#1570·cli

npx sequelize-cli breaking on node 26

Author: ranupratapsinghCreated Jul 17, 2026Updated Jul 20, 2026

Issue Creation Checklist

  • I understand that my issue will be automatically closed if I don't fill in the requested information
  • I have read the contribution guidelines

Bug Description

When using sequelize-cli in a project having "type": "module" with a .js config file path (via .sequelizerc), commands(even npx sequeliize-cli --version) break with follwing error trace

ReferenceError: require is not defined in ES module scope, you can use import instead
    at file:///Users/rpsingh/dev/sif_ms/.sequelizerc:1:14
    at ModuleJobSync.runSync (node:internal/modules/esm/module_job:673:37)

Reproducible Example

  1. Create a .sequelizerc file:
const path = require('path');

module.exports = {
  'config': path.resolve('config', 'database.js'),
  'models-path': path.resolve('app', 'models'),
  'seeders-path': path.resolve('db', 'seeders'),
  'migrations-path': path.resolve('db', 'migrations')
}
  1. Run:
npx sequelize-cli db:create

What do you expect to happen?

db should be created.

What is actually happening?

Following erorr is occuring

npx sequelize-cli --version
file:///Users/rpsingh/dev/sif_ms/.sequelizerc:1
const path = require('path');
             ^

ReferenceError: require is not defined in ES module scope, you can use import instead
    at file:///Users/rpsingh/dev/sif_ms/.sequelizerc:1:14
    at ModuleJobSync.runSync (node:internal/modules/esm/module_job:673:37)
    at ModuleLoader.importSyncForRequire (node:internal/modules/esm/loader:350:47)
    at loadESMFromCJS (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1752:24)
    at Module._compile (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1916:5)
    at Object..js (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:2074:10)
    at Module.load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1656:32)
    at Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1448:12)
    at wrapModuleLoad (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:261:19)
    at Module.require (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1679:12)

Node.js v26.5.0

Environment

  • Sequelize-cli version: 6.6.5
  • Node.js version: 26.5.0
  • If TypeScript related: N/A
  • Database & Version: N/A
  • Connector library & Version: N/A

More info

This bug is not occuring in node version 24 or 25.