node-libs-browser

What is node-libs-browser?

The node-libs-browser package is a collection of browser-friendly versions of Node.js core modules. It allows developers to use Node.js-style modules in the browser, providing shims and polyfills for Node.js core modules that do not have direct equivalents in the browser environment. This package is particularly useful for bundling applications with webpack, which uses it to simulate a Node.js environment in the browser.

What are node-libs-browser's main functionalities?

Buffer

Provides a Buffer class that can be used for binary data manipulation in the browser, similar to Node.js's Buffer module.

var Buffer = require('buffer/').Buffer;
var buf = Buffer.from('hello world', 'ascii');
console.log(buf.toString('hex'));

Events

Implements the EventEmitter class to enable event-driven architecture in the browser, mimicking Node.js's events module.

var EventEmitter = require('events/').EventEmitter;
var emitter = new EventEmitter();
emitter.on('event', function(message) {
  console.log(message);
});
emitter.emit('event', 'Hello world!');

Path

Provides utilities for file path operations, similar to Node.js's path module, but adapted for the browser.

var path = require('path-browserify');
console.log(path.basename('/foo/bar/baz/asdf/quux.html'));

Other packages similar to node-libs-browser

browserify

Browserify lets you require('modules') in the browser by bundling up all of your dependencies. It's similar to node-libs-browser in that it allows Node.js code to run in the browser, but it works at the bundling level, transforming Node.js modules into browser-compatible scripts.

webpack-node-externals

This package is used with webpack to automatically exclude node modules. It's related to node-libs-browser in the context of building for the browser, but instead of providing browser versions of Node.js modules, it helps to avoid bundling them altogether.

crypto-browserify

A port of Node.js's crypto module to the browser. It offers similar functionality to one aspect of node-libs-browser, focusing specifically on cryptographic functions.

README

node-libs-browser

The node core libs for in-browser usage.

Exports a hash [object] of absolute paths to each lib, keyed by lib names. Modules without browser replacements are null.

Some modules have mocks in the mock directory. These are replacements with minimal functionality.

lib name	browser implementation	mock implementation
assert	defunctzombie/commonjs-assert	---
buffer	feross/buffer	buffer.js
child_process	---	---
cluster	---	---
console	Raynos/console-browserify	console.js
constants	juliangruber/constants-browserify	---
crypto	crypto-browserify/crypto-browserify	---
dgram	---	---
dns	---	dns.js
domain	bevry/domain-browser	---
events	Gozala/events	---
fs	---	---
http	jhiesey/stream-http	---
https	substack/https-browserify	---
module	---	---
net	---	net.js
os	CoderPuppy/os-browserify	---
path	substack/path-browserify	---
process	shtylman/node-process	process.js
punycode	bestiejs/punycode.js	---
querystring	mike-spainhower/querystring	---
readline	---	---
repl	---	---
stream	substack/stream-browserify	---
string_decoder	rvagg/string_decoder	---
sys	defunctzombie/node-util	---
timers	jryans/timers-browserify	---
tls	---	tls.js
tty	substack/tty-browserify	tty.js
url	defunctzombie/node-url	---
util	defunctzombie/node-util	---
vm	substack/vm-browserify	---
zlib	devongovett/browserify-zlib	---

Outdated versions

buffer

The current buffer implementation uses feross/buffer@4.x because feross/buffer@5.x relies on typed arrays. This will be dropped as soon as IE9 is not a typical browser target anymore.

punycode

The current punycode implementation uses bestiejs/punycode.js@1.x because bestiejs/punycode.js@2.x requires modern JS engines that understand const and let. It will be removed someday since it has already been deprecated from the node API.

License

MIT