not to be confused with the output.libraryTarget property. For more information see our guide on the output property.

Usage

To set the target property, you simply set the target value in your webpack config:

webpack.config.js

module.exports = {
  target: 'node'
};

In the example above, using node webpack will compile for usage in a Node.js-like environment (uses Node.js require to load chunks and not touch any built in modules like fs or path).

Each target has a variety of deployment/environment specific additions, support to fit its needs. See what targets are available.

?>Further expansion for other popular target values

Multiple Targets

Although webpack does not support multiple strings being passed into the target property, you can create an isomorphic library by bundling two separate configurations:

webpack.config.js

var path = require('path');
var serverConfig = {
  target: 'node',
  output: {
    path: path.resolve(__dirname, 'dist'),
    filename: 'lib.node.js'
  }
  //…
};

var clientConfig = {
  target: 'web', // <=== can be omitted as default is 'web'
  output: {
    path: path.resolve(__dirname, 'dist'),
    filename: 'lib.js'
  }
  //…
};

module.exports = [ serverConfig, clientConfig ];

The example above will create a lib.js and lib.node.js file in your dist folder.

Resources

As seen from the options above there are multiple different deployment targets that you can choose from. Below is a list of examples, and resources that you can refer to.

Bundle Output Comparison

compare-webpack-target-bundles: A great resource for testing and viewing different webpack targets. Also great for bug reporting.

?> Need to find up to date examples of these webpack targets being used in live code or boilerplates.