Process | Node.js v18.20.4 Documentation (original) (raw)

Source Code: lib/process.js

The process object provides information about, and control over, the current Node.js process.

import process from 'node:process'; const process = require('node:process');

Process events#

The process object is an instance of EventEmitter.

Event: 'beforeExit'#

Added in: v0.11.12

The 'beforeExit' event is emitted when Node.js empties its event loop and has no additional work to schedule. Normally, the Node.js process will exit when there is no work scheduled, but a listener registered on the 'beforeExit'event can make asynchronous calls, and thereby cause the Node.js process to continue.

The listener callback function is invoked with the value ofprocess.exitCode passed as the only argument.

The 'beforeExit' event is not emitted for conditions causing explicit termination, such as calling process.exit() or uncaught exceptions.

The 'beforeExit' should not be used as an alternative to the 'exit' event unless the intention is to schedule additional work.

`import process from 'node:process';

process.on('beforeExit', (code) => { console.log('Process beforeExit event with code: ', code); });

process.on('exit', (code) => { console.log('Process exit event with code: ', code); });

console.log('This message is displayed first.');

// Prints: // This message is displayed first. // Process beforeExit event with code: 0 // Process exit event with code: 0 const process = require('node:process');

process.on('beforeExit', (code) => { console.log('Process beforeExit event with code: ', code); });

process.on('exit', (code) => { console.log('Process exit event with code: ', code); });

console.log('This message is displayed first.');

// Prints: // This message is displayed first. // Process beforeExit event with code: 0 // Process exit event with code: 0`

Event: 'disconnect'#

Added in: v0.7.7

If the Node.js process is spawned with an IPC channel (see the Child Processand Cluster documentation), the 'disconnect' event will be emitted when the IPC channel is closed.

Event: 'exit'#

Added in: v0.1.7

The 'exit' event is emitted when the Node.js process is about to exit as a result of either:

There is no way to prevent the exiting of the event loop at this point, and once all 'exit' listeners have finished running the Node.js process will terminate.

The listener callback function is invoked with the exit code specified either by the process.exitCode property, or the exitCode argument passed to theprocess.exit() method.

`` import process from 'node:process';

process.on('exit', (code) => { console.log(About to exit with code: ${code}); }); const process = require('node:process');

process.on('exit', (code) => { console.log(About to exit with code: ${code}); }); ``

Listener functions must only perform synchronous operations. The Node.js process will exit immediately after calling the 'exit' event listeners causing any additional work still queued in the event loop to be abandoned. In the following example, for instance, the timeout will never occur:

`import process from 'node:process';

process.on('exit', (code) => { setTimeout(() => { console.log('This will not run'); }, 0); }); const process = require('node:process');

process.on('exit', (code) => { setTimeout(() => { console.log('This will not run'); }, 0); });`

Event: 'message'#

Added in: v0.5.10

If the Node.js process is spawned with an IPC channel (see the Child Processand Cluster documentation), the 'message' event is emitted whenever a message sent by a parent process using childprocess.send() is received by the child process.

The message goes through serialization and parsing. The resulting message might not be the same as what is originally sent.

If the serialization option was set to advanced used when spawning the process, the message argument can contain data that JSON is not able to represent. See Advanced serialization for child_process for more details.

Event: 'multipleResolves'#

Added in: v10.12.0Deprecated since: v17.6.0

The 'multipleResolves' event is emitted whenever a Promise has been either:

This is useful for tracking potential errors in an application while using thePromise constructor, as multiple resolutions are silently swallowed. However, the occurrence of this event does not necessarily indicate an error. For example, Promise.race() can trigger a 'multipleResolves' event.

Because of the unreliability of the event in cases like thePromise.race() example above it has been deprecated.

`import process from 'node:process';

process.on('multipleResolves', (type, promise, reason) => { console.error(type, promise, reason); setImmediate(() => process.exit(1)); });

async function main() { try { return await new Promise((resolve, reject) => { resolve('First call'); resolve('Swallowed resolve'); reject(new Error('Swallowed reject')); }); } catch { throw new Error('Failed'); } }

main().then(console.log); // resolve: Promise { 'First call' } 'Swallowed resolve' // reject: Promise { 'First call' } Error: Swallowed reject // at Promise () // at new Promise () // at main () // First call const process = require('node:process');

process.on('multipleResolves', (type, promise, reason) => { console.error(type, promise, reason); setImmediate(() => process.exit(1)); });

async function main() { try { return await new Promise((resolve, reject) => { resolve('First call'); resolve('Swallowed resolve'); reject(new Error('Swallowed reject')); }); } catch { throw new Error('Failed'); } }

main().then(console.log); // resolve: Promise { 'First call' } 'Swallowed resolve' // reject: Promise { 'First call' } Error: Swallowed reject // at Promise () // at new Promise () // at main () // First call`

Event: 'rejectionHandled'#

Added in: v1.4.1

The 'rejectionHandled' event is emitted whenever a Promise has been rejected and an error handler was attached to it (using promise.catch(), for example) later than one turn of the Node.js event loop.

The Promise object would have previously been emitted in an'unhandledRejection' event, but during the course of processing gained a rejection handler.

There is no notion of a top level for a Promise chain at which rejections can always be handled. Being inherently asynchronous in nature, a Promiserejection can be handled at a future point in time, possibly much later than the event loop turn it takes for the 'unhandledRejection' event to be emitted.

Another way of stating this is that, unlike in synchronous code where there is an ever-growing list of unhandled exceptions, with Promises there can be a growing-and-shrinking list of unhandled rejections.

In synchronous code, the 'uncaughtException' event is emitted when the list of unhandled exceptions grows.

