---
sidebar_position: 4
---

# How to handle third-party dependencies

Generally, third-party dependencies required by a project can be installed via the `install` command in the package manager. After the third-party dependencies are successfully installed, they will generally appear under `dependencies` and `devDependencies` in the project `package.json`.

```json pacakge.json
{
  "dependencies": {},
  "devDependencies": {}
}
```

Dependencies under `"dependencies"` are generally related to project code and builds, and if these third-party dependencies are declared under `"devDependencies"`, then there will be missing dependencies in production environments.

In addition to `"dependencies"`, [`"peerDependencies"`](/en/guide/basic/before-getting-started#peerdependencies) can also declare dependencies that are needed in the production environment, but it puts more emphasis on the existence of these dependencies declared by `"peerDependencies"` in the project's runtime environment, similar to the plugin mechanism.

## Default handling of third-party dependencies

By default, third-party dependencies under `"dependencies"` and `"peerDependencies"` are not packaged in the module project\*\*.

This is because when the npm package is installed, its `"dependencies"` will also be installed. By not packaging `"dependencies"`, you can reduce the size of the package product.

If you need to package some dependencies, it is recommended to move them from `"dependencies"` to `"devDependencies"`, which is equivalent to **prebundle** the dependencies and reduces the size of the dependency installation.

<CH.Spotlight>

```json ./v1/package.json
{
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "^17"
  },
  // or
  "peerDependencies": {
    "react": "^17"
  }
}
```

---

If the project has a dependency on `react`.

```json ./v1/package.json
{
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "^17"
  },
  // or
  "peerDependencies": {
    "react": "^17"
  }
}
```

---

When a `react` dependency is used in the source code.

```tsx src/index.ts
import React from 'react';
console.info(React);
```

---

The `react` code is not packaged into the product at this point.

```js dist/index.js
import React from 'react';
console.info(React);
```

</CH.Spotlight>

If you want to modify the default processing, you can use the following API.

- [`buildConfig.autoExternal`](/api/config/build-config#autoexternal)

## Exclude specified third-party dependencies

We mentioned above the use of the `buildConfig.autoExternal` API, and [`buildConfig.externals`](/en/api/config/build-config#externals) can control which third-party dependencies to handle
the project's dependencies in a more granular way.

For example, when we need to leave only certain dependencies unpacked, we can configure it as follows.

> In this case, it is likely that some dependencies are not suitable for packaging. If this is the case, then you can handle it as follows.

```ts
epxort default defineConfig({
  buildConfig: {
    autoExternal: false,
    externals: ['pkg-1', /pkg-2/],
  }
});
```
