Using dependencies from npm in user scripts

[pburrows]

I have a user script macro that uses simple-git to push changes to github. I am struggling on how to reference the simple-git dependency.
I've tried doing an npm i simple-git in the same directory as the script file, in the parent directory, in the .obsidian/modules directory. I've even tried copying the index.js file from simple-git into the same folder as my user script and doing const simpleGit = require('./simple-git')

Nothing seems to work. The error is always "cannot find module 'simple-git'"

node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1082 Uncaught (in promise) Error: Cannot find module 'simple-git'
Require stack:
- electron/js2c/renderer_init

Any tricks on how to reference dependencies in user script macros?

[chhoumann]

Coming back to this one very late - sorry about that.

The reason nothing you tried worked: your script isn't loaded by Node's module system, so require("simple-git") (and even require("./simple-git")) resolves against Electron's internals - that's the electron/js2c/renderer_init in your stack trace - not against your script's folder. A vault-local node_modules is never searched.

Two patterns that do work:

Option A - require by absolute path. Run npm i simple-git in a folder inside your vault (say scripts/), then build the absolute path at runtime:

module.exports = async ({ app }) => {
  const path = require("path");
  const simpleGit = require(
    path.join(app.vault.adapter.getBasePath(), "scripts", "node_modules", "simple-git")
  );
  const git = simpleGit(app.vault.adapter.getBasePath());
  // ... git.add("./*").commit("...").push() etc.
};

Option B - bundle. Build your script into a single file and point QuickAdd at the bundle, so no node_modules lives in the vault at all:

esbuild myscript.js --bundle --platform=node --format=cjs --outfile=myscript.bundle.js

Either way this is desktop-only: require (and simple-git shelling out to git) doesn't exist on mobile, so guard with Platform.isDesktopApp if the vault is shared with a phone.

The require-by-absolute-path pattern and its caveats are documented here: https://quickadd.obsidian.guide/docs/UserScripts