In asynchronous code, the 'unhandledRejection' event is emitted when the list of unhandled rejections grows, and the 'rejectionHandled' event is emitted when the list of unhandled rejections shrinks.

`import process from 'node:process';

const unhandledRejections = new Map(); process.on('unhandledRejection', (reason, promise) => { unhandledRejections.set(promise, reason); }); process.on('rejectionHandled', (promise) => { unhandledRejections.delete(promise); }); const process = require('node:process');

const unhandledRejections = new Map(); process.on('unhandledRejection', (reason, promise) => { unhandledRejections.set(promise, reason); }); process.on('rejectionHandled', (promise) => { unhandledRejections.delete(promise); });`

In this example, the unhandledRejections Map will grow and shrink over time, reflecting rejections that start unhandled and then become handled. It is possible to record such errors in an error log, either periodically (which is likely best for long-running application) or upon process exit (which is likely most convenient for scripts).

Event: 'uncaughtException'#

The 'uncaughtException' event is emitted when an uncaught JavaScript exception bubbles all the way back to the event loop. By default, Node.js handles such exceptions by printing the stack trace to stderr and exiting with code 1, overriding any previously set process.exitCode. Adding a handler for the 'uncaughtException' event overrides this default behavior. Alternatively, change the process.exitCode in the'uncaughtException' handler which will result in the process exiting with the provided exit code. Otherwise, in the presence of such handler the process will exit with 0.

`` import process from 'node:process';

process.on('uncaughtException', (err, origin) => { fs.writeSync( process.stderr.fd, Caught exception: ${err}\n + Exception origin: ${origin}, ); });

setTimeout(() => { console.log('This will still run.'); }, 500);

// Intentionally cause an exception, but don't catch it. nonexistentFunc(); console.log('This will not run.'); const process = require('node:process');

process.on('uncaughtException', (err, origin) => { fs.writeSync( process.stderr.fd, Caught exception: ${err}\n + Exception origin: ${origin}, ); });

setTimeout(() => { console.log('This will still run.'); }, 500);

// Intentionally cause an exception, but don't catch it. nonexistentFunc(); console.log('This will not run.'); ``

It is possible to monitor 'uncaughtException' events without overriding the default behavior to exit the process by installing a'uncaughtExceptionMonitor' listener.

Warning: Using 'uncaughtException' correctly#

'uncaughtException' is a crude mechanism for exception handling intended to be used only as a last resort. The event should not be used as an equivalent to On Error Resume Next. Unhandled exceptions inherently mean that an application is in an undefined state. Attempting to resume application code without properly recovering from the exception can cause additional unforeseen and unpredictable issues.

Exceptions thrown from within the event handler will not be caught. Instead the process will exit with a non-zero exit code and the stack trace will be printed. This is to avoid infinite recursion.

Attempting to resume normally after an uncaught exception can be similar to pulling out the power cord when upgrading a computer. Nine out of ten times, nothing happens. But the tenth time, the system becomes corrupted.

The correct use of 'uncaughtException' is to perform synchronous cleanup of allocated resources (e.g. file descriptors, handles, etc) before shutting down the process. It is not safe to resume normal operation after'uncaughtException'.

To restart a crashed application in a more reliable way, whether'uncaughtException' is emitted or not, an external monitor should be employed in a separate process to detect application failures and recover or restart as needed.

Event: 'uncaughtExceptionMonitor'#

Added in: v13.7.0, v12.17.0

The 'uncaughtExceptionMonitor' event is emitted before an'uncaughtException' event is emitted or a hook installed viaprocess.setUncaughtExceptionCaptureCallback() is called.

Installing an 'uncaughtExceptionMonitor' listener does not change the behavior once an 'uncaughtException' event is emitted. The process will still crash if no 'uncaughtException' listener is installed.

`import process from 'node:process';

process.on('uncaughtExceptionMonitor', (err, origin) => { MyMonitoringTool.logSync(err, origin); });

// Intentionally cause an exception, but don't catch it. nonexistentFunc(); // Still crashes Node.js const process = require('node:process');

process.on('uncaughtExceptionMonitor', (err, origin) => { MyMonitoringTool.logSync(err, origin); });

// Intentionally cause an exception, but don't catch it. nonexistentFunc(); // Still crashes Node.js`

Event: 'unhandledRejection'#

The 'unhandledRejection' event is emitted whenever a Promise is rejected and no error handler is attached to the promise within a turn of the event loop. When programming with Promises, exceptions are encapsulated as "rejected promises". Rejections can be caught and handled using promise.catch() and are propagated through a Promise chain. The 'unhandledRejection' event is useful for detecting and keeping track of promises that were rejected whose rejections have not yet been handled.

`` import process from 'node:process';

process.on('unhandledRejection', (reason, promise) => { console.log('Unhandled Rejection at:', promise, 'reason:', reason); // Application specific logging, throwing an error, or other logic here });

somePromise.then((res) => { return reportToUser(JSON.pasre(res)); // Note the typo (pasre) }); // No .catch() or .then() const process = require('node:process');

process.on('unhandledRejection', (reason, promise) => { console.log('Unhandled Rejection at:', promise, 'reason:', reason); // Application specific logging, throwing an error, or other logic here });

somePromise.then((res) => { return reportToUser(JSON.pasre(res)); // Note the typo (pasre) }); // No .catch() or .then() ``

The following will also trigger the 'unhandledRejection' event to be emitted:

`import process from 'node:process';

function SomeResource() { // Initially set the loaded status to a rejected promise this.loaded = Promise.reject(new Error('Resource not yet loaded!')); }

const resource = new SomeResource(); // no .catch or .then on resource.loaded for at least a turn const process = require('node:process');

function SomeResource() { // Initially set the loaded status to a rejected promise this.loaded = Promise.reject(new Error('Resource not yet loaded!')); }

const resource = new SomeResource(); // no .catch or .then on resource.loaded for at least a turn`

In this example case, it is possible to track the rejection as a developer error as would typically be the case for other 'unhandledRejection' events. To address such failures, a non-operational.catch(() => { }) handler may be attached toresource.loaded, which would prevent the 'unhandledRejection' event from being emitted.

