detect-libc

What is detect-libc?

The detect-libc npm package is a simple utility for detecting the C standard library version on a system. It is primarily used in node-gyp and prebuild-install to ensure binary compatibility with the host system's libc when compiling native addons.

What are detect-libc's main functionalities?

Detecting the system's C library

This feature allows you to detect the C library family (e.g., glibc, musl) and version used by the system. This is useful for determining binary compatibility for native modules.

const detectLibc = require('detect-libc');

const libcFamily = detectLibc.family;
const libcVersion = detectLibc.version;

console.log(`Libc Family: ${libcFamily}`);
console.log(`Libc Version: ${libcVersion}`);

Checking if the system uses a specific C library

This feature provides a boolean check to determine if the system is using a non-glibc C library, which can be important for certain build processes and compatibility checks.

const detectLibc = require('detect-libc');

if (detectLibc.isNonGlibcLinux) {
  console.log('The system uses a non-glibc C library.');
} else {
  console.log('The system uses glibc.');
}

Other packages similar to detect-libc

node-pre-gyp

node-pre-gyp is a package that provides a way to publish and install Node.js C++ addons from binaries. It has functionality to detect the platform and libc to download the correct binary for the system. It is more complex and feature-rich than detect-libc, as it handles the full lifecycle of binary management.

prebuild

prebuild is a package that helps in automating prebuilt binaries for Node.js modules. It also has the capability to detect libc for ensuring the correct binaries are used. Compared to detect-libc, prebuild is part of a larger system for managing prebuilt binaries rather than just detecting libc.

README

detect-libc

Node.js module to detect the C standard library (libc) implementation family and version in use on a given Linux system.

Provides a value suitable for use with the LIBC option of prebuild, prebuild-ci and prebuild-install, therefore allowing build and provision of pre-compiled binaries for musl-based Linux e.g. Alpine as well as glibc-based.

Currently supports libc detection of glibc and musl.

Install

npm install detect-libc

Usage

API

const { GLIBC, MUSL, family, version, isNonGlibcLinux } = require('detect-libc');

• GLIBC is a String containing the value "glibc" for comparison with family.
• MUSL is a String containing the value "musl" for comparison with family.
• family is a String representing the system libc family.
• version is a String representing the system libc version number.
• isNonGlibcLinux is a Boolean representing whether the system is a non-glibc Linux, e.g. Alpine.

This feature will always return false for isNonGlibcLinux on versions of Node prior to v0.12 as spawnSync is unavailable.

detect-libc command line tool

When run on a Linux system with a non-glibc libc, the child command will be run with the LIBC environment variable set to the relevant value.

On all other platforms will run the child command as-is.

This feature requires spawnSync provided by Node v0.12+.

detect-libc child-command

Integrating with prebuild

  "scripts": {
    "install": "detect-libc prebuild-install || node-gyp rebuild",
    "test": "mocha && detect-libc prebuild-ci"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "detect-libc": "^0.2.0",
    "prebuild-install": "^2.2.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "prebuild": "^6.2.1",
    "prebuild-ci": "^2.2.3"
  }

Licence

Copyright 2017 Lovell Fuller

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.