Create an explainer / hub page for unflagged require(ESM) support

[JoshuaKGoldberg]

Enter your suggestions in details:

The new unflagged require(ESM) support in Node.js is very exciting. It's starting to let a lot of tools move to ESM without feat of leaving dependents behind. 🚀

But, there isn't one single high-level, official resource I can find that users can be pointed to to understand the unflagged support.

• https://joyeecheung.github.io/blog/2024/03/18/require-esm-in-node-js/ is not official. It feels weird pointing folks to a third party platform. It also has a lot of details on historical context and decision-making that users who just want to learn the high level of the feature wouldn't want to have to read through. (it is a great blog post on its own though!)
• https://nodejs.org/api/modules.html#loading-ecmascript-modules-using-require is very technical and dives into the weeds of the module system.

Proposal: can the Node.js site have a page added dedicated to the unflagged require(ESM) support? I'd imagine it could contain:

1. What "require(ESM)" is
2. Quick examples of requiring an ES module from a CJS file
3. What versions of Node.js have it
   • Edit: ^20.19.0 || >=22.12.0 seems to be the common support target post-18.x
4. Quick FAQs such as TLA being unsupported
5. Links to learn more on the official Node.js website

Sibling issue to #34, intentionally with as similar an issue body as possible.

[joyeecheung]

Thanks for opening the issue! I think this is what part of the package-examples aim to solve (e.g. in the Making ESM require-able chapter, the goal is to have some actual working examples there living side by side with the document), though this is still a WIP and I have not gotten to filling in the skeletons already laid out in there. Feel free to take a look at https://github.com/nodejs/package-examples/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md if anyone is interested ;)

[udaydevs]

@JoshuaKGoldberg please assign me this issue

[avivkeller]

Hi! You are more than welcome to work on resolving this issue, we'd actually really appreciate it!

However, we don't typically assign issues to users.

[joyeecheung]

FYI I opened nodejs/package-examples#16 to add a CJS->ESM migration guide in the package example guide, which, together with the chapter 3-4 landed there before, should include all the points suggested in the OP.