JavaScript: webpack is unpopular – but most used

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The latest edition of the annual State of JavaScript survey presents the responses of over 10,000 developers worldwide, sharing their most popular and frequently used JavaScript tools. React is once again the most used frontend framework, and Vite is the most popular tool overall.

In contrast, the most used tool, webpack, fails to generate much enthusiasm, as the bundler is considered cumbersome, tedious, and outdated, and Vite is closely trailing it in terms of usage frequency. Among text editors, the newer AI editor Cursor stands out particularly, but it cannot compete with Visual Studio Code.

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Vite rapidly chips away at webpack's throne

The study once again asked not only about the usage of JavaScript libraries but also about the positive, negative, or neutral attitudes developers hold towards them. The libraries are grouped into various categories, including frontend or backend frameworks and build tools. The overall winner in terms of usage frequency is the bundler webpack, but the build tool Vite is closely following it in second place and has overtaken React in usage this year.

A look at the most used build tools shows how close the race for first place was this time: 86.4 percent of participants used webpack in 2025, while Vite was just behind with 84.4 percent. Looking at the past few years shows that the gap between webpack and Vite is continuously closing. In the 2023 survey, the difference between the tools was still 17 percent, and in 2024, it was only eight percent.

On the popularity scale, Vite is at the top: among those who have already used the tool, 56 percent have a positive view of it, compared to only one percent negative. In the free-text comments about Vite, there are effusive praises. It is described as easy to use, the best technology in its field, or even “the only choice in 2025.”

webpack as an outdated, cumbersome nightmare

webpack is the least popular among its users: 37 percent of respondents who use webpack rate it negatively. Only 14 percent of webpack users have a positive attitude towards the tool. The free-text responses criticize, among other things, that webpack is “cumbersome and outdated,” has “extremely slow compilation times,” and its configuration is a nightmare. Other comments praise Vite or Turbopack as better alternatives.

AI Coding with Cursor

In terms of text editors, Microsoft's Visual Studio Code remains far ahead in usage with 84 percent. Cursor lands in second place: 26 percent of respondents use the AI-powered development environment, thus displacing established development environments and editors like JetBrains WebStorm or Vim (each 20 percent).

When asked about AI tools they regularly use for writing code, participants primarily mention ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, Claude, Gemini, and Cursor. Claude shows a significant increase in usage, with a gain of 22 percentage points compared to the previous year.

Interested parties can view these and other results of the study in detail on the State of JavaScript 2025 website. Previous results from the survey, conducted annually since 2016, are also available on the project's website.

(mai)