[Fixed] ‘Import and Export May Appear Only with sourceType: module’ — ESLint Fix

Are you having trouble with the syntaxerror: ‘import’ and ‘export’ may appear only with ‘sourcetype: module‘?

Keep on reading! As we will give you this comprehensive guide to troubleshoot and understand this error.

Discover how to fix the import and export may appear only with sourcetype module and enhance your coding skills.

What is “syntaxerror: import and export may appear only with sourcetype: module’?

The error message syntaxerror: ‘import’ and ‘export’ may appear only with ‘sourcetype: module’ means that you are using the import or export statement in your code without specifying the sourcetype as a module.

This error is commonly associated with JavaScript and occurs when using ECMAScript modules.

Here’s an example of code that could result to this error message:

myModule.js

export const myFunction = () => {
console.log('Hi, Welcome to Itsourcecode!');
}

index.js

import { myFunction } from './myModule';
myFunction();

As you can see, we have two files: sampleModule.js and index.js. In sampleModule.js, we define a function called myFunction and export it using the export keyword.

In index.js, we try to import myFunction from myModule.js using the import keyword.

However, if you execute the sampleModule.js file without specifying the sourcetype as a module, you will encounter the syntaxerror: ‘import’ and ‘export’ may appear only with ‘sourcetype: module’ error message.

Why does the “import and export may appear only with sourcetype module”syntaxerror occur?

The syntaxerror ‘import’ and ‘export’ may appear only with ‘sourcetype: module’ typically occurs when you are trying to use import and export statements in a JavaScript file that is not recognized as an ES6 module.

These statements are part of the ES6 module syntax and can only be used in files that are recognized as ES6 modules by the JavaScript engine or transpiler.

If you try to use them in a file that is not recognized as an ES6 module, you will get this error message.

How to fix “syntaxerror: ‘import’ and ‘export’ may appear only with ‘sourcetype: module’”?

To fix this error message, you need to ensure that the module system is correctly set up and the sourcetype is specified as module.

1. Use babel-eslint parser and configure it in your eslint config file

For example:

{
  "parser": "babel-eslint",
  "parserOptions": {
    "sourceType": "module",
    "allowImportExportEverywhere": true
  }
}

2. If you are using Babel with babelify, make sure you are using a compatible version of Babel

3. If you are using Browserify and babelify to compile JS files that imported TypeScript files, pass –extensions “.ts,.js” to the babelify transform (so babel would include TS files in compilation) and –extension=.js –extension=.ts to browserify (so browserify could resolve the filepaths of import statements).

In older versions of Babel, all the necessary features were included by default. However, in newer versions, you are required to install specific plugins based on your setup’s requirements.

To begin, you need to install the ES2015 preset. This preset includes a collection of plugins that enable support for features introduced in the ES2015 (ES6) version of JavaScript.

npm install babel-preset-es2015 --save-dev

After installing the ES2015 preset, the next step is to instruct babelify to utilize the installed preset. This ensures that the features and transformations provided by the ES2015 preset are applied during the Babel transformation process.

return browserify({ ... })
  .transform(babelify.configure({
    presets: ["es2015"]
  }))

Note: Remember to include the necessary setup in your development environment or build system to support ECMAScript modules.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the error message syntaxerror: ‘import’ and ‘export’ may appear only with ‘sourcetype: module’ means that you are using the import or export statement in your code without specifying the sourcetype as a module.

To fix this error message, you need to ensure that the module system is correctly set up and the sourcetype is specified as module.

This article already provides solutions to fix this error message. By executing the solutions above, you can master this SyntaxError with the help of this guide.

You could also check out other SyntaxError articles that may help you in the future if you encounter them.

• Uncaught in promise syntaxerror: unexpected end of input
• Expression.syntaxerror: token eof expected.
• Syntaxerror: cannot use ‘import.meta’ outside a module

We are hoping that this article helps you fix the error. Thank you for reading itsourcecoders 😊

# BAD — star import inside function
def process():
    from math import *  # SyntaxError in strict contexts
    return sqrt(4)

# GOOD — top-level import
from math import sqrt

def process():
    return sqrt(4)

# BAD — __future__ not first
import os
from __future__ import annotations  # SyntaxError

# GOOD
from __future__ import annotations  # first, always
import os

# BAD — relative import in a script
# python script.py:
from . import helper  # ImportError (script context, not package)

# GOOD — run as module
# python -m mypackage.script

Caren Bautista

Technical Writer at PIES IT Solution

Responsible for crafting clear, well-structured, and beginner-friendly content across the platform. Handles the writing, proofreading, and editorial review of tutorials, guides, and documentation to ensure every article is accurate, readable, and easy to follow.

Expertise: Technical Writing · Content Creation · Documentation · Editorial Writing · JavaScript · TypeScript · Python · Python Errors · HTTP Errors · MS Excel
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