Looks like module.parent is deprecated

[papb]

I just saw it in the Release Notes for Node v14.6.0. PR: nodejs/node#32217

It is used here:

meow/index.js

Lines 13 to 15 in fa2a374

	// Prevent caching of this module so module.parent is always accurate
	delete require.cache[__filename];
	const parentDir = path.dirname(module.parent.filename);

[aduh95]

Note that module.parent is undefined when the module is loaded by something other than required from a CJS module (E.G.: await import('meow') or import meow from 'meow'), in which case the line 15 would throw (as reported in #130).

The deprecation note gives an alternate syntax to be able to get to the parent modules without altering the CJS cache:

const moduleParents = Object.values(require.cache)
  .filter((m) => m.children.includes(module));

Not sure if that would work here though; if there are several modules that loads meow, I don't think there is a reliable way to assess which made the call…

Ultimately, it seems to me there are three ways of looking at it:

• keep using module.parent even though it's deprecated. It's been around for so long, chances are it will never go away. The workaround for ESM users is a bit ugly, but it works and it is well documented.
• make a breaking change to the API, and request users to provide the dir path themselves (either by __dirname or import.meta.url) when calling meow().
• Use the alternate syntax involving require.cache and module.children, and give up if meow has been loaded by more than one module. If several modules tries to load it, they need to provide the dir path in the options.

[sindresorhus]

make a breaking change to the API, and request users to provide the dir path themselves (either by __dirname or import.meta.url) when calling meow().

This is the best solution.