babeljs.io/
Babel
Babel is free. A compiler that turns modern JavaScript and JSX into syntax browsers already run.
What is Babel?
Babel is free. Babel reads JavaScript and JSX and emits an older form of JavaScript. Vite and TypeScript cover this for many new apps, but a lot of existing build configs still run Babel.
Babel is a tool in the Build Automation category of a tech stack.
Level
Key Features
PresetsPluginsJSX transform
Babel Pros & Cons
Pros of Babel
Still the compatibility layer a lot of libraries expect
You can compile JSX without adopting TypeScript
Plugins can rewrite specific syntax
Cons of Babel
The config file grows as you add plugins
New apps often let Vite compile instead