swc

SWC

SWC (Speedy Web Compiler) is a Rust-based extensible platform. It is the compiler inside Next.js and Deno.

When to Use

• High-Performance JavaScript/TypeScript Transpilation: Replacing Babel with a Rust-based compiler up to 20x faster.
• Next.js & Modern Bundler Pipelines: Transpiling React JSX, TSX, modern ECMAScript features, and Webpack/Turbopack assets.
• Programmatic AST Manipulation & Code Generation: Building fast custom build tools using the @swc/core Node.js API.
• Production Asset Minification: Minifying JS and CSS bundles at extreme speeds using @swc/core minifier.

Quick Start

1. Minimal .swcrc

{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/swcrc",
  "jsc": {
    "parser": {
      "syntax": "typescript",
      "tsx": true,
      "decorators": true
    },
    "transform": {
      "react": {
        "runtime": "automatic"
      }
    },
    "target": "es2022"
  },
  "minify": false
}

2. Compile via CLI

npx @swc/cli src -d dist

Core Concepts

Production SWC Configuration (.swcrc)

Configuring modern TypeScript, React 19 JSX runtime, and module transpilation:

{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/swcrc",
  "jsc": {
    "parser": {
      "syntax": "typescript",
      "tsx": true,
      "decorators": true,
      "dynamicImport": true
    },
    "transform": {
      "react": {
        "runtime": "automatic",
        "refresh": true
      }
    },
    "target": "es2022",
    "loose": false,
    "externalHelpers": true,
    "keepClassNames": true,
    "minify": {
      "compress": {
        "unused": true,
        "drop_console": true
      },
      "mangle": true
    }
  },
  "module": {
    "type": "es6"
  },
  "minify": true,
  "sourceMaps": true
}

Programmatic Compilation with @swc/core API

Transpiling source files asynchronously in Node.js scripts:

import swc from "@swc/core";
import fs from "node:fs/promises";

async function compileTypeScript(filePath) {
  const code = await fs.readFile(filePath, "utf-8");

  const output = await swc.transform(code, {
    filename: filePath,
    sourceMaps: true,
    jsc": {
      parser: { syntax: "typescript", tsx: true },
      target: "es2022",
    },
    module: { type: "commonjs" },
  });

  console.log("Transpiled Code:\n", output.code);
  if (output.map) {
    console.log("Source Map Generated");
  }
}

compileTypeScript("./src/index.ts");

High-Speed CLI Transpilation

Compiling directory trees directly with the SWC command line:

# Transpile src/ to dist/ with source maps
npx swc src -d dist --copy-files --source-maps

# Transpile and bundle with swcpack
npx swc src/index.ts -o dist/bundle.js --minify

Common Patterns

Accelerating Jest Tests with @swc/jest

Problem: TypeScript transpilation with ts-jest makes test suites run very slowly.
Solution: Swap ts-jest for @swc/jest.

// jest.config.js
module.exports = {
  transform: {
    "^.+\.(t|j)sx?$": [
      "@swc/jest",
      {
        jsc: {
          transform: {
            react: { runtime: "automatic" },
          },
        },
      },
    ],
  },
};

SWC Bundling & Minification Pipeline

Problem: Need fast minification for production build scripts.
Solution: Enable minify options inside .swcrc.

{
  "minify": true,
  "jsc": {
    "minify": {
      "compress": {
        "drop_console": true
      },
      "mangle": true
    }
  }
}

Best Practices

Do:

• Install @swc/helpers and enable externalHelpers: true to avoid duplicating transpiler runtime helper stubs.
• Pair SWC with tsc --noEmit in CI/CD pipelines since SWC transpiles code without performing type checking.
• Configure target: "es2022" or newer to take advantage of native modern browser capabilities.
• Use @swc/jest or @swc/register to drastically accelerate unit test execution.

Don't:

• Rely on Babel plugins unless strictly necessary; check if native SWC plugins (Wasm plugins) exist.
• Commit .swc build cache directories to Git repositories.
• Run SWC minification without generating source maps for production troubleshooting.

Troubleshooting

Error	Cause	Solution
failed to handle: error parsing typescript	TypeScript syntax (e.g. JSX or decorators) used without enabling flags in .swcrc	Ensure "syntax": "typescript", "tsx": true, and "decorators": true are present in jsc.parser.
Decorators metadata not emitting (Reflect.getMetadata returns undefined)	transform.legacyDecorator and transform.decoratorMetadata not configured	Set "legacyDecorator": true and "decoratorMetadata": true inside jsc.transform.
Cannot find module '@swc/core-darwin-arm64'	Native binary install failed during npm/yarn install	Run npm install --force @swc/core to trigger native binary fetch for target architecture.

References

• SWC Documentation