export

The export statement is used to export functions, objects or primitives from a given file (or module).

Note: This feature is not implemented in any browsers natively at this time. It is implemented in many transpilers, such as the Traceur CompilerBabel or Rollup.

Syntax

JavaScript
export { <var>name1</var>, <var>name2</var>, …, <var>nameN</var> };
export { <var>variable1</var> as <var>name1</var>, <var>variable2</var> as <var>name2</var>, …, <var>nameN</var> };
export let <var>name1</var>, <var>name2</var>, …, <var>nameN</var>; // also var
export let <var>name1</var> = …, <var>name2</var> = …, …, <var>nameN</var>; // also var, const

export default expression;
export default function (…) { … } // also class, function*
export default function name1(…) { … } // also class, function*
export { <var>name1</var> as default, … };

export * from …;
export { <var>name1</var>, <var>name2</var>, …, <var>nameN</var> } from …;
export { <var>import1</var> as <var>name1</var>, <var>import2</var> as <var>name2</var>, …, <var>nameN</var> } from …;
nameN
Identifier to be exported (so that it can be imported via import in another script).

Description

There are two different types of export, each type corresponds to one of the above syntax:

  • Named exports:
    JavaScript
    export { myFunction }; // exports a function declared earlier
    export const foo = Math.sqrt(2); // exports a constant
  • Default exports (only one per script):
    JavaScript
    export default function() {} // or 'export default class {}'
    // there is no semi-colon here

Named exports are useful to export several values. During the import, one will be able to use the same name to refer to the corresponding value.

Concerning the default export, there is only a single default export per module. A default export can be a function, a class, an object or anything else. This value is to be considered as the "main" exported value since it will be the simplest to import.

Examples

Using named exports

In the module, we could use the following code:

JavaScript
// module "my-module.js"
function cube(x) {
  return x * x * x;
}
const foo = Math.PI + Math.SQRT2;
export { cube, foo };

This way, in another script (cf. import), we could have:

JavaScript
import { cube, foo } from 'my-module';
console.log(cube(3)); // 27
console.log(foo);    // 4.555806215962888

Using the default export

If we want to export a single value or to have a fallback value for our module, we could use a default export:

JavaScript
// module "my-module.js"
export default function cube(x) {
  return x * x * x;
}

Then, in another script, it will be straightforward to import the default export:

JavaScript
import cube from 'my-module';
console.log(cube(3)); // 27

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
ECMAScript 2015 (6th Edition, ECMA-262)
The definition of 'Exports' in that specification.
Standard Initial definition.
ECMAScript 2017 Draft (ECMA-262)
The definition of 'Exports' in that specification.
Draft  

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support No support No support No support No support No support
Feature Android Chrome for Android Firefox Mobile (Gecko) IE Mobile Opera Mobile Safari Mobile
Basic support No support No support No support No support No support No support

See also

License

© 2016 Mozilla Contributors
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-us/docs/web/javascript/reference/statements/export

ECMAScript6 JavaScript Statement