bun-types 1.3.2-canary.20251106T140813 → 1.3.2

package/docs/runtime/child-process.mdx

@@ -0,0 +1,532 @@
+---
+title: Spawn
+description: Spawn child processes with `Bun.spawn` or `Bun.spawnSync`
+---
+
+## Spawn a process (`Bun.spawn()`)
+
+Provide a command as an array of strings. The result of `Bun.spawn()` is a `Bun.Subprocess` object.
+
+```ts
+const proc = Bun.spawn(["bun", "--version"]);
+console.log(await proc.exited); // 0
+```
+
+The second argument to `Bun.spawn` is a parameters object that can be used to configure the subprocess.
+
+```ts
+const proc = Bun.spawn(["bun", "--version"], {
+  cwd: "./path/to/subdir", // specify a working directory
+  env: { ...process.env, FOO: "bar" }, // specify environment variables
+  onExit(proc, exitCode, signalCode, error) {
+    // exit handler
+  },
+});
+
+proc.pid; // process ID of subprocess
+```
+
+## Input stream
+
+By default, the input stream of the subprocess is undefined; it can be configured with the `stdin` parameter.
+
+```ts
+const proc = Bun.spawn(["cat"], {
+  stdin: await fetch("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/oven-sh/bun/main/examples/hashing.js"),
+});
+
+const text = await proc.stdout.text();
+console.log(text); // "const input = "hello world".repeat(400); ..."
+```
+
+| Value                    | Description                                      |
+| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------ |
+| `null`                   | **Default.** Provide no input to the subprocess  |
+| `"pipe"`                 | Return a `FileSink` for fast incremental writing |
+| `"inherit"`              | Inherit the `stdin` of the parent process        |
+| `Bun.file()`             | Read from the specified file                     |
+| `TypedArray \| DataView` | Use a binary buffer as input                     |
+| `Response`               | Use the response `body` as input                 |
+| `Request`                | Use the request `body` as input                  |
+| `ReadableStream`         | Use a readable stream as input                   |
+| `Blob`                   | Use a blob as input                              |
+| `number`                 | Read from the file with a given file descriptor  |
+
+The `"pipe"` option lets incrementally write to the subprocess's input stream from the parent process.
+
+```ts
+const proc = Bun.spawn(["cat"], {
+  stdin: "pipe", // return a FileSink for writing
+});
+
+// enqueue string data
+proc.stdin.write("hello");
+
+// enqueue binary data
+const enc = new TextEncoder();
+proc.stdin.write(enc.encode(" world!"));
+
+// send buffered data
+proc.stdin.flush();
+
+// close the input stream
+proc.stdin.end();
+```
+
+Passing a `ReadableStream` to `stdin` lets you pipe data from a JavaScript `ReadableStream` directly to the subprocess's input:
+
+```ts
+const stream = new ReadableStream({
+  start(controller) {
+    controller.enqueue("Hello from ");
+    controller.enqueue("ReadableStream!");
+    controller.close();
+  },
+});
+
+const proc = Bun.spawn(["cat"], {
+  stdin: stream,
+  stdout: "pipe",
+});
+
+const output = await proc.stdout.text();
+console.log(output); // "Hello from ReadableStream!"
+```
+
+## Output streams
+
+You can read results from the subprocess via the `stdout` and `stderr` properties. By default these are instances of `ReadableStream`.
+
+```ts
+const proc = Bun.spawn(["bun", "--version"]);
+const text = await proc.stdout.text();
+console.log(text); // => "1.3.1\n"
+```
+
+Configure the output stream by passing one of the following values to `stdout/stderr`:
+
+| Value        | Description                                                                                         |
+| ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `"pipe"`     | **Default for `stdout`.** Pipe the output to a `ReadableStream` on the returned `Subprocess` object |
+| `"inherit"`  | **Default for `stderr`.** Inherit from the parent process                                           |
+| `"ignore"`   | Discard the output                                                                                  |
+| `Bun.file()` | Write to the specified file                                                                         |
+| `number`     | Write to the file with the given file descriptor                                                    |
+
+## Exit handling
+
+Use the `onExit` callback to listen for the process exiting or being killed.
+
+```ts index.ts icon="/icons/typescript.svg"
+const proc = Bun.spawn(["bun", "--version"], {
+  onExit(proc, exitCode, signalCode, error) {
+    // exit handler
+  },
+});
+```
+
+For convenience, the `exited` property is a `Promise` that resolves when the process exits.
