Webpack

Webpack is a module bundler that processes JavaScript modules and their dependencies into optimized bundles for web delivery. It treats every file in a project as a module, including JavaScript, CSS, images, fonts, and HTML, using loaders to transform each type and plugins to perform broader build optimizations like minification, compression, and environment variable injection.

The core capability that made Webpack dominant is code splitting, which divides application code into separate chunks that load on demand rather than forcing users to download the entire application upfront. Dynamic imports create split points automatically. The plugin system is extensive, covering everything from HTML generation to service worker creation. While newer tools like Vite and Turbopack offer faster development experiences, Webpack remains widely deployed in production applications and is still the default bundler for Create React App and many enterprise codebases where its mature plugin ecosystem and configuration flexibility are valued.