node-url-import

Node.js hook that lets you import modules directly from HTTP(S) URLs like Deno.

import { add } from "https://esm.sh/lodash-es";

console.log(add(1, 2)); // 3

Works with static imports, dynamic import(), and relative imports inside remote modules. Fetched modules are cached on disk so subsequent runs are instant.

Usage

CLI

Like ts-node — a drop-in wrapper around node with the hook pre-loaded:

node-url-import [options] [node-flags] <script-or-url> [script-args...]

Flags before the script are split into node-url-import options and Node.js flags. Flags after the script are forwarded to the remote script as-is.

# Run a local file that imports from URLs
node-url-import ./app.mjs

# Run a remote URL directly
node-url-import https://raw.esm.sh/armor64/dist/cli.js

# Re-fetch all remote modules (bypass cache)
node-url-import -r ./app.mjs

# Pass Node.js flags (e.g. --inspect)
node-url-import --inspect ./app.mjs

# Forward flags to the remote script
node-url-import https://raw.esm.sh/nrm-lite/cli.mjs -h

# Write a lock file (Deno-compatible format)
node-url-import --lock ./app.mjs

# Error if lock file is out of date
node-url-import --lock --frozen ./app.mjs

# Clear the disk cache
node-url-import --clear-cache

Loader hook

Register the hook yourself with --import:

node --import node-url-import/register ./app.mjs

Or the legacy --loader flag:

node --loader node-url-import/loader ./app.mjs

npm: specifiers

Modules can use Deno-style npm: specifiers to import from node_modules. The version is stripped and the module is resolved by Node's default resolver:

import ms from "npm:ms";
import ms from "npm:ms@2.1.3"; // version stripped → "ms"
import add from "npm:lodash-es@4/add"; // → "lodash-es/add"
import node from "npm:@types/node@22"; // → "@types/node"

Programmatic API

import { fetchModule, clearCache } from "node-url-import";

const { source, contentType } = await fetchModule(
  "https://esm.sh/lodash-es/add",
);
console.log(source);

await clearCache();

How it works

1. The ESM loader hooks (resolve + load) intercept any specifier starting with http:// or https://.
2. Relative imports inside remote modules (e.g. import "./util.js" from https://esm.sh/...) resolve back to the same origin. Bare specifiers like "node:fs" fall through to Node's default resolver.
3. Fetched sources are cached at ~/.cache/node-url-import/ keyed by SHA-256 of the URL.
4. Cached modules are used forever until --reload is passed or --clear-cache is used (same as Deno).
5. Module format is inferred from the Content-Type header and URL extension, defaulting to ESM.
6. A Deno-style progress bar is shown on stderr during downloads (only on TTY).

Options

Flag	Description
-r, --reload	Bypass cache, re-fetch all remote modules
--lock	Check/write a lock file (default: ./deno.lock)
--lock-file <path>	Lock file path (implies --lock)
--frozen	Error if lock file is out of date (use with --lock)
--local-meta	Rewrite import.meta.url to a local file:// URL (fixes createRequire)
--clear-cache	Purge the disk cache

Any unrecognized flags before the script are forwarded to Node.js (e.g. --inspect, --env-file).

Lock file

When --lock is passed, node-url-import writes a lock file recording the SHA-256 hash of every fetched remote module. The format is compatible with Deno's deno.lock:

{
  "version": "5",
  "redirects": {
    "https://raw.esm.sh/armor64/dist/cli.js": "https://raw.esm.sh/armor64@0.1.0/dist/cli.js"
  },
  "remote": {
    "https://raw.esm.sh/armor64@0.1.0/dist/cli.js": "8513c973713ea38737552521eb52529ac880555fbb6fbba8ff8571cec27872c5"
  }
}

• redirects: maps original URLs to their final redirected URLs
• remote: maps final URLs to SHA-256 hashes of the source

On subsequent runs with --lock, fetched content is verified against the recorded hashes. Use --frozen to error on any mismatch instead of updating.

Environment variables

Variable	Description	Default
URL_IMPORT_CACHE_DIR	Custom cache directory	~/.cache/node-url-import
URL_IMPORT_RELOAD=1	Same as --reload
URL_IMPORT_LOCK=<path>	Same as --lock <file>
URL_IMPORT_FROZEN=1	Same as --frozen
URL_IMPORT_LOCAL_META=1	Same as --local-meta