|  |  | NOTE: The default branch has been renamed!
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | master is now named main
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | If you have a local clone, you can update it by running:
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```shell
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | git branch -m master main
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | git fetch origin
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | git branch -u origin/main main
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | # **node-addon-api module**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | This module contains  **header-only C++ wrapper classes** which simplify
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | the use of the C based [Node-API](https://nodejs.org/dist/latest/docs/api/n-api.html)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | provided by Node.js when using C++. It provides a C++ object model
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | and exception handling semantics with low overhead.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | There are three options for implementing addons: Node-API, nan, or direct
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | use of internal V8, libuv and Node.js libraries. Unless there is a need for
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | direct access to functionality which is not exposed by Node-API as outlined
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | in [C/C++ addons](https://nodejs.org/dist/latest/docs/api/addons.html)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | in Node.js core, use Node-API. Refer to
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | [C/C++ addons with Node-API](https://nodejs.org/dist/latest/docs/api/n-api.html)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | for more information on Node-API.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | Node-API is an ABI stable C interface provided by Node.js for building native
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | addons. It is independent from the underlying JavaScript runtime (e.g. V8 or ChakraCore)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | and is maintained as part of Node.js itself. It is intended to insulate
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | native addons from changes in the underlying JavaScript engine and allow
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | modules compiled for one version to run on later versions of Node.js without
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | recompilation.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | The `node-addon-api` module, which is not part of Node.js, preserves the benefits
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | of the Node-API as it consists only of inline code that depends only on the stable API
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | provided by Node-API. As such, modules built against one version of Node.js
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | using node-addon-api should run without having to be rebuilt with newer versions
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | of Node.js.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | It is important to remember that *other* Node.js interfaces such as
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | `libuv` (included in a project via `#include <uv.h>`) are not ABI-stable across
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | Node.js major versions. Thus, an addon must use Node-API and/or `node-addon-api`
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | exclusively and build against a version of Node.js that includes an
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | implementation of Node-API (meaning an active LTS version of Node.js) in
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | order to benefit from ABI stability across Node.js major versions. Node.js
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | provides an [ABI stability guide][] containing a detailed explanation of ABI
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | stability in general, and the Node-API ABI stability guarantee in particular.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | As new APIs are added to Node-API, node-addon-api must be updated to provide
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | wrappers for those new APIs. For this reason node-addon-api provides
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | methods that allow callers to obtain the underlying Node-API handles so
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | direct calls to Node-API and the use of the objects/methods provided by
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | node-addon-api can be used together. For example, in order to be able
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | to use an API for which the node-addon-api does not yet provide a wrapper.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | APIs exposed by node-addon-api are generally used to create and
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | manipulate JavaScript values. Concepts and operations generally map
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | to ideas specified in the **ECMA262 Language Specification**.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | The [Node-API Resource](https://nodejs.github.io/node-addon-examples/) offers an
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | excellent orientation and tips for developers just getting started with Node-API
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | and node-addon-api.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Setup](#setup)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[API Documentation](#api)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Examples](#examples)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Tests](#tests)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[More resource and info about native Addons](#resources)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Badges](#badges)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Code of Conduct](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Contributors](#contributors)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[License](#license)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ## **Current version: 5.0.0**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | (See [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md) for complete Changelog)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | [](https://nodei.co/npm/node-addon-api/) [](https://nodei.co/npm/node-addon-api/)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | <a name="setup"></a>
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | node-addon-api is based on [Node-API](https://nodejs.org/api/n-api.html) and supports using different Node-API versions.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | This allows addons built with it to run with Node.js versions which support the targeted Node-API version.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | **However** the node-addon-api support model is to support only the active LTS Node.js versions. This means that
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | every year there will be a new major which drops support for the Node.js LTS version which has gone out of service.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | The oldest Node.js version supported by the current version of node-addon-api is Node.js 14.x.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ## Setup
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |   - [Installation and usage](doc/setup.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |   - [node-gyp](doc/node-gyp.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |   - [cmake-js](doc/cmake-js.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |   - [Conversion tool](doc/conversion-tool.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |   - [Checker tool](doc/checker-tool.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |   - [Generator](doc/generator.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |   - [Prebuild tools](doc/prebuild_tools.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | <a name="api"></a>
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ### **API Documentation**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | The following is the documentation for node-addon-api.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |  - [Full Class Hierarchy](doc/hierarchy.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |  - [Addon Structure](doc/addon.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |  - Data Types:
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [Env](doc/env.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [CallbackInfo](doc/callbackinfo.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [Reference](doc/reference.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [Value](doc/value.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |         - [Name](doc/name.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |             - [Symbol](doc/symbol.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |             - [String](doc/string.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |         - [Number](doc/number.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |         - [Date](doc/date.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |         - [BigInt](doc/bigint.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |         - [Boolean](doc/boolean.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |         - [External](doc/external.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |         - [Object](doc/object.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |             - [Array](doc/array.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |             - [ObjectReference](doc/object_reference.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [PropertyDescriptor](doc/property_descriptor.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [Function](doc/function.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |         - [FunctionReference](doc/function_reference.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [ObjectWrap](doc/object_wrap.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |         - [ClassPropertyDescriptor](doc/class_property_descriptor.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [Buffer](doc/buffer.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [ArrayBuffer](doc/array_buffer.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [TypedArray](doc/typed_array.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |       - [TypedArrayOf](doc/typed_array_of.