Resolve alias webpack helper

Name: Resolve alias webpack helper
Brand: thgh
Availability: InStock
Author: thgh

Payload plugin that injects webpack resolve aliases to stub out server-only modules in the admin bundle.

Community 7 1.2k/wk MIT v0.1.0

Installation

$ pnpm add payload-plugin-resolve-alias

About

This plugin solves a recurring webpack error in Payload's admin build where Node core modules like `util`, `express`, `express-session`, `passport`, and `nodemailer` fail to resolve because webpack 5 no longer polyfills them by default. It hooks into the `admin.webpack` config to add entries to `resolve.alias` that map those modules to `false`, telling webpack to emit an empty module instead of trying to bundle a server-only dependency for the browser. You register it in `payload.config.ts` as a normal Payload plugin. The `resolveAlias` function accepts multiple argument shapes: a plain object of `{ module: false }` pairs, an array of module names, or individual string names. It merges everything into one alias map and runs after any existing `admin.webpack` handler so your custom config is preserved. The package ships a `serverOnlyModules` constant listing the common offenders (`express`, `express-session`, `nodemailer`, `passport`, `util`), so the typical fix is a one-liner: `resolveAlias(serverOnlyModules, ['nodemailer'])`. Falsy arguments are skipped, which lets you pass conditional aliases guarded by environment checks. It targets Payload 1.x and works by transforming the `Config` object before it reaches the build. It does not add fields, collections, hooks, or endpoints. The one known limitation is that it cannot handle webpack alias configs defined as arrays.