Event: 'warning'#

Added in: v6.0.0

The 'warning' event is emitted whenever Node.js emits a process warning.

A process warning is similar to an error in that it describes exceptional conditions that are being brought to the user's attention. However, warnings are not part of the normal Node.js and JavaScript error handling flow. Node.js can emit warnings whenever it detects bad coding practices that could lead to sub-optimal application performance, bugs, or security vulnerabilities.

`import process from 'node:process';

process.on('warning', (warning) => { console.warn(warning.name); // Print the warning name console.warn(warning.message); // Print the warning message console.warn(warning.stack); // Print the stack trace }); const process = require('node:process');

process.on('warning', (warning) => { console.warn(warning.name); // Print the warning name console.warn(warning.message); // Print the warning message console.warn(warning.stack); // Print the stack trace });`

By default, Node.js will print process warnings to stderr. The --no-warningscommand-line option can be used to suppress the default console output but the'warning' event will still be emitted by the process object.

The following example illustrates the warning that is printed to stderr when too many listeners have been added to an event:

`$ node

events.defaultMaxListeners = 1; process.on('foo', () => {}); process.on('foo', () => {}); (node:38638) MaxListenersExceededWarning: Possible EventEmitter memory leak detected. 2 foo listeners added. Use emitter.setMaxListeners() to increase limit`

In contrast, the following example turns off the default warning output and adds a custom handler to the 'warning' event:

`$ node --no-warnings

const p = process.on('warning', (warning) => console.warn('Do not do that!')); events.defaultMaxListeners = 1; process.on('foo', () => {}); process.on('foo', () => {}); Do not do that!`

The --trace-warnings command-line option can be used to have the default console output for warnings include the full stack trace of the warning.

Launching Node.js using the --throw-deprecation command-line flag will cause custom deprecation warnings to be thrown as exceptions.

Using the --trace-deprecation command-line flag will cause the custom deprecation to be printed to stderr along with the stack trace.

Using the --no-deprecation command-line flag will suppress all reporting of the custom deprecation.

The *-deprecation command-line flags only affect warnings that use the name'DeprecationWarning'.

Event: 'worker'#

Added in: v16.2.0, v14.18.0

The 'worker' event is emitted after a new thread has been created.

Emitting custom warnings#

See the process.emitWarning() method for issuing custom or application-specific warnings.

Node.js warning names#

There are no strict guidelines for warning types (as identified by the nameproperty) emitted by Node.js. New types of warnings can be added at any time. A few of the warning types that are most common include:

Signal events#

Signal events will be emitted when the Node.js process receives a signal. Please refer to signal(7) for a listing of standard POSIX signal names such as'SIGINT', 'SIGHUP', etc.

Signals are not available on Worker threads.

The signal handler will receive the signal's name ('SIGINT','SIGTERM', etc.) as the first argument.

The name of each event will be the uppercase common name for the signal (e.g.'SIGINT' for SIGINT signals).

`` import process from 'node:process';

// Begin reading from stdin so the process does not exit. process.stdin.resume();

process.on('SIGINT', () => { console.log('Received SIGINT. Press Control-D to exit.'); });

// Using a single function to handle multiple signals function handle(signal) { console.log(Received ${signal}); }

process.on('SIGINT', handle); process.on('SIGTERM', handle); const process = require('node:process');

// Begin reading from stdin so the process does not exit. process.stdin.resume();

process.on('SIGINT', () => { console.log('Received SIGINT. Press Control-D to exit.'); });

// Using a single function to handle multiple signals function handle(signal) { console.log(Received ${signal}); }

process.on('SIGINT', handle); process.on('SIGTERM', handle); ``

Windows does not support signals so has no equivalent to termination by signal, but Node.js offers some emulation with process.kill(), andsubprocess.kill():

process.abort()#

Added in: v0.7.0

The process.abort() method causes the Node.js process to exit immediately and generate a core file.

This feature is not available in Worker threads.

process.allowedNodeEnvironmentFlags#

Added in: v10.10.0

The process.allowedNodeEnvironmentFlags property is a special, read-only Set of flags allowable within the NODE_OPTIONSenvironment variable.

process.allowedNodeEnvironmentFlags extends Set, but overridesSet.prototype.has to recognize several different possible flag representations. process.allowedNodeEnvironmentFlags.has() will return true in the following cases:

When iterating over process.allowedNodeEnvironmentFlags, flags will appear only once; each will begin with one or more dashes. Flags passed through to V8 will contain underscores instead of non-leading dashes:

`import { allowedNodeEnvironmentFlags } from 'node:process';

allowedNodeEnvironmentFlags.forEach((flag) => { // -r // --inspect-brk // --abort_on_uncaught_exception // ... }); const { allowedNodeEnvironmentFlags } = require('node:process');

allowedNodeEnvironmentFlags.forEach((flag) => { // -r // --inspect-brk // --abort_on_uncaught_exception // ... });`

The methods add(), clear(), and delete() ofprocess.allowedNodeEnvironmentFlags do nothing, and will fail silently.

