🐠 Babel is a compiler created by Sebastian McKenzie in 2014 to convert ES6 to ES5 (originally called 6to5). It has since become a toolchain that enables developers to write any next generation JavaScript and serves as a testing ground for proposals from TC39, the technical committee that specifies ECMAScript. Babel can also convert JSX syntax and strip out type annotations from both Flow and TypeScript. Babel is built out of plugins. Compose your own transformation pipeline using plugins written by the community or write your own.