Packing your Node.js application into a single executable.
- Works on Linux, Mac and Windows
- Creates a binary distribution of your application
- Supports natively any form of
require, including dynamic ones (e.g.require(myPath + 'module.js') - Supports any module, including direct download and compilation from npm
- Native C++ modules are fully supported
- Features zero-config auto-update capabilities to make your compiled project to stay updated
- Open Source, MIT Licensed
It takes less than 5 minutes to compile any project with node-compiler.
You won't need to modify a single line of code in your application, no matter how you developed it as long as it works in plain node.js!
| Operating System | Architecture | Latest Stable |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | x86-64 | http://enclose.io/nodec/nodec-x64.zip |
| macOS | x86-64 | http://enclose.io/nodec/nodec-darwin-x64.gz |
| Linux | x86-64 | http://enclose.io/nodec/nodec-linux-x64.gz |
For previous releases, cf. http://enclose.io/nodec
First install the prerequisites:
- SquashFS Tools 4.3
- Python 2.6 or 2.7
- Either of,
- Visual Studio 2015 Update 3, all editions including the Community edition (remember to select "Common Tools for Visual C++ 2015" feature during installation).
- Visual Studio 2017, any edition (including the Build Tools SKU). Required Components: "MSbuild", "VC++ 2017 v141 toolset" and one of the Windows SDKs (10 or 8.1).
Then download nodec-x64.zip, and this zip file contains only one executable. Unzip it. Optionally, rename it to nodec.exe and put it under C:\Windows (or any other directory that is part of PATH). Execute nodec from the command line.
First install the prerequisites:
- SquashFS Tools 4.3
sudo yum install squashfs-toolssudo apt-get install squashfs-tools
gccandg++4.9.4 or newer, orclangandclang++3.4.2 or newer- Python 2.6 or 2.7
- GNU Make 3.81 or newer
Then,
curl -L http://enclose.io/nodec/nodec-linux-x64.gz | gunzip > nodec
chmod +x nodec
./nodec
First install the prerequisites:
- SquashFS Tools 4.3:
brew install squashfs - Xcode
- You also need to install the
Command Line Toolsvia Xcode. You can find this under the menuXcode -> Preferences -> Downloads - This step will install
gccand the related toolchain containingmake
- You also need to install the
- Python 2.6 or 2.7
- GNU Make 3.81 or newer
Then,
curl -L http://enclose.io/nodec/nodec-darwin-x64.gz | gunzip > nodec
chmod +x nodec
./nodec
nodec [OPTION]... [ENTRANCE]
-r, --root=DIR Specifies the path to the root of the application
-o, --output=FILE Specifies the path of the output file
-d, --tmpdir=DIR Specifies the directory for temporary files
--clean-tmpdir Cleans all temporary files that were generated last time
--keep-tmpdir Keeps all temporary files that were generated last time
--make-args=ARGS Passes extra arguments to make
--vcbuild-args=ARGS Passes extra arguments to vcbuild.bat
-n, --npm=FILE Specifies the path of npm
--skip-npm-install Skips the npm install process
--npm-package=NAME Downloads and compiles the specified npm package
--npm-package-version=VER Downloads and compiles the specified version of the npm package
--auto-update-url=URL Enables auto-update and specifies the URL to get the latest version
--auto-update-base=STRING Enables auto-update and specifies the base version string
--msi Generates a .msi installer for Windows
--pkg Generates a .pkg installer for macOS
--debug Enable debug mode
--quiet Enable quiet mode
-v, --version Prints the version of nodec and exit
-V, --node-version Prints the version of the Node.js runtime and exit
-h, --help Prints this help and exit
Note: if ENTRANCE was not provided, then a single Node.js interpreter executable will be produced.
Note: To compile to 32-bit windows OS compatible programs on a 64-bit machine, you should use a x64 x32 cross compiling environment. You should be able to find it in your Start Menu after installing Visual Studio. Also, you have to use a 32-bit Node.js, because the arch information is detected via node -pe process.arch.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jashkenas/coffeescript.git
cd coffeescript
nodec bin/coffee
./a.out (or a.exe on Windows)
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/eggjs/examples.git
cd examples/helloworld
npm install
nodec node_modules/egg-bin/bin/egg-bin.js
./a.out dev (or a.exe dev on Windows)
nodec --npm-package=coffee-script coffee
./a.out (or a.exe on Windows)
| Project | Differences |
|---|---|
| pkg | Pkg hacked fs.* API's dynamically in order to access in-package files, whereas Node.js Compiler leaves them alone and instead works on a deeper level via libsquash. Pkg uses JSON to store in-package files while Node.js Compiler uses the more sophisticated and widely used SquashFS as its data structure. |
| EncloseJS | EncloseJS restricts access to in-package files to only five fs.* API's, whereas Node.js Compiler supports all fs.* API's. EncloseJS is proprietary licensed and charges money when used while Node.js Compiler is MIT-licensed and users are both free to use it and free to modify it. |
| Nexe | Nexe does not support dynamic require because of its use of browserify, whereas Node.js Compiler supports all kinds of require including require.resolve. |
| asar | Asar keeps the code archive and the executable separate while Node.js Compiler links all JavaScript source code together with the Node.js virtual machine and generates a single executable as the final product. Asar uses JSON to store files' information while Node.js Compiler uses SquashFS. |
| AppImage | AppImage supports only Linux with a kernel that supports SquashFS, while Node.js Compiler supports all three platforms of Linux, macOS and Windows, meanwhile without any special feature requirements from the kernel. |
- Libsquash: portable, user-land SquashFS that can be easily linked and embedded within your application.
- Libautoupdate: cross-platform C library to enable your application to auto-update itself in place.