If Node.js was compiled without NODE_OPTIONS support (shown inprocess.config), process.allowedNodeEnvironmentFlags will contain what would have been allowable.

process.arch#

Added in: v0.5.0

The operating system CPU architecture for which the Node.js binary was compiled. Possible values are: 'arm', 'arm64', 'ia32', 'mips','mipsel', 'ppc','ppc64', 's390', 's390x', and 'x64'.

`` import { arch } from 'node:process';

console.log(This processor architecture is ${arch}); const { arch } = require('node:process');

console.log(This processor architecture is ${arch}); ``

process.argv#

Added in: v0.1.27

The process.argv property returns an array containing the command-line arguments passed when the Node.js process was launched. The first element will be process.execPath. See process.argv0 if access to the original value of argv[0] is needed. The second element will be the path to the JavaScript file being executed. The remaining elements will be any additional command-line arguments.

For example, assuming the following script for process-args.js:

`` import { argv } from 'node:process';

// print process.argv argv.forEach((val, index) => { console.log(${index}: ${val}); }); const { argv } = require('node:process');

// print process.argv argv.forEach((val, index) => { console.log(${index}: ${val}); }); ``

Launching the Node.js process as:

$ node process-args.js one two=three four

Would generate the output:

0: /usr/local/bin/node 1: /Users/mjr/work/node/process-args.js 2: one 3: two=three 4: four

process.argv0#

Added in: v6.4.0

The process.argv0 property stores a read-only copy of the original value ofargv[0] passed when Node.js starts.

`$ bash -c 'exec -a customArgv0 ./node'

process.argv[0] '/Volumes/code/external/node/out/Release/node' process.argv0 'customArgv0'`

process.channel#

If the Node.js process was spawned with an IPC channel (see theChild Process documentation), the process.channelproperty is a reference to the IPC channel. If no IPC channel exists, this property is undefined.

process.channel.ref()#

Added in: v7.1.0

This method makes the IPC channel keep the event loop of the process running if .unref() has been called before.

Typically, this is managed through the number of 'disconnect' and 'message'listeners on the process object. However, this method can be used to explicitly request a specific behavior.

process.channel.unref()#

Added in: v7.1.0

This method makes the IPC channel not keep the event loop of the process running, and lets it finish even while the channel is open.

Typically, this is managed through the number of 'disconnect' and 'message'listeners on the process object. However, this method can be used to explicitly request a specific behavior.

process.chdir(directory)#

Added in: v0.1.17

The process.chdir() method changes the current working directory of the Node.js process or throws an exception if doing so fails (for instance, if the specified directory does not exist).

`` import { chdir, cwd } from 'node:process';

console.log(Starting directory: ${cwd()}); try { chdir('/tmp'); console.log(New directory: ${cwd()}); } catch (err) { console.error(chdir: ${err}); } const { chdir, cwd } = require('node:process');

console.log(Starting directory: ${cwd()}); try { chdir('/tmp'); console.log(New directory: ${cwd()}); } catch (err) { console.error(chdir: ${err}); } ``

This feature is not available in Worker threads.

process.config#

The process.config property returns an Object containing the JavaScript representation of the configure options used to compile the current Node.js executable. This is the same as the config.gypi file that was produced when running the ./configure script.

An example of the possible output looks like:

{ target_defaults: { cflags: [], default_configuration: 'Release', defines: [], include_dirs: [], libraries: [] }, variables: { host_arch: 'x64', napi_build_version: 5, node_install_npm: 'true', node_prefix: '', node_shared_cares: 'false', node_shared_http_parser: 'false', node_shared_libuv: 'false', node_shared_zlib: 'false', node_use_dtrace: 'false', node_use_openssl: 'true', node_shared_openssl: 'false', strict_aliasing: 'true', target_arch: 'x64', v8_use_snapshot: 1 } }

The process.config property is not read-only and there are existing modules in the ecosystem that are known to extend, modify, or entirely replace the value of process.config.

Modifying the process.config property, or any child-property of theprocess.config object has been deprecated. The process.config will be made read-only in a future release.

process.connected#

Added in: v0.7.2

If the Node.js process is spawned with an IPC channel (see the Child Processand Cluster documentation), the process.connected property will returntrue so long as the IPC channel is connected and will return false afterprocess.disconnect() is called.

Once process.connected is false, it is no longer possible to send messages over the IPC channel using process.send().

process.constrainedMemory()#

Added in: v18.15.0

Gets the amount of memory available to the process (in bytes) based on limits imposed by the OS. If there is no such constraint, or the constraint is unknown, undefined is returned.

See uv_get_constrained_memory for more information.

process.cpuUsage([previousValue])#

Added in: v6.1.0

The process.cpuUsage() method returns the user and system CPU time usage of the current process, in an object with properties user and system, whose values are microsecond values (millionth of a second). These values measure time spent in user and system code respectively, and may end up being greater than actual elapsed time if multiple CPU cores are performing work for this process.

The result of a previous call to process.cpuUsage() can be passed as the argument to the function, to get a diff reading.

`import { cpuUsage } from 'node:process';

const startUsage = cpuUsage(); // { user: 38579, system: 6986 }

// spin the CPU for 500 milliseconds const now = Date.now(); while (Date.now() - now < 500);

console.log(cpuUsage(startUsage)); // { user: 514883, system: 11226 } const { cpuUsage } = require('node:process');

const startUsage = cpuUsage(); // { user: 38579, system: 6986 }

// spin the CPU for 500 milliseconds const now = Date.now(); while (Date.now() - now < 500);

console.log(cpuUsage(startUsage)); // { user: 514883, system: 11226 }`

process.cwd()#

Added in: v0.1.8

The process.cwd() method returns the current working directory of the Node.js process.