+
+```ts index.ts icon="/icons/typescript.svg"
+const proc = Bun.spawn(["bun", "--version"]);
+
+await proc.exited; // resolves when process exit
+proc.killed; // boolean — was the process killed?
+proc.exitCode; // null | number
+proc.signalCode; // null | "SIGABRT" | "SIGALRM" | ...
+```
+
+To kill a process:
+
+```ts index.ts icon="/icons/typescript.svg"
+const proc = Bun.spawn(["bun", "--version"]);
+proc.kill();
+proc.killed; // true
+
+proc.kill(15); // specify a signal code
+proc.kill("SIGTERM"); // specify a signal name
+```
+
+The parent `bun` process will not terminate until all child processes have exited. Use `proc.unref()` to detach the child process from the parent.
+
+```ts index.ts icon="/icons/typescript.svg"
+const proc = Bun.spawn(["bun", "--version"]);
+proc.unref();
+```
+
+## Resource usage
+
+You can get information about the process's resource usage after it has exited:
+
+```ts index.ts icon="/icons/typescript.svg"
+const proc = Bun.spawn(["bun", "--version"]);
+await proc.exited;
+
+const usage = proc.resourceUsage();
+console.log(`Max memory used: ${usage.maxRSS} bytes`);
+console.log(`CPU time (user): ${usage.cpuTime.user} µs`);
+console.log(`CPU time (system): ${usage.cpuTime.system} µs`);
+```
+
+## Using AbortSignal
+
+You can abort a subprocess using an `AbortSignal`:
+
+```ts index.ts icon="/icons/typescript.svg"
+const controller = new AbortController();
+const { signal } = controller;
+
+const proc = Bun.spawn({
+  cmd: ["sleep", "100"],
+  signal,
+});
+
+// Later, to abort the process:
+controller.abort();
+```
+
+## Using timeout and killSignal
+
+You can set a timeout for a subprocess to automatically terminate after a specific duration:
+
+```ts index.ts icon="/icons/typescript.svg"
+// Kill the process after 5 seconds
+const proc = Bun.spawn({
+  cmd: ["sleep", "10"],
+  timeout: 5000, // 5 seconds in milliseconds
+});
+
+await proc.exited; // Will resolve after 5 seconds
+```
+
+By default, timed-out processes are killed with the `SIGTERM` signal. You can specify a different signal with the `killSignal` option:
+
+```ts index.ts icon="/icons/typescript.svg"
+// Kill the process with SIGKILL after 5 seconds
+const proc = Bun.spawn({
+  cmd: ["sleep", "10"],
+  timeout: 5000,
+  killSignal: "SIGKILL", // Can be string name or signal number
+});
+```
+
+The `killSignal` option also controls which signal is sent when an AbortSignal is aborted.
+
+## Using maxBuffer
+
+For spawnSync, you can limit the maximum number of bytes of output before the process is killed:
+
+```ts index.ts icon="/icons/typescript.svg"
+// Kill 'yes' after it emits over 100 bytes of output
+const result = Bun.spawnSync({
+  cmd: ["yes"], // or ["bun", "exec", "yes"] on Windows
+  maxBuffer: 100,
+});
+// process exits
+```
+
+## Inter-process communication (IPC)
+
+Bun supports direct inter-process communication channel between two `bun` processes. To receive messages from a spawned Bun subprocess, specify an `ipc` handler.
+
+```ts parent.ts icon="/icons/typescript.svg"
+const child = Bun.spawn(["bun", "child.ts"], {
+  ipc(message) {
+    /**
+     * The message received from the sub process
+     **/
+  },
+});
+```
+
+The parent process can send messages to the subprocess using the `.send()` method on the returned `Subprocess` instance. A reference to the sending subprocess is also available as the second argument in the `ipc` handler.
+
+```ts parent.ts icon="/icons/typescript.svg"
+const childProc = Bun.spawn(["bun", "child.ts"], {
+  ipc(message, childProc) {
+    /**
+     * The message received from the sub process
+     **/
+    childProc.send("Respond to child");
+  },
+});
+
+childProc.send("I am your father"); // The parent can send messages to the child as well
+```
+
+Meanwhile the child process can send messages to its parent using with `process.send()` and receive messages with `process.on("message")`. This is the same API used for `child_process.fork()` in Node.js.
