Babel is a toolchain that is mainly used to convert ECMAScript 2015+ code into a backwards compatible version of JavaScript in current and older browsers or environments.

Is Babel needed for node JS?

If you've been active as a Node. js developer, or even dabbled in front-end libraries like React or Vue. js, then there's no doubt that you've likely run across Babel.

What is Babel and why do we need it?

Babel is responsible to converting new language features to old. You can write code that would run on many browser by using just the bundler but without using Babel. You code does become more convoluted by transpiling it with Babel, so you should only do this if you need to. Not all browsers support ES6.