require('node:url') in Webpack 5.101.0 breaks builds unexpectedly

[SuvikRahane]

Description
After upgrading to webpack@5.101.0, our builds started failing with this error:

Error: Cannot find module 'node:url'
Require stack:
- /node_modules/html-webpack-plugin/index.js
- /config/webpack.common.js
- /config/webpack.config.js
- /node_modules/webpack-cli/lib/webpack-cli.js

✅ Confirmed Workaround
Downgrading to webpack@5.100.2 resolves the issue — this version does not import node:url.

🧪 Environment

Component	Version
Node.js	v20.19.4
npm	v10.8.2
webpack	v5.101.0

📦 Steps to Reproduce

• Use a project with webpack@5.101.0.
• Run a build that includes html-webpack-plugin.
• Observe the crash due to node:url.

🙏 Request
Please:

• Investigate and verify whether webpack@5.101.0 was published with outdated or mismatched code.
• Patch via v5.101.1 or revert to the previous behavior.
• Optionally document Node version requirements more explicitly in the changelog.

I'm happy to assist with additional testing or provide more logs if needed. Please let me know how I can help.

[alexander-akait]

We don't use node:url inside webpack

[alexander-akait]

Also please verify you really use v20.19.4 Nodejs because v20.19.4 supports node: protocol

[SuvikRahane]

Thanks for the quick response!
Just to add - downgrading from webpack@5.101.0 to 5.100.2 resolved the issue for me. This suggests that something introduced in 5.101.0, possibly an internal utility or updated dependency, may be triggering the require('node:url') call - even if not directly inside the webpack core code.

[alexander-akait]

Sorry we can't fix something somewhere, please create reproducible test repo

[SuvikRahane]

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately, I'm unable to create a reproducible repository right now due to limited time. Just wanted to flag this in case others encounter the same issue after updating to webpack@5.101.0. Downgrading to 5.100.2 consistently resolves it for me.

[alexander-akait]

Please stop repeat Downgrading to 5.100.2 consistently resolves it for me. it doesn't help to solve your problem, we don't use node: inside webpack, just look at our code, your project can have a lot of other deps where it can happen, also v20.19.4 NodeJS supports node: protocol, so I can't help your here without additional information

[itsanas990]

Yeah, this is a known kind of issue people run into when upgrading to Webpack 5+, especially around Node core modules like url.

In Webpack 5, a lot of Node.js polyfills were removed by default, so something like:

require('node:url')

can break builds depending on your setup, because:

Webpack no longer automatically polyfills Node core modules
Some packages still assume Node-style resolution
Mismatch between ESM/CJS imports can cause unexpected build failures
Common fixes people use:

Replace with:

import { URL } from 'url'
Or ensure proper fallback/polyfill config in resolve.fallback
Or update dependencies that still rely on legacy Node imports

This usually isn’t a Webpack bug itself, but a compatibility change in Webpack 5’s module resolution system.

If you're working with APIs or tooling that involves modern JavaScript builds or integrations, you might also find structured API platforms useful for avoiding dependency complexity. For example: https://imageapi.org/ — especially when building apps that need stable backend services without constantly fighting build issues.

Overall, this is one of those migration pain points that shows up when moving from older Node/Webpack assumptions to modern bundling rules.