+
+```ts child.ts
+process.send("Hello from child as string");
+process.send({ message: "Hello from child as object" });
+
+process.on("message", message => {
+  // print message from parent
+  console.log(message);
+});
+```
+
+```ts child.ts
+// send a string
+process.send("Hello from child as string");
+
+// send an object
+process.send({ message: "Hello from child as object" });
+```
+
+The `serialization` option controls the underlying communication format between the two processes:
+
+- `advanced`: (default) Messages are serialized using the JSC `serialize` API, which supports cloning [everything `structuredClone` supports](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Web_Workers_API/Structured_clone_algorithm). This does not support transferring ownership of objects.
+- `json`: Messages are serialized using `JSON.stringify` and `JSON.parse`, which does not support as many object types as `advanced` does.
+
+To disconnect the IPC channel from the parent process, call:
+
+```ts
+childProc.disconnect();
+```
+
+### IPC between Bun & Node.js
+
+To use IPC between a `bun` process and a Node.js process, set `serialization: "json"` in `Bun.spawn`. This is because Node.js and Bun use different JavaScript engines with different object serialization formats.
+
+```ts bun-node-ipc.js icon="file-code"
+if (typeof Bun !== "undefined") {
+  const prefix = `[bun ${process.versions.bun} 🐇]`;
+  const node = Bun.spawn({
+    cmd: ["node", __filename],
+    ipc({ message }) {
+      console.log(message);
+      node.send({ message: `${prefix} 👋 hey node` });
+      node.kill();
+    },
+    stdio: ["inherit", "inherit", "inherit"],
+    serialization: "json",
+  });
+
+  node.send({ message: `${prefix} 👋 hey node` });
+} else {
+  const prefix = `[node ${process.version}]`;
+  process.on("message", ({ message }) => {
+    console.log(message);
+    process.send({ message: `${prefix} 👋 hey bun` });
+  });
+}
+```
+
+---
+
+## Blocking API (`Bun.spawnSync()`)
+
+Bun provides a synchronous equivalent of `Bun.spawn` called `Bun.spawnSync`. This is a blocking API that supports the same inputs and parameters as `Bun.spawn`. It returns a `SyncSubprocess` object, which differs from `Subprocess` in a few ways.
+
+1. It contains a `success` property that indicates whether the process exited with a zero exit code.
+2. The `stdout` and `stderr` properties are instances of `Buffer` instead of `ReadableStream`.
+3. There is no `stdin` property. Use `Bun.spawn` to incrementally write to the subprocess's input stream.
+
+```ts
+const proc = Bun.spawnSync(["echo", "hello"]);
+
+console.log(proc.stdout.toString());
+// => "hello\n"
+```
+
+As a rule of thumb, the asynchronous `Bun.spawn` API is better for HTTP servers and apps, and `Bun.spawnSync` is better for building command-line tools.
+
+---
+
+## Benchmarks
+
+<Note>
+  ⚡️ Under the hood, `Bun.spawn` and `Bun.spawnSync` use
+  [`posix_spawn(3)`](https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man3/posix_spawn.3.html).
+</Note>
+
+Bun's `spawnSync` spawns processes 60% faster than the Node.js `child_process` module.
+
+```bash terminal icon="terminal"
+bun spawn.mjs
+```
+
+```txt
+cpu: Apple M1 Max
+runtime: bun 1.x (arm64-darwin)
+
+benchmark              time (avg)             (min … max)       p75       p99      p995
+--------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------
+spawnSync echo hi  888.14 µs/iter    (821.83 µs … 1.2 ms) 905.92 µs      1 ms   1.03 ms
+```
+
+```sh terminal icon="terminal"
+node spawn.node.mjs
+```
+
+```txt
+cpu: Apple M1 Max
+runtime: node v18.9.1 (arm64-darwin)
+
+benchmark              time (avg)             (min … max)       p75       p99      p995
+--------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------
+spawnSync echo hi    1.47 ms/iter     (1.14 ms … 2.64 ms)   1.57 ms   2.37 ms   2.52 ms
+```
+
+---
+
+## Reference
+
+A reference of the Spawn API and types are shown below. The real types have complex generics to strongly type the `Subprocess` streams with the options passed to `Bun.spawn` and `Bun.spawnSync`. For full details, find these types as defined [bun.d.ts](https://github.com/oven-sh/bun/blob/main/packages/bun-types/bun.d.ts).
