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Setup

Prerequisites

Before starting to use Node-API you need to assure you have the following prerequisites:

Installation and usage

To use Node-API in a native module:

  1. Add a dependency on this package to package.json:

      "dependencies": {
    "node-addon-api": "*",
  }

  2. Decide whether the package will enable C++ exceptions in the Node-API wrapper, and reference this package as a dependency in binding.gyp. The base ABI-stable C APIs do not throw or handle C++ exceptions, but the Node-API C++ wrapper classes may optionally integrate C++ and JavaScript exception-handling .

    To use without C++ exceptions, add the following to binding.gyp:

      'dependencies': [
    "<!(node -p \"require('node-addon-api').targets\"):node_addon_api",
  ],

    To enable that capability, add an alternative dependency in binding.gyp:

      'dependencies': [
    "<!(node -p \"require('node-addon-api').targets\"):node_addon_api_except",
  ],

    If you decide to use node-addon-api without C++ exceptions enabled, please consider enabling node-addon-api safe API type guards to ensure the proper exception handling pattern:

      'dependencies': [
    "<!(node -p \"require('node-addon-api').targets\"):node_addon_api_maybe",
  ],

  3. If you would like your native addon to support OSX, please also add the following settings in the binding.gyp file:

    'conditions': [
  ['OS=="mac"', {
      'cflags+': ['-fvisibility=hidden'],
      'xcode_settings': {
        'GCC_SYMBOLS_PRIVATE_EXTERN': 'YES', # -fvisibility=hidden
      }
  }]
]

  4. Include napi.h in the native module code. To ensure only ABI-stable APIs are used, DO NOT include node.h, nan.h, or v8.h.

    #include "napi.h"

At build time, the Node-API back-compat library code will be used only when the targeted node version does not have Node-API built-in.

The NODE_ADDON_API_DISABLE_DEPRECATED preprocessor directive can be defined at compile time before including napi.h to skip the definition of deprecated APIs.

By default, throwing an exception on a terminating environment (eg. worker threads) will cause a fatal exception, terminating the Node process. This is to provide feedback to the user of the runtime error, as it is impossible to pass the error to JavaScript when the environment is terminating. The NODE_API_SWALLOW_UNTHROWABLE_EXCEPTIONS preprocessor directive can be defined to bypass this behavior, such that the Node process will not terminate.

Various Node-API constructs provide a mechanism to run a callback in response to a garbage collection event of that object. These callbacks are called finalizers. Some finalizers have restrictions on the type of Node-APIs available within the callback. node-addon-api provides convenience helpers that bypass this limitation, but may cause the add-on to run less efficiently. The NODE_ADDON_API_REQUIRE_BASIC_FINALIZERS preprocessor directive can be defined to disable the convenience helpers.