Single executable applications | Node.js v18.20.0 Documentation

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Table of contents

- Single executable applications
  - Notes
    - `require(id)` in the injected module is not file based
    - `__filename` and `module.filename` in the injected module
    - `__dirname` in the injected module
    - Single executable application creation process
    - Platform support

## Single executable applications#

Added in: v19.7.0, v18.16.0

Stability: 1 - Experimental: This feature is being designed and will change.

Source Code: src/node_sea.cc

This feature allows the distribution of a Node.js application conveniently to a system that does not have Node.js installed.

Node.js supports the creation of single executable applications by allowing the injection of a JavaScript file into the `node` binary. During start up, the program checks if anything has been injected. If the script is found, it executes its contents. Otherwise Node.js operates as it normally does.

The single executable application feature only supports running a single embedded CommonJS file.

A bundled JavaScript file can be turned into a single executable application with any tool which can inject resources into the `node` binary.

Here are the steps for creating a single executable application using one such tool, postject:

1. Create a JavaScript file:

       $ echo 'console.log(`Hello, ${process.argv[2]}!`);' > hello.js

2. Create a copy of the `node` executable and name it according to your needs:

       $ cp $(command -v node) hello

3. Remove the signature of the binary:

   - On macOS:

       $ codesign --remove-signature hello

   - On Windows (optional):

   signtool can be used from the installed Windows SDK. If this step is skipped, ignore any signature-related warning from postject.

       $ signtool remove /s hello

4. Inject the JavaScript file into the copied binary by running `postject` with the following options:

   - `hello` - The name of the copy of the `node` executable created in step 2.
   - `NODE_JS_CODE` - The name of the resource / note / section in the binary where the contents of the JavaScript file will be stored.
   - `hello.js` - The name of the JavaScript file created in step 1.
   - `--sentinel-fuse NODE_JS_FUSE_fce680ab2cc467b6e072b8b5df1996b2` - The fuse used by the Node.js project to detect if a file has been injected.
   - `--macho-segment-name NODE_JS` (only needed on macOS) - The name of the segment in the binary where the contents of the JavaScript file will be stored.

   To summarize, here is the required command for each platform:

   - On systems other than macOS:

         $ npx postject hello NODE_JS_CODE hello.js \
             --sentinel-fuse NODE_JS_FUSE_fce680ab2cc467b6e072b8b5df1996b2

   - On macOS:

         $ npx postject hello NODE_JS_CODE hello.js \
             --sentinel-fuse NODE_JS_FUSE_fce680ab2cc467b6e072b8b5df1996b2 \
             --macho-segment-name NODE_JS

5. Sign the binary:

   - On macOS:

       $ codesign --sign - hello

   - On Windows (optional):

   A certificate needs to be present for this to work. However, the unsigned binary would still be runnable.

       $ signtool sign /fd SHA256 hello

6. Run the binary:

       $ ./hello world
       Hello, world!

### Notes#

#### `require(id)` in the injected module is not file based#

`require()` in the injected module is not the same as the `require()` available to modules that are not injected. It also does not have any of the properties that non-injected `require()` has except `require.main`. It can only be used to load built-in modules. Attempting to load a module that can only be found in the file system will throw an error.

Instead of relying on a file based `require()`, users can bundle their application into a standalone JavaScript file to inject into the executable. This also ensures a more deterministic dependency graph.

However, if a file based `require()` is still needed, that can also be achieved:

    const { createRequire } = require('node:module');
    require = createRequire(__filename);

#### `__filename` and `module.filename` in the injected module#

The values of `__filename` and `module.filename` in the injected module are equal to `process.execPath`.

#### `__dirname` in the injected module#

The value of `__dirname` in the injected module is equal to the directory name of `process.execPath`.

#### Single executable application creation process#

A tool aiming to create a single executable Node.js application must inject the contents of a JavaScript file into:

- a resource named `NODE_JS_CODE` if the `node` binary is a PE file
- a section named `NODE_JS_CODE` in the `NODE_JS` segment if the `node` binary is a Mach-O file
- a note named `NODE_JS_CODE` if the `node` binary is an ELF file

Search the binary for the `NODE_JS_FUSE_fce680ab2cc467b6e072b8b5df1996b2:0` fuse string and flip the last character to `1` to indicate that a resource has been injected.

#### Platform support#

Single-executable support is tested regularly on CI only on the following platforms:

- Windows
- macOS
- Linux (all distributions supported by Node.js except Alpine and all architectures supported by Node.js except s390x and ppc64)

This is due to a lack of better tools to generate single-executables that can be used to test this feature on other platforms.

Suggestions for other resource injection tools/workflows are welcomed. Please start a discussion at https://github.com/nodejs/single-executable/discussions to help us document them.