[Go Make Things] No default exports

By rahmat hidayat

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

​ Today's newsletter is sponsored by ConfigCat — the feature flag service that helps you release features faster and with less risk. More on them at the end of today's newsletter. Today, I wanted to touch quickly on an extremely opinionated JavaScript architecture/code authoring standards position I have. Do not ever use default exports. I've worked on projects that used a mix of default exports and collections of exports, and it gets really confusing, really fast. import { formatCurrency } from './formatCurrency.js'; import convertCentsToDollars from './convertCentsToDollars.js'; Why is formatCurrency destructured, but convertCentsToDollars is not? You might assume that convertCentsToDollars is the only export in its file, while formatCurrency is one of a few exports. And that could be the case. Or it could not! And that's exactly the point. The mix/match of default exports and object destructuring imports creates needless mental overhead and forces me to think about things that I shouldn't have to. If everything gets imported "the normal way," I never have to think about how to import it. Are you looking for a service to support dynamic feature flags? ConfigCat is a cross-platform LaunchDarkly alternative that's easy to learn and quick to set up. With SDKs for 19 platforms — including JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Java, and even Rust — you can toggle features on or off without redeploying. ConfigCat subscriptions are the same price regardless of your team size. Get 25% off any paid plan with code GO25 or just use ConfigCat's generous free tier. Definitely worth checking out. Cheers, Chris ​ Want to share this with others or read it later? View it in a browser.​ ​

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