`` import { cwd } from 'node:process';

console.log(Current directory: ${cwd()}); const { cwd } = require('node:process');

console.log(Current directory: ${cwd()}); ``

process.debugPort#

Added in: v0.7.2

The port used by the Node.js debugger when enabled.

`import process from 'node:process';

process.debugPort = 5858; const process = require('node:process');

process.debugPort = 5858;`

process.disconnect()#

Added in: v0.7.2

If the Node.js process is spawned with an IPC channel (see the Child Processand Cluster documentation), the process.disconnect() method will close the IPC channel to the parent process, allowing the child process to exit gracefully once there are no other connections keeping it alive.

The effect of calling process.disconnect() is the same as callingChildProcess.disconnect() from the parent process.

If the Node.js process was not spawned with an IPC channel,process.disconnect() will be undefined.

process.dlopen(module, filename[, flags])#

The process.dlopen() method allows dynamically loading shared objects. It is primarily used by require() to load C++ Addons, and should not be used directly, except in special cases. In other words, require() should be preferred over process.dlopen() unless there are specific reasons such as custom dlopen flags or loading from ES modules.

The flags argument is an integer that allows to specify dlopen behavior. See the os.constants.dlopen documentation for details.

An important requirement when calling process.dlopen() is that the moduleinstance must be passed. Functions exported by the C++ Addon are then accessible via module.exports.

The example below shows how to load a C++ Addon, named local.node, that exports a foo function. All the symbols are loaded before the call returns, by passing the RTLD_NOW constant. In this example the constant is assumed to be available.

`import { dlopen } from 'node:process'; import { constants } from 'node:os'; import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';

const module = { exports: {} }; dlopen(module, fileURLToPath(new URL('local.node', import.meta.url)), constants.dlopen.RTLD_NOW); module.exports.foo(); const { dlopen } = require('node:process'); const { constants } = require('node:os'); const { join } = require('node:path');

const module = { exports: {} }; dlopen(module, join(__dirname, 'local.node'), constants.dlopen.RTLD_NOW); module.exports.foo();`

process.emitWarning(warning[, options])#

Added in: v8.0.0

The process.emitWarning() method can be used to emit custom or application specific process warnings. These can be listened for by adding a handler to the'warning' event.

`import { emitWarning } from 'node:process';

// Emit a warning with a code and additional detail. emitWarning('Something happened!', { code: 'MY_WARNING', detail: 'This is some additional information', }); // Emits: // (node:56338) [MY_WARNING] Warning: Something happened! // This is some additional information const { emitWarning } = require('node:process');

// Emit a warning with a code and additional detail. emitWarning('Something happened!', { code: 'MY_WARNING', detail: 'This is some additional information', }); // Emits: // (node:56338) [MY_WARNING] Warning: Something happened! // This is some additional information`

In this example, an Error object is generated internally byprocess.emitWarning() and passed through to the'warning' handler.

`import process from 'node:process';

process.on('warning', (warning) => { console.warn(warning.name); // 'Warning' console.warn(warning.message); // 'Something happened!' console.warn(warning.code); // 'MY_WARNING' console.warn(warning.stack); // Stack trace console.warn(warning.detail); // 'This is some additional information' }); const process = require('node:process');

process.on('warning', (warning) => { console.warn(warning.name); // 'Warning' console.warn(warning.message); // 'Something happened!' console.warn(warning.code); // 'MY_WARNING' console.warn(warning.stack); // Stack trace console.warn(warning.detail); // 'This is some additional information' });`

If warning is passed as an Error object, the options argument is ignored.

process.emitWarning(warning[, type[, code]][, ctor])#

Added in: v6.0.0

The process.emitWarning() method can be used to emit custom or application specific process warnings. These can be listened for by adding a handler to the'warning' event.

`import { emitWarning } from 'node:process';

// Emit a warning using a string. emitWarning('Something happened!'); // Emits: (node: 56338) Warning: Something happened! const { emitWarning } = require('node:process');

// Emit a warning using a string. emitWarning('Something happened!'); // Emits: (node: 56338) Warning: Something happened!`

`import { emitWarning } from 'node:process';

// Emit a warning using a string and a type. emitWarning('Something Happened!', 'CustomWarning'); // Emits: (node:56338) CustomWarning: Something Happened! const { emitWarning } = require('node:process');

// Emit a warning using a string and a type. emitWarning('Something Happened!', 'CustomWarning'); // Emits: (node:56338) CustomWarning: Something Happened!`

`import { emitWarning } from 'node:process';

emitWarning('Something happened!', 'CustomWarning', 'WARN001'); // Emits: (node:56338) [WARN001] CustomWarning: Something happened! const { emitWarning } = require('node:process');

process.emitWarning('Something happened!', 'CustomWarning', 'WARN001'); // Emits: (node:56338) [WARN001] CustomWarning: Something happened!`

In each of the previous examples, an Error object is generated internally byprocess.emitWarning() and passed through to the 'warning'handler.

`import process from 'node:process';

process.on('warning', (warning) => { console.warn(warning.name); console.warn(warning.message); console.warn(warning.code); console.warn(warning.stack); }); const process = require('node:process');

process.on('warning', (warning) => { console.warn(warning.name); console.warn(warning.message); console.warn(warning.code); console.warn(warning.stack); });`

If warning is passed as an Error object, it will be passed through to the'warning' event handler unmodified (and the optional type,code and ctor arguments will be ignored):

`import { emitWarning } from 'node:process';

// Emit a warning using an Error object. const myWarning = new Error('Something happened!'); // Use the Error name property to specify the type name myWarning.name = 'CustomWarning'; myWarning.code = 'WARN001';

emitWarning(myWarning); // Emits: (node:56338) [WARN001] CustomWarning: Something happened! const { emitWarning } = require('node:process');

// Emit a warning using an Error object. const myWarning = new Error('Something happened!'); // Use the Error name property to specify the type name myWarning.name = 'CustomWarning'; myWarning.code = 'WARN001';

emitWarning(myWarning); // Emits: (node:56338) [WARN001] CustomWarning: Something happened!`

A TypeError is thrown if warning is anything other than a string or Errorobject.