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [DataView](doc/dataview.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |  - [Error Handling](doc/error_handling.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [Error](doc/error.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |       - [TypeError](doc/type_error.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |       - [RangeError](doc/range_error.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |  - [Object Lifetime Management](doc/object_lifetime_management.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [HandleScope](doc/handle_scope.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [EscapableHandleScope](doc/escapable_handle_scope.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |  - [Memory Management](doc/memory_management.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |  - [Async Operations](doc/async_operations.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [AsyncWorker](doc/async_worker.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [AsyncContext](doc/async_context.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [AsyncWorker Variants](doc/async_worker_variants.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |  - [Thread-safe Functions](doc/threadsafe.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [ThreadSafeFunction](doc/threadsafe_function.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |     - [TypedThreadSafeFunction](doc/typed_threadsafe_function.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |  - [Promises](doc/promises.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |  - [Version management](doc/version_management.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | <a name="examples"></a>
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ### **Examples**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | Are you new to **node-addon-api**? Take a look at our **[examples](https://github.com/nodejs/node-addon-examples)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Hello World](https://github.com/nodejs/node-addon-examples/tree/HEAD/1_hello_world/node-addon-api)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Pass arguments to a function](https://github.com/nodejs/node-addon-examples/tree/HEAD/2_function_arguments/node-addon-api)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Callbacks](https://github.com/nodejs/node-addon-examples/tree/HEAD/3_callbacks/node-addon-api)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Object factory](https://github.com/nodejs/node-addon-examples/tree/HEAD/4_object_factory/node-addon-api)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Function factory](https://github.com/nodejs/node-addon-examples/tree/HEAD/5_function_factory/node-addon-api)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Wrapping C++ Object](https://github.com/nodejs/node-addon-examples/tree/HEAD/6_object_wrap/node-addon-api)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Factory of wrapped object](https://github.com/nodejs/node-addon-examples/tree/HEAD/7_factory_wrap/node-addon-api)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Passing wrapped object around](https://github.com/nodejs/node-addon-examples/tree/HEAD/8_passing_wrapped/node-addon-api)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | <a name="tests"></a>
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ### **Tests**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | To run the **node-addon-api** tests do:
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | npm install
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | npm test
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | To avoid testing the deprecated portions of the API run
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | npm install
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | npm test --disable-deprecated
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | To run the tests targeting a specific version of Node-API run
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | npm install
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | export NAPI_VERSION=X
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | npm test --NAPI_VERSION=X
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | where X is the version of Node-API you want to target.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ### **Debug**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | To run the **node-addon-api** tests with `--debug` option:
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | npm run-script dev
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | If you want faster build, you might use the following option:
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | npm run-script dev:incremental
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | Take a look and get inspired by our **[test suite](https://github.com/nodejs/node-addon-api/tree/HEAD/test)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ### **Benchmarks**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | You can run the available benchmarks using the following command:
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | npm run-script benchmark
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | See [benchmark/README.md](benchmark/README.md) for more details about running and adding benchmarks.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | <a name="resources"></a>
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ### **More resource and info about native Addons**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[C++ Addons](https://nodejs.org/dist/latest/docs/api/addons.html)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Node-API](https://nodejs.org/dist/latest/docs/api/n-api.html)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[Node-API - Next Generation Node API for Native Modules](https://youtu.be/-Oniup60Afs)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[How We Migrated Realm JavaScript From NAN to Node-API](https://developer.mongodb.com/article/realm-javascript-nan-to-n-api)**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | As node-addon-api's core mission is to expose the plain C Node-API as C++
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | wrappers, tools that facilitate n-api/node-addon-api providing more
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | convenient patterns on developing a Node.js add-ons with n-api/node-addon-api
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | can be published to NPM as standalone packages. It is also recommended to tag
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | such packages with `node-addon-api` to provide more visibility to the community.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | Quick links to NPM searches: [keywords:node-addon-api](https://www.npmjs.com/search?q=keywords%3Anode-addon-api).
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | <a name="other-bindings"></a>
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ### **Other bindings**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | - **[napi-rs](https://napi.rs)** - (`Rust`)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | <a name="badges"></a>
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ### **Badges**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | The use of badges is recommended to indicate the minimum version of Node-API
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | required for the module. This helps to determine which Node.js major versions are
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | supported. Addon maintainers can consult the [Node-API support matrix][] to determine
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | which Node.js versions provide a given Node-API version. The following badges are
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | available:
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ## **Contributing**
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | We love contributions from the community to **node-addon-api**!
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for more details on our philosophy around extending this module.
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | <a name="contributors"></a>
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ## Team members
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ### Active
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | Name                | GitHub Link                                           |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | Anna Henningsen     | [addaleax](https://github.com/addaleax)               |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | Chengzhong Wu       | [legendecas](https://github.com/legendecas)           |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | Gabriel Schulhof    | [gabrielschulhof](https://github.com/gabrielschulhof) |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | Jim Schlight        | [jschlight](https://github.com/jschlight)             |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | Michael Dawson      | [mhdawson](https://github.com/mhdawson)               |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | Kevin Eady          | [KevinEady](https://github.com/KevinEady)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | Nicola Del Gobbo    | [NickNaso](https://github.com/NickNaso)               |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ### Emeritus
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | Name                | GitHub Link                                           |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | Arunesh Chandra     | [aruneshchandra](https://github.com/aruneshchandra)   |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | Benjamin Byholm     | [kkoopa](https://github.com/kkoopa)                   |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | Jason Ginchereau    | [jasongin](https://github.com/jasongin)               |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | Hitesh Kanwathirtha | [digitalinfinity](https://github.com/digitalinfinity) |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | Sampson Gao         | [sampsongao](https://github.com/sampsongao)           |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | | Taylor Woll         | [boingoing](https://github.com/boingoing)             |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | <a name="license"></a>
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | Licensed under [MIT](./LICENSE.md)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | [ABI stability guide]: https://nodejs.org/en/docs/guides/abi-stability/
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | [Node-API support matrix]: https://nodejs.org/dist/latest/docs/api/n-api.html#n_api_n_api_version_matrix
 |