Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Terser VS JavaScript Obfuscator

Compare Terser VS JavaScript Obfuscator and see what are their differences

Terser logo Terser

JavaScript parser, mangler, optimizer and beautifier toolkit for ES6+

JavaScript Obfuscator logo JavaScript Obfuscator

JavaScript Obfuscator is a free online tool that obfuscates your source code, preventing it from being stolen and used without permission.
  • Terser Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-25
  • JavaScript Obfuscator Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-23

Terser features and specs

  • Highly Effective Minification
    Terser provides comprehensive minification capabilities, significantly reducing JavaScript file sizes, which can lead to faster load times and improved application performance.
  • ES6+ Support
    Terser supports modern JavaScript syntax, making it suitable for projects using ES6 features and beyond, ensuring compatibility with the latest JavaScript standards.
  • Source Maps
    Terser can generate source maps, allowing developers to map minified code back to the original source code, which is crucial for debugging and maintaining large codebases.
  • Plugin Friendly
    Terser integrates well with various build tools like Webpack, Rollup, and others, offering seamless integration into existing development workflows.
  • Configurable
    Terser offers a high degree of configurability, enabling developers to tailor the minification process according to their specific needs and restrictions.

Possible disadvantages of Terser

  • Complex Configuration
    The array of options and configurations available in Terser can be overwhelming for new users or those unfamiliar with JavaScript minification processes.
  • Potential Bugs
    As with any complex minification tool, there's a risk of bugs or issues being introduced, especially if certain advanced or experimental features are used.
  • Performance Overhead
    Minification, in general, requires additional processing time during build steps, which can increase CI/CD pipeline durations, particularly for large projects.
  • Readability Loss
    Minified code is difficult to read and debug without source maps, so reliance on Terser makes generating source maps a necessity, which might not always be desired or feasible.
  • Dependency Maintenance
    Keeping Terser and its related dependencies updated can be a maintenance burden, especially if breaking changes occur between versions.

JavaScript Obfuscator features and specs

  • Increased Code Security
    JavaScript obfuscation makes the code difficult to understand, providing an additional layer of security against code theft and unauthorized use.
  • Protection from Reverse Engineering
    By transforming the code into an unreadable format, obfuscation helps shield your code logic from competitors seeking to replicate your functionality.
  • Deterrence against Hackers
    Obfuscated code acts as a deterrent to hackers by making it time-consuming and resource-intensive to attempt to decipher the software’s mechanics.
  • Preservation of Functionality
    Despite altering the code appearance, obfuscation ensures that the original behavior and functionality of the JavaScript code remain unchanged.
  • Customization Options
    The obfuscator provides multiple options and settings for customizing the level and style of obfuscation, allowing you to balance between security and performance.

Possible disadvantages of JavaScript Obfuscator

  • Performance Overhead
    Obfuscated code can be less performant since the transformations applied can increase the size and decrease the readability of the code, impacting loading times.
  • Debugging Challenges
    Diagnosing and fixing issues in obfuscated code can be challenging due to the lack of meaningful variable names and structural clarity.
  • Not Foolproof
    While obfuscation increases the difficulty of reverse engineering, it is not an impenetrable solution, and determined attackers can still potentially decode the logic.
  • Potential Compatibility Issues
    Obfuscation might introduce compatibility problems with certain environments or tools, particularly if aggressive transformations are applied.
  • Increased Build Complexity
    Integrating obfuscation into the development and deployment pipeline adds complexity, requiring additional steps and potential modifications to the build process.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Terser and JavaScript Obfuscator)
Web Application Bundler
49 49%
51% 51
Tool
53 53%
47% 47
Monitoring Tools
44 44%
56% 56
Assets Bundler
54 54%
46% 46

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, JavaScript Obfuscator should be more popular than Terser. It has been mentiond 29 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Terser mentions (13)

  • 10 Bad Habits That Can Slow Down Your JavaScript Applications 🐌
    Example: You've got a main.js file that's as long as a Tolstoy novel. Fix: Use tools like UglifyJS or Terser to minify your code. They'll squeeze out all the unnecessary bits and give you a sleeker, faster-loading file. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Things you forgot because of React
    They can do it, it is just turned off by default and require more advanced configuration. https://github.com/terser/terser#cli-mangling-property-names.... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Understanding Source Maps: Simplifying Debugging
    Minifying is a common practice for optimizing production code. (for example, using Terser to minify and mangle JavaScript). - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Minify private methods in a TypeScript class
    Terser is JavaScript compressor that can minified specific method names. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • React Native CI/CD build speed improved by 22% with one line of code
    Every release build of React Native uses terser to reduce the size of your JavaScript. And it operation can be omitted for Staging/Beta builds. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
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JavaScript Obfuscator mentions (29)

  • Here's how to brew obfuscation in JavaScript without burning the lab: AST, Babel, plugins.
    Now let's take the above code and modify it with a popular obfuscator for JS - obfuscator.io. As a result, we will get a code like this:. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • How to Encrypt JavaScript Code for Web Security
    You can use tools like JavaScript Obfuscator or UglifyJS to obfuscate your code. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • What to do when someone clones your site?
    I know it's frowned upon here, but there are commercial and open source[1] javascript obfuscators with domain locking functionalities. If your site is already a SPA, they can make it very painful to just lift it (not impossible, obviously, because everything is reverse-engineerable, but the point is to discourage the majority of thiefs). You can be creative: for example, if whoever cloned your site is located in... - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Need ideas with modding TCOAAL
    I don't need/use IDA, Nemlei just used https://obfuscator.io/, which just obfuscates the crap out of the code using various known methods (which I won't go into detail, it's public knowledge) and an un-obfuscation was cooked up by others. The one fucked-up thing the website does is randomizing function names, it just changes every variable/function name. We can't "un-obfuscate" those, so it's up to our brains to... Source: over 1 year ago
  • How do human read code like this
    It's to purposefully makes your code harder to read so it prevents people from stealing your work. Here's a tool that does it: https://obfuscator.io/. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Terser and JavaScript Obfuscator, you can also consider the following products

UglifyJS - JavaScript minifier, beautifier, mangler and parser toolkit.

Closure Compiler - The Closure Compiler is a tool for making JavaScript download and run faster.

YUI Compressor - Yahoo JS/CSS Compressor

DomainLockJS - Free code snippet to lock javascript files to your domain. Protect javascript code. Easy cut & paste script. Prevent unauthorized use of your scripts and deter code theft.

Gnirts - Gnirts is a JavaScript library for obfuscating string literals by encoding them as different string literals.

Webpack - Webpack is a module bundler. Its main purpose is to bundle JavaScript files for usage in a browser, yet it is also capable of transforming, bundling, or packaging just about any resource or asset.