While process warnings use Error objects, the process warning mechanism is not a replacement for normal error handling mechanisms.

The following additional handling is implemented if the warning type is'DeprecationWarning':

Avoiding duplicate warnings#

As a best practice, warnings should be emitted only once per process. To do so, place the emitWarning() behind a boolean.

`import { emitWarning } from 'node:process';

function emitMyWarning() { if (!emitMyWarning.warned) { emitMyWarning.warned = true; emitWarning('Only warn once!'); } } emitMyWarning(); // Emits: (node: 56339) Warning: Only warn once! emitMyWarning(); // Emits nothing const { emitWarning } = require('node:process');

function emitMyWarning() { if (!emitMyWarning.warned) { emitMyWarning.warned = true; emitWarning('Only warn once!'); } } emitMyWarning(); // Emits: (node: 56339) Warning: Only warn once! emitMyWarning(); // Emits nothing`

process.env#

The process.env property returns an object containing the user environment. See environ(7).

An example of this object looks like:

{ TERM: 'xterm-256color', SHELL: '/usr/local/bin/bash', USER: 'maciej', PATH: '~/.bin/:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin', PWD: '/Users/maciej', EDITOR: 'vim', SHLVL: '1', HOME: '/Users/maciej', LOGNAME: 'maciej', _: '/usr/local/bin/node' }

It is possible to modify this object, but such modifications will not be reflected outside the Node.js process, or (unless explicitly requested) to other Worker threads. In other words, the following example would not work:

$ node -e 'process.env.foo = "bar"' && echo $foo

While the following will:

`import { env } from 'node:process';

env.foo = 'bar'; console.log(env.foo); const { env } = require('node:process');

env.foo = 'bar'; console.log(env.foo);`

Assigning a property on process.env will implicitly convert the value to a string. This behavior is deprecated. Future versions of Node.js may throw an error when the value is not a string, number, or boolean.

`import { env } from 'node:process';

env.test = null; console.log(env.test); // => 'null' env.test = undefined; console.log(env.test); // => 'undefined' const { env } = require('node:process');

env.test = null; console.log(env.test); // => 'null' env.test = undefined; console.log(env.test); // => 'undefined'`

Use delete to delete a property from process.env.

`import { env } from 'node:process';

env.TEST = 1; delete env.TEST; console.log(env.TEST); // => undefined const { env } = require('node:process');

env.TEST = 1; delete env.TEST; console.log(env.TEST); // => undefined`

On Windows operating systems, environment variables are case-insensitive.

`import { env } from 'node:process';

env.TEST = 1; console.log(env.test); // => 1 const { env } = require('node:process');

env.TEST = 1; console.log(env.test); // => 1`

Unless explicitly specified when creating a Worker instance, each Worker thread has its own copy of process.env, based on its parent thread's process.env, or whatever was specified as the env option to the Worker constructor. Changes to process.env will not be visible across Worker threads, and only the main thread can make changes that are visible to the operating system or to native add-ons. On Windows, a copy ofprocess.env on a Worker instance operates in a case-sensitive manner unlike the main thread.

process.execArgv#

Added in: v0.7.7

The process.execArgv property returns the set of Node.js-specific command-line options passed when the Node.js process was launched. These options do not appear in the array returned by the process.argv property, and do not include the Node.js executable, the name of the script, or any options following the script name. These options are useful in order to spawn child processes with the same execution environment as the parent.

$ node --harmony script.js --version

Results in process.execArgv:

['--harmony']

And process.argv:

['/usr/local/bin/node', 'script.js', '--version']

Refer to Worker constructor for the detailed behavior of worker threads with this property.

process.execPath#

Added in: v0.1.100

The process.execPath property returns the absolute pathname of the executable that started the Node.js process. Symbolic links, if any, are resolved.

'/usr/local/bin/node'

process.exit([code])#

Added in: v0.1.13

The process.exit() method instructs Node.js to terminate the process synchronously with an exit status of code. If code is omitted, exit uses either the 'success' code 0 or the value of process.exitCode if it has been set. Node.js will not terminate until all the 'exit' event listeners are called.

To exit with a 'failure' code:

`import { exit } from 'node:process';

exit(1); const { exit } = require('node:process');

exit(1);`

The shell that executed Node.js should see the exit code as 1.

Calling process.exit() will force the process to exit as quickly as possible even if there are still asynchronous operations pending that have not yet completed fully, including I/O operations to process.stdout andprocess.stderr.

In most situations, it is not actually necessary to call process.exit()explicitly. The Node.js process will exit on its own if there is no additional work pending in the event loop. The process.exitCode property can be set to tell the process which exit code to use when the process exits gracefully.

For instance, the following example illustrates a misuse of theprocess.exit() method that could lead to data printed to stdout being truncated and lost:

`import { exit } from 'node:process';

// This is an example of what not to do: if (someConditionNotMet()) { printUsageToStdout(); exit(1); } const { exit } = require('node:process');

// This is an example of what not to do: if (someConditionNotMet()) { printUsageToStdout(); exit(1); }`

The reason this is problematic is because writes to process.stdout in Node.js are sometimes asynchronous and may occur over multiple ticks of the Node.js event loop. Calling process.exit(), however, forces the process to exit_before_ those additional writes to stdout can be performed.

