Error [ERR_UNKNOWN_BUILTIN_MODULE]: No such built-in module: express

[KianoJ]

Hello,
I tried to compile my express app following the Single executable applications guide in but I've got this error :

node:internal/util/embedding:48
    throw new ERR_UNKNOWN_BUILTIN_MODULE(id);
    ^

Error [ERR_UNKNOWN_BUILTIN_MODULE]: No such built-in module: express
    at embedderRequire (node:internal/util/embedding:48:11)
    at dist/app.js:141:33
    at embedderRunCjs (node:internal/util/embedding:37:10)
    at node:internal/main/embedding:18:8 {
  code: 'ERR_UNKNOWN_BUILTIN_MODULE'
}

Node.js v21.6.0

It also appear with Node.js v20.10.0.

The app is written with typescript but the build is working when running in the terminal. Here is the tsconfig.json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES5",
    "lib": ["ES5"],
    "module": "commonjs",
    "rootDir": "./src",
    "sourceMap": true,
    "outDir": "./dist",
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
    "strict": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true
  }
}

Did I miss something ?

[GabenGar]

Yeah, the part where it says that it only supports built-in modules.

[joyeecheung]

Yes, for now you would need to bundle your code into one single file that only requires builtins before injecting it into the SEA.

[KianoJ]

Hooo I didn't understand like that. Thanks for the clarification!
For now if I want to achieve the same results is by using pkg by vercel?

[robertsLando]

FYI pkg has been archived now. I'm maintaining the most active fork here: https://github.com/yao-pkg/pkg

If you need ESM support there some alternatives: yao-pkg/pkg#16 (comment)

[pironev]

This will works if you do a build with just one file.
Install esbuild:
npm install --save-exact --save-dev esbuild
Copy to package.json:

     "scripts": {
     "build": "esbuild your-start-file.js --bundle --platform=node --outfile=out.js"
        }

generate out.js :
npm run build
Then resumes the whole process from https://nodejs.org/api/single-executable-applications.html for out.js