javascript - node_modules folder too large - Stack Overflow

I've been using Gulp for quite a while and either I didn't notice it took this much space from the beginning or the sizes have been growing.

I only use it for very normal front-end work. For example, this is the request part of my gulpfile.js:

var gulp         = require('gulp'),
    autoprefixer = require('gulp-autoprefixer'),
    browserSync  = require('browser-sync'),
    concat       = require('gulp-concat'),
    copy         = require('gulp-copy'),
    del          = require('del'),
    htmlmin      = require('gulp-htmlmin'),
    merge        = require('merge-stream'),
    streamqueue  = require('streamqueue'),
    cleancss     = require('gulp-clean-css'),
    gulpif       = require('gulp-if'),
    newer        = require('gulp-newer'),
    imgmin       = require('gulp-imagemin'),
    plumber      = require('gulp-plumber'),
    postcss      = require('gulp-postcss'),
    order        = require('gulp-order'),
    rename       = require('gulp-rename'),
    runSequence  = require('run-sequence'),
    sass         = require('gulp-sass'),
    sourcemaps   = require('gulp-sourcemaps'),
    uglify       = require('gulp-uglify'),
    uncss        = require('gulp-uncss');

---

Now, according to du -sh, node_modules weighs 2.2GB which I think is way too much. I wanted to dig a bit deeper so I looked all root modules:

---

I'm probably being naive here but I'm just expecting some javascript functionality, I don't see how or why these modules, especially the top ones, can be so large in size.

Is this just how Gulp is designed? Am I doing it backwards? Can I improve this (besides not using it/those)?

I've been using Gulp for quite a while and either I didn't notice it took this much space from the beginning or the sizes have been growing.

I only use it for very normal front-end work. For example, this is the request part of my gulpfile.js:

var gulp         = require('gulp'),
    autoprefixer = require('gulp-autoprefixer'),
    browserSync  = require('browser-sync'),
    concat       = require('gulp-concat'),
    copy         = require('gulp-copy'),
    del          = require('del'),
    htmlmin      = require('gulp-htmlmin'),
    merge        = require('merge-stream'),
    streamqueue  = require('streamqueue'),
    cleancss     = require('gulp-clean-css'),
    gulpif       = require('gulp-if'),
    newer        = require('gulp-newer'),
    imgmin       = require('gulp-imagemin'),
    plumber      = require('gulp-plumber'),
    postcss      = require('gulp-postcss'),
    order        = require('gulp-order'),
    rename       = require('gulp-rename'),
    runSequence  = require('run-sequence'),
    sass         = require('gulp-sass'),
    sourcemaps   = require('gulp-sourcemaps'),
    uglify       = require('gulp-uglify'),
    uncss        = require('gulp-uncss');

---

Now, according to du -sh, node_modules weighs 2.2GB which I think is way too much. I wanted to dig a bit deeper so I looked all root modules:

---

I'm probably being naive here but I'm just expecting some javascript functionality, I don't see how or why these modules, especially the top ones, can be so large in size.

Is this just how Gulp is designed? Am I doing it backwards? Can I improve this (besides not using it/those)?

• javascript
• gulp
• node-modules
• package.json

Share Improve this question Follow edited Feb 17, 2021 at 2:03 Neithan Max asked Feb 6, 2017 at 1:09 Neithan MaxNeithan Max 11.8k66 gold badges4141 silver badges5959 bronze badges 7

• Whats in your package.json? Gulp wouldn't effect your node_modules. – Lucas Commented Feb 6, 2017 at 1:12
• 3 Check this out. Here is a website that shows how many other dependencies your dependencies have. uncss is really large because it has so many other dependencies. npm.anvaka./#/view/2d/uncss – spoonscen Commented Feb 6, 2017 at 1:30
• 11 @Lucas absolutely. Actually in each project I have to npm i. Take uncss for example, it's taking 242MB. Think about how many lines of javascript there are in 242MB of space. Something's not right. – Neithan Max Commented Feb 16, 2017 at 2:08
• 5 Everyone should be looking into their node_modules at least a little bit in their spare time. There are some weird things in there that shouldn't be. Unused dist/ directories with minified/unminified files, multiple copies (x64 and x86) of .exe files which couldn't run on your system anyway, packages that use huge libraries only to borrow their stripIndents functions... It's the culmination of "I'll just use a couple dependencies..." repeated hundreds of times. Exponential growth. – RaisinBranCrunch Commented Jan 6, 2021 at 20:22
• 2 So are we all in agreement here? Is this a tedious manual process of experimental excision (meaning that it will never get done) or are there tools to make this easier? – Parapluie Commented Feb 3, 2021 at 20:01

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1 Answer 1

Sorted by: Reset to default 6

There are some ways that es to my mind:

1. It's more about your package.json, so if you could optimize it, it's a very good option:

   • separate packages as devDependencies and dependencies, it helps to decrease the node_modules size in production mode (when you use the –production flag on npm install).
   • replace some libs that are big in size or having so many dependencies with lighter libs or libs with fewer dependencies.

2. Use node-prune or modclean or other packages like these, to remove unnecessary files from node_modules.