Rather than calling process.exit() directly, the code should set theprocess.exitCode and allow the process to exit naturally by avoiding scheduling any additional work for the event loop:

`import process from 'node:process';

// How to properly set the exit code while letting // the process exit gracefully. if (someConditionNotMet()) { printUsageToStdout(); process.exitCode = 1; } const process = require('node:process');

// How to properly set the exit code while letting // the process exit gracefully. if (someConditionNotMet()) { printUsageToStdout(); process.exitCode = 1; }`

If it is necessary to terminate the Node.js process due to an error condition, throwing an uncaught error and allowing the process to terminate accordingly is safer than calling process.exit().

In Worker threads, this function stops the current thread rather than the current process.

process.exitCode#

Added in: v0.11.8

A number which will be the process exit code, when the process either exits gracefully, or is exited via process.exit() without specifying a code.

Specifying a code to process.exit(code) will override any previous setting of process.exitCode.

process.getActiveResourcesInfo()#

Added in: v17.3.0, v16.14.0

The process.getActiveResourcesInfo() method returns an array of strings containing the types of the active resources that are currently keeping the event loop alive.

`import { getActiveResourcesInfo } from 'node:process'; import { setTimeout } from 'node:timers';

console.log('Before:', getActiveResourcesInfo()); setTimeout(() => {}, 1000); console.log('After:', getActiveResourcesInfo()); // Prints: // Before: [ 'CloseReq', 'TTYWrap', 'TTYWrap', 'TTYWrap' ] // After: [ 'CloseReq', 'TTYWrap', 'TTYWrap', 'TTYWrap', 'Timeout' ] const { getActiveResourcesInfo } = require('node:process'); const { setTimeout } = require('node:timers');

console.log('Before:', getActiveResourcesInfo()); setTimeout(() => {}, 1000); console.log('After:', getActiveResourcesInfo()); // Prints: // Before: [ 'TTYWrap', 'TTYWrap', 'TTYWrap' ] // After: [ 'TTYWrap', 'TTYWrap', 'TTYWrap', 'Timeout' ]`

process.getegid()#

Added in: v2.0.0

The process.getegid() method returns the numerical effective group identity of the Node.js process. (See getegid(2).)

`` import process from 'node:process';

if (process.getegid) { console.log(Current gid: ${process.getegid()}); } const process = require('node:process');

if (process.getegid) { console.log(Current gid: ${process.getegid()}); } ``

This function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows or Android).

process.geteuid()#

Added in: v2.0.0

The process.geteuid() method returns the numerical effective user identity of the process. (See geteuid(2).)

`` import process from 'node:process';

if (process.geteuid) { console.log(Current uid: ${process.geteuid()}); } const process = require('node:process');

if (process.geteuid) { console.log(Current uid: ${process.geteuid()}); } ``

This function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows or Android).

process.getgid()#

Added in: v0.1.31

The process.getgid() method returns the numerical group identity of the process. (See getgid(2).)

`` import process from 'node:process';

if (process.getgid) { console.log(Current gid: ${process.getgid()}); } const process = require('node:process');

if (process.getgid) { console.log(Current gid: ${process.getgid()}); } ``

This function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows or Android).

process.getgroups()#

Added in: v0.9.4

The process.getgroups() method returns an array with the supplementary group IDs. POSIX leaves it unspecified if the effective group ID is included but Node.js ensures it always is.

`import process from 'node:process';

if (process.getgroups) { console.log(process.getgroups()); // [ 16, 21, 297 ] } const process = require('node:process');

if (process.getgroups) { console.log(process.getgroups()); // [ 16, 21, 297 ] }`

This function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows or Android).

process.getuid()#

Added in: v0.1.28

The process.getuid() method returns the numeric user identity of the process. (See getuid(2).)

`` import process from 'node:process';

if (process.getuid) { console.log(Current uid: ${process.getuid()}); } const process = require('node:process');

if (process.getuid) { console.log(Current uid: ${process.getuid()}); } ``

This function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows or Android).

process.hasUncaughtExceptionCaptureCallback()#

Added in: v9.3.0

Indicates whether a callback has been set usingprocess.setUncaughtExceptionCaptureCallback().

process.hrtime([time])#

Added in: v0.7.6

This is the legacy version of process.hrtime.bigint()before bigint was introduced in JavaScript.

The process.hrtime() method returns the current high-resolution real time in a [seconds, nanoseconds] tuple Array, where nanoseconds is the remaining part of the real time that can't be represented in second precision.

time is an optional parameter that must be the result of a previousprocess.hrtime() call to diff with the current time. If the parameter passed in is not a tuple Array, a TypeError will be thrown. Passing in a user-defined array instead of the result of a previous call toprocess.hrtime() will lead to undefined behavior.

These times are relative to an arbitrary time in the past, and not related to the time of day and therefore not subject to clock drift. The primary use is for measuring performance between intervals:

`` import { hrtime } from 'node:process';

const NS_PER_SEC = 1e9; const time = hrtime(); // [ 1800216, 25 ]

setTimeout(() => { const diff = hrtime(time); // [ 1, 552 ]

console.log(Benchmark took ${diff[0] * NS_PER_SEC + diff[1]} nanoseconds); // Benchmark took 1000000552 nanoseconds }, 1000); const { hrtime } = require('node:process');

const NS_PER_SEC = 1e9; const time = hrtime(); // [ 1800216, 25 ]

setTimeout(() => { const diff = hrtime(time); // [ 1, 552 ]

console.log(Benchmark took ${diff[0] * NS_PER_SEC + diff[1]} nanoseconds); // Benchmark took 1000000552 nanoseconds }, 1000); ``

process.hrtime.bigint()#

Added in: v10.7.0

The bigint version of the process.hrtime() method returning the current high-resolution real time in nanoseconds as a bigint.

