Webpack-cli: [FEATURE]: Option to switch between versions of webpack

Created on 25 Mar 2021 · 5Comments · Source: webpack/webpack-cli

I'm working on a Vue 2 project, which needs webpack v4 deep in its internals. It seems unlikely I'll be able to update any time soon. However for a new entry point, I'd like to use v5. I was able to install both v4 and v5 using package.json npm aliases:

"webpack": "^4.0.0",
"webpack5": "npm:webpack@^5.28.0",
"webpack-cli": "^4.5.0"

It would be wonderful if I could somehow configure webpack-cli to use webpack5 some of the time.

Describe the solution you'd like

An environment variable seems like an ok option? Something like: WEBPACK_PACKAGE=webpack5 npx webpack version. A wepback-cli option itself could also work, but seems more difficult to implement.

Describe alternatives you've considered

I tried splitting off the new entry point into its own directory, but they have some shared code, so not really an option. The only other option is using v4 exclusively.
I tried modifying this line: https://github.com/webpack/webpack-cli/blob/6fb1215c8ac82e88ee85861e987b476af47acc61/packages/webpack-cli/lib/webpack-cli.js#L12 to say this.webpack = require(process.env.WEBPACK_PACKAGE || 'webpack');, and that did the thing!

Additional context

Feature Request

Source