Node.js native addon build tool
node-gyp
is a cross-platform command-line tool written in Node.js for compiling
native addon modules for Node.js. It bundles the gyp
project used by the Chromium team and takes away the pain of dealing with the
various differences in build platforms. It is the replacement to the node-waf
program which is removed for node v0.8
. If you have a native addon for node that
still has a wscript
file, then you should definitely add a binding.gyp
file
to support the latest versions of node.Multiple target versions of node are supported (i.e.
0.8
, ..., 4
, 5
, 6
,
etc.), regardless of what version of node is actually installed on your system
(node-gyp
downloads the necessary development files or headers for the target version).Features:
- Easy to use, consistent interface
- Same commands to build your module on every platform
- Supports multiple target versions of Node
Installation
You can install withnpm
:$ npm install -g node-gyp
- On Unix:
python
(v2.7
recommended,v3.x.x
is not supported)make
- A proper C/C++ compiler toolchain, like GCC
- On Mac OS X:
python
(v2.7
recommended,v3.x.x
is not supported) (already installed on Mac OS X)- Xcode
- You also need to install the
Command Line Tools
via Xcode. You can find this under the menuXcode -> Preferences -> Downloads
- This step will install
gcc
and the related toolchain containingmake
- You also need to install the
- On Windows:
- Option 1: Install all the required tools and configurations using Microsoft's windows-build-tools using
npm install --global --production windows-build-tools
from an elevated PowerShell or CMD.exe (run as Administrator). - Option 2: Install tools and configuration manually:
- Visual C++ Build Environment:
- Option 1: Install Visual C++ Build Tools using the Default Install option.
- Option 2: Install Visual Studio 2015 (or modify an existing installation) and select Common Tools for Visual C++ during setup. This also works with the free Community and Express for Desktop editions.
💡 [Windows Vista / 7 only] requires .NET Framework 4.5.1
- Install Python 2.7 (
v3.x.x
is not supported), and runnpm config set python python2.7
(or see below for further instructions on specifying the proper Python version and path.) - Launch cmd,
npm config set msvs_version 2015
- Visual C++ Build Environment:
- Option 1: Install all the required tools and configurations using Microsoft's windows-build-tools using
node-gyp
uses by setting the '--python' variable:$ node-gyp --python /path/to/python2.7
node-gyp
is called by way of npm
and you have multiple versions of
Python installed, then you can set npm
's 'python' config key to the appropriate
value:$ npm config set python /path/to/executable/python2.7
python
, make
, and C/C++.
An easy way to obtain these is to install XCode from Apple,
and then use it to install the command line tools (under Preferences -> Downloads).How to Use
To compile your native addon, first go to its root directory:$ cd my_node_addon
configure
for that:$ node-gyp configure
configure
step looks for the binding.gyp
file in the current
directory to process. See below for instructions on creating the binding.gyp
file.Now you will have either a
Makefile
(on Unix platforms) or a vcxproj
file
(on Windows) in the build/
directory. Next invoke the build
command:$ node-gyp build
.node
bindings file! The compiled bindings end up
in build/Debug/
or build/Release/
, depending on the build mode. At this point
you can require the .node
file with Node and run your tests!Note: To create a Debug build of the bindings file, pass the
--debug
(or
-d
) switch when running either the configure
, build
or rebuild
command.The "binding.gyp" file
Previously when node hadnode-waf
you had to write a wscript
file. The
replacement for that is the binding.gyp
file, which describes the configuration
to build your module in a JSON-like format. This file gets placed in the root of
your package, alongside the package.json
file.A barebones
gyp
file appropriate for building a node addon looks like:{
"targets": [
{
"target_name": "binding",
"sources": [ "src/binding.cc" ]
}
]
}
gyp
files:- "Going Native" a nodeschool.io tutorial
- "Hello World" node addon example
- gyp user documentation
- gyp input format reference
- "binding.gyp" files out in the wild wiki page
Commands
node-gyp
responds to the following commands:Command | Description |
---|---|
help |
Shows the help dialog |
build |
Invokes make /msbuild.exe and builds the native addon |
clean |
Removes the build directory if it exists |
configure |
Generates project build files for the current platform |
rebuild |
Runs clean , configure and build all in a row |
install |
Installs node header files for the given version |
list |
Lists the currently installed node header versions |
remove |
Removes the node header files for the given version |
Command Options
node-gyp
accepts the following command options:Command | Description |
---|---|
-j n , --jobs n |
Run make in parallel |
--target=v6.2.1 |
Node version to build for (default=process.version) |
--silly , --loglevel=silly |
Log all progress to console |
--verbose , --loglevel=verbose |
Log most progress to console |
--silent , --loglevel=silent |
Don't log anything to console |
debug , --debug |
Make Debug build (default=Release) |
--release , --no-debug |
Make Release build |
-C $dir , --directory=$dir |
Run command in different directory |
--make=$make |
Override make command (e.g. gmake) |
--thin=yes |
Enable thin static libraries |
--arch=$arch |
Set target architecture (e.g. ia32) |
--tarball=$path |
Get headers from a local tarball |
--devdir=$path |
SDK download directory (default=~/.node-gyp) |
--ensure |
Don't reinstall headers if already present |
--dist-url=$url |
Download header tarball from custom URL |
--proxy=$url |
Set HTTP proxy for downloading header tarball |
--cafile=$cafile |
Override default CA chain (to download tarball) |
--nodedir=$path |
Set the path to the node binary |
--python=$path |
Set path to the python (2) binary |
--msvs_version=$version |
Set Visual Studio version (win) |
--solution=$solution |
Set Visual Studio Solution version (win) |
from https://github.com/nodejs/node-gyp |