I have relied on URI.js from medialize for years.

I downloaded it a long time ago, and it just works. It’s handy for parsing and building URIs form within Javascript.
I happen to use nodejs often, but I also use a JavaScript engine that runs in the JVM (via Rhino or Nashorn). So I liked URI.js for its usability across those systems.

Recently I decided to download “the latest and greatest” URI.js, and what I found… did not make me jump for joy.

URI.js is no longer “just downloadable”.

Where before I could just download the raw JS file, URI.js now has a builder that allows me to select which options I wish to include. I get the concept, and it’s a nice idea, but when I de-selected every option, I got a minimized URI.js that I did not want. When I went to the source tree I found a URI.js that included all the require() statements for punycode, Second-Level Domains, and ipv6, all stuff I did not want.

*snif*

I couldn’t figure out how to get it to “just work” in nodejs without all of that, so I had to resort to manually changing the code. Basically I just removed all the require() statements for those unneeded / unwanted modules.

And it works.

It’s possible I’m missing something basic, but for sure, it got more complicated to get the simple solution. Seems like a step backward.