dendrobundle vs size-limit
size-limit is a widely-used open-source CLI tool that enforces a performance budget at build time — it measures your code and fails CI if it exceeds a size or load-time threshold. It has no server, no history, and no dashboard; its purpose is enforcement at the point of the commit. dendrobundle solves a different problem: it records every snapshot, visualises how your bundle changed over time, and alerts you on regressions — without replacing your bundler or re-processing output. The two are frequently used together.
dendrobundle vs size-limit, feature by feature
| feature | dendrobundle | size-limit |
|---|---|---|
| Build-fail budgets (block on threshold) | Yes | Yes — bytes, gzip, brotli, and browser execution time |
| Per-commit history and trend charts | Yes | No — no server, no retention |
| Interactive module-level treemap | Yes | No (one-time local Statoscope report via --why) |
| PR comment with size diff | No (in development) | Yes — via size-limit-action |
| Email regression alerts | Yes (Developer tier) | No |
| Weekly/monthly digest emails | Yes (Developer tier) | No |
| README SVG size badge | Yes | No |
| Browser execution-time budget | No | Yes — models download + parse time |
| Requires re-bundling or a plugin | No — reads stats you already emit | Yes — webpack/esbuild plugin or file measurement |
| Hosted service / dashboard | Yes | No — local CI tool only |
| Open source | No | Yes (MIT) |
Competitor details are researched but change over time — verify against size-limit’s current docs.
size-limit vs dendrobundle — FAQ
- Should I use size-limit or dendrobundle?
- They address different problems and are frequently used together. size-limit is right for enforcing a strict performance budget at commit time — especially for npm libraries where you want to prevent dependency bloat before it ships. dendrobundle is right for tracking how an application bundle evolves across commit history, visualising which modules grow, and getting alerted when a regression slips through. Many teams run size-limit for enforcement and dendrobundle for monitoring.
- Can I use both tools at the same time?
- Yes, and it is a reasonable setup. size-limit enforces thresholds via your bundler; dendrobundle reads the stats file your bundler already emits after size-limit has done its work. They do not conflict, and the combination gives you both hard enforcement and historical context.
- When is size-limit the better choice?
- size-limit is the better choice when you maintain an npm library and want to track install size and browser parse time, not just output file size. Its browser execution-time model is unique in the category. If you have no need for persistent history, a treemap, or email alerts, size-limit's zero-infrastructure model is simpler to operate.
Add bundle history to your size-limit setup — the Community plan is free and reads the same bundler output you already produce.
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