node-gyp
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, which 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. 0.6
, 0.7
,..., 1.0
,
etc.), regardless of what version of node is actually installed on your system
(node-gyp
downloads the necessary development files 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 with npm
:
$ npm install -g node-gyp
You will also need to install:
- On Unix:
python
make
- A proper C/C++ compiler toolchain, like GCC
- On Windows:
- Python (
v2.7.2
recommended, v3.x.x
not yet supported) - Microsoft Visual C++ (Express version works well)
How to Use
To compile your native addon, first go to its root directory:
$ cd my_node_addon
The next step is to generate the appropriate project build files for the current
platform. Use configure
for that:
$ node-gyp configure
Note: The configure
step looks for the binding.gyp
file in the current
directory to processs. 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
Now you have your compiled .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 the either configure
or build
command.
The "binding.gyp" file
Previously when node had node-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" ]
}
]
}
Some additional resources for writing gyp
files:
Commands
node-gyp
responds to the following commands:
build
- Invokes make
/msbuild.exe
and builds the native addonclean
- Removes any generated project files and the out
dirconfigure
- Generates project build files for the current platformrebuild
- Runs "clean", "configure" and "build" all at onceinstall
- Installs node development files for the given version.list
- Lists the currently installed node development file versionsremove
- Removes a node development files for a given version
License
(The MIT License)
Copyright (c) 2012 Nathan Rajlich <nathan@tootallnate.net>
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining
a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the
'Software'), to deal in the Software without restriction, including
without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish,
distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to
permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to
the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED 'AS IS', WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY
CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT,
TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE
SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.