grpc-tools

What is grpc-tools?

The grpc-tools npm package provides tools for working with gRPC, including compiling Protocol Buffers (protobuf) files and generating gRPC service code. It is particularly useful for setting up gRPC services and clients in Node.js applications.

What are grpc-tools's main functionalities?

Compile Protobuf Files

This feature allows you to compile Protocol Buffers (protobuf) files into JavaScript code. The generated code can then be used to create gRPC clients and servers.

const grpc_tools_node_protoc = require('grpc-tools');
const execSync = require('child_process').execSync;

execSync(
  'grpc_tools_node_protoc --js_out=import_style=commonjs,binary:. --grpc_out=. -I ./protos ./protos/helloworld.proto'
);

Generate gRPC Service Code

This feature generates the gRPC service code from protobuf definitions. The generated code includes both client and server stubs, which can be used to implement gRPC services.

const grpc_tools_node_protoc = require('grpc-tools');
const execSync = require('child_process').execSync;

execSync(
  'grpc_tools_node_protoc --plugin=protoc-gen-grpc=`which grpc_tools_node_protoc_plugin` --grpc_out=. -I ./protos ./protos/helloworld.proto'
);

Other packages similar to grpc-tools

grpc

The grpc package is the core library for gRPC in Node.js. It provides the runtime for gRPC clients and servers, but does not include tools for compiling protobuf files. It is often used in conjunction with grpc-tools.

@grpc/proto-loader

The @grpc/proto-loader package is used to load protobuf files in Node.js applications. It provides a more flexible and modern way to load protobuf files compared to grpc-tools, but does not include the ability to compile them.

protobufjs

The protobufjs package is a pure JavaScript implementation of Protocol Buffers. It provides tools for working with protobuf files, including compiling and loading them. It is more versatile than grpc-tools, but does not specifically target gRPC.

README

grpc-tools

This package distributes the Protocol Buffers compiler protoc along with the plugin for generating client and service objects for use with the Node gRPC libraries.

Usage

This library exports the grpc_tools_node_protoc executable, which accepts all of the same arguments as protoc itself. For use with Node, you most likely want to use CommonJS-style imports. An example of generating code this way can be found in this guide. The grpc_tools_node_protoc automatically includes the Node gRPC plugin, so it also accepts the --grpc_out=[option:]path argument. The option can be one of the following:

• grpc_js: Generates code with require('@grpc/grpc-js') instead of require('grpc')
• generate_package_definition: Generates code that does not require any gRPC library, and instead generates PackageDefinition objects that can be passed to the loadPackageDefinition function provided by both the grpc and @grpc/grpc-js libraries.
• omit_serialize_instanceof: Omit the instanceof check for messages in client code. This is useful when the message was renamed or is from a different package, and serialization would fail with Expected argument of type ….