exiftool-vendored 34.3.0 → 35.0.0

package/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -35,6 +35,22 @@ vendored versions of ExifTool match the version that they vendor.
 
 ## History
 
+### v35.0.0
+
+- 💔 **BREAKING**: Upgraded to [batch-cluster v17](https://github.com/photostructure/batch-cluster.js/releases/tag/v17.0.0), which changes process cleanup behavior.
+
+  **Previously**, even though child processes were unreferenced, the stdio streams kept the parent Node.js process alive, requiring explicit `.end()` calls.
+
+  **Now**, stdio streams are unreferenced by default, so scripts can exit naturally without calling `.end()`. Child processes are cleaned up automatically when the parent exits.
+
+  To restore the previous behavior (parent process stays alive until `.end()` is called):
+
+  ```typescript
+  new ExifTool({ unrefStreams: false });
+  ```
+
+  Fixes [#319](https://github.com/photostructure/exiftool-vendored.js/discussions/319).
+
 ### v34.3.0
 
 - 🐞 Add support for colon-less timezone offsets (`2025:04:27 19:47:08-0300`). Thanks for the [report](https://github.com/photostructure/exiftool-vendored.js/issues/318), [@dosten](https://github.com/dosten)!

package/CLAUDE.md

@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ npm run release     # Run release process (requires proper permissions)
 ## Important Notes
 
 - Always run `npm run compile` before testing
-- End singleton `exiftool` instance with `.end()` to clean up child processes
+- As of v35, `.end()` is optional for scripts (Node.js exits naturally), but recommended for long-running apps
 - Tag interfaces not comprehensive - less common tags may exist in returned objects
 - Uses batch processing with automatic process pool management
 - TypeScript union type limits require careful tag selection

package/README.md

@@ -192,16 +192,16 @@ if (dt instanceof ExifDateTime) {
 
 ### 🧹 Resource Cleanup
 
-**Always call `.end()` on ExifTool instances** to prevent Node.js from hanging:
+As of v35, **Node.js will exit naturally** without calling `.end()` — child processes are cleaned up automatically when the parent exits.
+
+For **long-running applications** (servers, daemons), calling `.end()` is still recommended for graceful shutdown:
 
 ```javascript
 import { exiftool } from "exiftool-vendored";
 
-// Use the singleton
-const tags = await exiftool.read("photo.jpg");
-
-// Clean up when done
-process.on("beforeExit", () => exiftool.end());
+// For servers/daemons: graceful shutdown on termination signals
+process.on("SIGINT", () => exiftool.end());
+process.on("SIGTERM", () => exiftool.end());
 ```
 
 #### Automatic Cleanup with Disposable Interfaces

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "exiftool-vendored",
-  "version": "34.3.0",
+  "version": "35.0.0",
   "description": "Efficient, cross-platform access to ExifTool",
   "main": "./dist/ExifTool.js",
   "types": "./dist/ExifTool.d.ts",
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@
     "eslint-plugin-regexp": "^2.10.0",
     "extract-zip": "^2.0.1",
     "geo-tz": "^8.1.4",
-    "globals": "^16.5.0",
+    "globals": "^17.0.0",
     "globule": "^1.3.4",
     "mocha": "^11.7.5",
     "npm-check-updates": "^19.2.0",
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@
   "dependencies": {
     "@photostructure/tz-lookup": "^11.3.0",
     "@types/luxon": "^3.7.1",
-    "batch-cluster": "^16.0.0",
+    "batch-cluster": "^17.0.0",
     "he": "^1.2.0",
     "luxon": "^3.7.2"
   },