node-gyp is a cross-platform command-line tool written in Node.js for compiling native addon modules for Node.js. It uses node.js's build system and requires Python, making it a complex but powerful tool for building and managing native modules.
Building native addon modules
This command compiles the native addon module for the current platform. It needs to be run in the root directory of the module.
node-gyp rebuildConfiguration
This command generates appropriate project build files for the current platform. It can be used before 'node-gyp build' to configure the project.
node-gyp configureCompiling
This command compiles the native addon module using the generated build files. It should be run after 'node-gyp configure'.
node-gyp buildCleaning
This command removes any build artifacts or temporary files created during the build process.
node-gyp cleannode-pre-gyp allows for publishing and installing Node.js C++ addons from binaries. It is similar to node-gyp but focuses on the end-user experience by facilitating the deployment of pre-compiled binaries.
neon-cli is a tool for building native Node.js modules with Rust. It provides an alternative to node-gyp for developers who prefer Rust over C++ for writing high-performance Node.js native modules.
cmake-js is a Node.js native addon build tool which works like node-gyp but uses CMake for building the native modules. It is useful for projects that already use CMake as their build system.
node-ninja is a small build system with a focus on speed. It is similar to node-gyp but uses the Ninja build system instead of Make or Visual Studio project files.
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, 0.9, 0.10, ..., 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).
You can install with npm:
$ npm install -g node-gyp
You will also need to install:
python (v2.7 recommended, v3.x.x is not supported)makev2.7.3 recommended, v3.x.x is not supported)
call "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.1\bin\Setenv.cmd" /Release /x86
call "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.1\bin\Setenv.cmd" /Release /x64
If you have multiple Python versions installed, you can identify which Python
version node-gyp uses by setting the '--python' variable:
$ node-gyp --python /path/to/python2.7
If 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
Note that OS X is just a flavour of Unix and so needs 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).
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 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
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 either the configure, build or rebuild command.
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 addons and writing gyp files:
node-gyp responds to the following commands:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
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 development header files for the given version |
list | Lists the currently installed node development file versions |
remove | Removes the node development header files for the given version |
(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.
2.0.0 / 2015-05-24
NODE_GYP_MODULE_NAMEFAQs
Node.js native addon build tool
The npm package node-gyp receives a total of 12,212,845 weekly downloads. As such, node-gyp popularity was classified as popular.
We found that node-gyp demonstrated a healthy version release cadence and project activity because the last version was released less than a year ago. It has 3 open source maintainers collaborating on the project.
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