The resolve hook chain is responsible for resolving file URL for a given module specifier and parent URL, and optionally its format (such as 'module') as a hint to the load hook. If a format is specified, the load hook is ultimately responsible for providing the final format value (and it is free to ignore the hint provided by resolve); if resolve provides a format, a custom load hook is required even if only to pass the value to the Node.js default load hook.