While loaders are used to transform certain types of modules, plugins can be leveraged to perform a wider range of tasks like bundle optimization, asset management and injection of environment variables.
A webpack plugin is a JavaScript object that has an apply method. This apply method is called by the webpack compiler, giving access to the entire compilation lifecycle.
Plugins are used for performing actions or tasks on the entire bundle.
They can be used for various purposes, such as code splitting, minification, and adding environment-specific variables.