Error: Couldn't find preset "es2015" relative to directory "/Users/username"

Question

I get the following error when trying to use gulp-babel:

Error: Couldn't find preset "es2015" relative to directory "/Users/username"

I have the es2015 preset installed globally and locally so can't see why this would be an issue.

Below is my gulp set up and package.json.

var babel = require('gulp-babel');
var es2015 = require('babel-preset-es2015');

gulp.task('babel', function() {
    return gulp.src('./app/main.js')
    .pipe(babel({
        presets: [es2015]
    }))
    .pipe(gulp.dest('dist'));
});

Package.json

  "devDependencies": {
    "babel-preset-es2015": "^6.3.13",
    "babel-preset-es2015-node5": "^1.1.1",
    "browser-sync": "^2.11.0",
    "gulp": "^3.9.0",
    "gulp-babel": "^6.1.1",
    "gulp-stylus": "^2.2.0"
  }

I am using node v5.1.0 and babel v6.4.0

Here is the terminal ouput

terminal output

Solution 1

You only need to install babel-preset-es2015:

CLI usage example:

npm install babel-cli babel-preset-es2015

Solution 2

To fix this issue You should remove .babelrc (hidden) file from "/Users/username" directory.

Solution 3

the "es2015" in :

    .pipe(babel({
        presets: ['es2015']
    }))

is actually a path - so if you don't have the preset in the /Users/username/es2015 directory you have to point exactly to it like for instance:

.pipe(babel({
    presets: ['../../gulp/node_modules/babel-preset-es2015']
}))

it worked for me

Solution 4

I just used this exact gulpfile.js

var babel = require('gulp-babel');
var es2015 = require('babel-preset-es2015');
var gulp = require('gulp');

gulp.task('babel', function() {
    return gulp.src('./app/main.js')
    .pipe(babel({
        presets: [es2015]
    }))
    .pipe(gulp.dest('dist'));
});

and it worked for me. I only installed babel, babel-preset-es2015 and gulp-babel.

Solution 5

Check if you have .babelrc file in the root folder of your Project. If not create .babelrc file and add the following:

{
  "presets": ["es2015"]
}

It fixed the issue.

View more solutions

Comments

[thefourtheye]

I think you need to pass a string in the presets array, like ['es2015'], I am not very sure though

[Brian Douglas]

@thefourtheye Thanks but same issue as a string.

[Andrei CACIO]

You didn't require gulp. Maybe that could be the cause var gulp = require('gulp');

[Brian Douglas]

@AndreiCacio I have included gulp it just isnt in the code snippet. I have only included the code relevant to the babel compiler.

[loganfsmyth]

Do you happen to have a .babelrc file in your home directory? Since that is where it is looking for the preset, that means that is where the configuration is coming from.

[Brian Douglas]

Could you tell me your version of babel and node. I have the same set up as you can see. but still that same error

[Andrei CACIO]

I am using node 4.0 and babel 6

[Brian Douglas]

Updated description with terminal output

[Andrei CACIO]

It might be a windows related issue or smth like that. I have found a similar thread that you can check out: github.com/laravel/elixir/issues/354 maybe it will shine a light on the problem.

[Andrei CACIO]

Try to uninstall the node_modules folder and reinstall fresh all packages

[Andrei CACIO]

another related post: stackoverflow.com/questions/34345573/…

[Brian Douglas]

Thanks, unfortunately I have seen both of those. Will keep digging for a solution.

[givemesnacks]

Loading babel-preset-es2015 explicitly as shown here solved my issue.

[yairr]

Make sure .babelrc is configured correctly for babel 6. The format for 6 is "presets": ["react", "es2015"],

[Scott Stensland]

this solved it for me ... WoW what a terrible error message : Error: Couldn't find preset "es2015" relative to directory "/path/to/node/package/attemping/to/install" ... especially painful when trying to install some random npm package which uses gulp and babel

[valkalon]

also worked for me using an absolute path to the "babel-preset-es2015" folder

[overallduka]

+1 i found an .babelrc file in my root and this was the problem. the config babelrc: false seems not work, but when i delete everything works!

[Syed]

npm WARN deprecated [email protected]: 🙌 Thanks for using Babel: we recommend using babel-preset-env now: please read babeljs.io/env to update!

[Robert Oschler]

This may seem overly simplistic, so I'm only adding it as a comment, but make sure you spell everything right. I had the label as 'es2105' with the digits transposed and it had me scratching my head for a while.

[Mehrnoosh]

Saved my day! Thank you

[Pawan]

Thanks a lot for this amazing solution.

[Amgad]

Perfect. this indeed is a very hidden issue. Solved it for me

[JackChouMine]

this answer saves me.