+
+```ts See Typescript Definitions expandable
+interface Bun {
+  spawn(command: string[], options?: SpawnOptions.OptionsObject): Subprocess;
+  spawnSync(command: string[], options?: SpawnOptions.OptionsObject): SyncSubprocess;
+
+  spawn(options: { cmd: string[] } & SpawnOptions.OptionsObject): Subprocess;
+  spawnSync(options: { cmd: string[] } & SpawnOptions.OptionsObject): SyncSubprocess;
+}
+
+namespace SpawnOptions {
+  interface OptionsObject {
+    cwd?: string;
+    env?: Record<string, string | undefined>;
+    stdio?: [Writable, Readable, Readable];
+    stdin?: Writable;
+    stdout?: Readable;
+    stderr?: Readable;
+    onExit?(
+      subprocess: Subprocess,
+      exitCode: number | null,
+      signalCode: number | null,
+      error?: ErrorLike,
+    ): void | Promise<void>;
+    ipc?(message: any, subprocess: Subprocess): void;
+    serialization?: "json" | "advanced";
+    windowsHide?: boolean;
+    windowsVerbatimArguments?: boolean;
+    argv0?: string;
+    signal?: AbortSignal;
+    timeout?: number;
+    killSignal?: string | number;
+    maxBuffer?: number;
+  }
+
+  type Readable =
+    | "pipe"
+    | "inherit"
+    | "ignore"
+    | null // equivalent to "ignore"
+    | undefined // to use default
+    | BunFile
+    | ArrayBufferView
+    | number;
+
+  type Writable =
+    | "pipe"
+    | "inherit"
+    | "ignore"
+    | null // equivalent to "ignore"
+    | undefined // to use default
+    | BunFile
+    | ArrayBufferView
+    | number
+    | ReadableStream
+    | Blob
+    | Response
+    | Request;
+}
+
+interface Subprocess extends AsyncDisposable {
+  readonly stdin: FileSink | number | undefined;
+  readonly stdout: ReadableStream<Uint8Array> | number | undefined;
+  readonly stderr: ReadableStream<Uint8Array> | number | undefined;
+  readonly readable: ReadableStream<Uint8Array> | number | undefined;
+  readonly pid: number;
+  readonly exited: Promise<number>;
+  readonly exitCode: number | null;
+  readonly signalCode: NodeJS.Signals | null;
+  readonly killed: boolean;
+
+  kill(exitCode?: number | NodeJS.Signals): void;
+  ref(): void;
+  unref(): void;
+
+  send(message: any): void;
+  disconnect(): void;
+  resourceUsage(): ResourceUsage | undefined;
+}
+
+interface SyncSubprocess {
+  stdout: Buffer | undefined;
+  stderr: Buffer | undefined;
+  exitCode: number;
+  success: boolean;
+  resourceUsage: ResourceUsage;
+  signalCode?: string;
+  exitedDueToTimeout?: true;
+  pid: number;
+}
+
+interface ResourceUsage {
+  contextSwitches: {
+    voluntary: number;
+    involuntary: number;
+  };
+
+  cpuTime: {
+    user: number;
+    system: number;
+    total: number;
+  };
+  maxRSS: number;
+
+  messages: {
+    sent: number;
+    received: number;
+  };
+  ops: {
+    in: number;
+    out: number;
+  };
+  shmSize: number;
+  signalCount: number;
+  swapCount: number;
+}
+
+type Signal =
+  | "SIGABRT"
+  | "SIGALRM"
+  | "SIGBUS"
+  | "SIGCHLD"
+  | "SIGCONT"
+  | "SIGFPE"
+  | "SIGHUP"
+  | "SIGILL"
+  | "SIGINT"
+  | "SIGIO"
+  | "SIGIOT"
+  | "SIGKILL"
+  | "SIGPIPE"
+  | "SIGPOLL"
+  | "SIGPROF"
+  | "SIGPWR"
+  | "SIGQUIT"
+  | "SIGSEGV"
+  | "SIGSTKFLT"
+  | "SIGSTOP"
+  | "SIGSYS"
+  | "SIGTERM"
+  | "SIGTRAP"
+  | "SIGTSTP"
+  | "SIGTTIN"
+  | "SIGTTOU"
+  | "SIGUNUSED"
+  | "SIGURG"
+  | "SIGUSR1"
+  | "SIGUSR2"
+  | "SIGVTALRM"
+  | "SIGWINCH"
+  | "SIGXCPU"
+  | "SIGXFSZ"
+  | "SIGBREAK"
+  | "SIGLOST"
+  | "SIGINFO";
+```