Unlike process.hrtime(), it does not support an additional timeargument since the difference can just be computed directly by subtraction of the two bigints.

`` import { hrtime } from 'node:process';

const start = hrtime.bigint(); // 191051479007711n

setTimeout(() => { const end = hrtime.bigint(); // 191052633396993n

console.log(Benchmark took ${end - start} nanoseconds); // Benchmark took 1154389282 nanoseconds }, 1000); const { hrtime } = require('node:process');

const start = hrtime.bigint(); // 191051479007711n

setTimeout(() => { const end = hrtime.bigint(); // 191052633396993n

console.log(Benchmark took ${end - start} nanoseconds); // Benchmark took 1154389282 nanoseconds }, 1000); ``

process.initgroups(user, extraGroup)#

Added in: v0.9.4

The process.initgroups() method reads the /etc/group file and initializes the group access list, using all groups of which the user is a member. This is a privileged operation that requires that the Node.js process either have rootaccess or the CAP_SETGID capability.

Use care when dropping privileges:

`import { getgroups, initgroups, setgid } from 'node:process';

console.log(getgroups()); // [ 0 ] initgroups('nodeuser', 1000); // switch user console.log(getgroups()); // [ 27, 30, 46, 1000, 0 ] setgid(1000); // drop root gid console.log(getgroups()); // [ 27, 30, 46, 1000 ] const { getgroups, initgroups, setgid } = require('node:process');

console.log(getgroups()); // [ 0 ] initgroups('nodeuser', 1000); // switch user console.log(getgroups()); // [ 27, 30, 46, 1000, 0 ] setgid(1000); // drop root gid console.log(getgroups()); // [ 27, 30, 46, 1000 ]`

This function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows or Android). This feature is not available in Worker threads.

process.kill(pid[, signal])#

Added in: v0.0.6

The process.kill() method sends the signal to the process identified bypid.

Signal names are strings such as 'SIGINT' or 'SIGHUP'. See Signal Eventsand kill(2) for more information.

This method will throw an error if the target pid does not exist. As a special case, a signal of 0 can be used to test for the existence of a process. Windows platforms will throw an error if the pid is used to kill a process group.

Even though the name of this function is process.kill(), it is really just a signal sender, like the kill system call. The signal sent may do something other than kill the target process.

`import process, { kill } from 'node:process';

process.on('SIGHUP', () => { console.log('Got SIGHUP signal.'); });

setTimeout(() => { console.log('Exiting.'); process.exit(0); }, 100);

kill(process.pid, 'SIGHUP'); const process = require('node:process');

process.on('SIGHUP', () => { console.log('Got SIGHUP signal.'); });

setTimeout(() => { console.log('Exiting.'); process.exit(0); }, 100);

process.kill(process.pid, 'SIGHUP');`

When SIGUSR1 is received by a Node.js process, Node.js will start the debugger. See Signal Events.

process.mainModule#

Added in: v0.1.17Deprecated since: v14.0.0

The process.mainModule property provides an alternative way of retrievingrequire.main. The difference is that if the main module changes at runtime, require.main may still refer to the original main module in modules that were required before the change occurred. Generally, it's safe to assume that the two refer to the same module.

As with require.main, process.mainModule will be undefined if there is no entry script.

process.memoryUsage()#

Returns an object describing the memory usage of the Node.js process measured in bytes.

`import { memoryUsage } from 'node:process';

console.log(memoryUsage()); // Prints: // { // rss: 4935680, // heapTotal: 1826816, // heapUsed: 650472, // external: 49879, // arrayBuffers: 9386 // } const { memoryUsage } = require('node:process');

console.log(memoryUsage()); // Prints: // { // rss: 4935680, // heapTotal: 1826816, // heapUsed: 650472, // external: 49879, // arrayBuffers: 9386 // }`

When using Worker threads, rss will be a value that is valid for the entire process, while the other fields will only refer to the current thread.

The process.memoryUsage() method iterates over each page to gather information about memory usage which might be slow depending on the program memory allocations.

process.memoryUsage.rss()#

Added in: v15.6.0, v14.18.0

The process.memoryUsage.rss() method returns an integer representing the Resident Set Size (RSS) in bytes.

The Resident Set Size, is the amount of space occupied in the main memory device (that is a subset of the total allocated memory) for the process, including all C++ and JavaScript objects and code.

This is the same value as the rss property provided by process.memoryUsage()but process.memoryUsage.rss() is faster.

`import { memoryUsage } from 'node:process';

console.log(memoryUsage.rss()); // 35655680 const { memoryUsage } = require('node:process');

console.log(memoryUsage.rss()); // 35655680`

process.nextTick(callback[, ...args])#

process.nextTick() adds callback to the "next tick queue". This queue is fully drained after the current operation on the JavaScript stack runs to completion and before the event loop is allowed to continue. It's possible to create an infinite loop if one were to recursively call process.nextTick(). See the Event Loop guide for more background.

`import { nextTick } from 'node:process';

console.log('start'); nextTick(() => { console.log('nextTick callback'); }); console.log('scheduled'); // Output: // start // scheduled // nextTick callback const { nextTick } = require('node:process');

console.log('start'); nextTick(() => { console.log('nextTick callback'); }); console.log('scheduled'); // Output: // start // scheduled // nextTick callback`

This is important when developing APIs in order to give users the opportunity to assign event handlers after an object has been constructed but before any I/O has occurred:

`import { nextTick } from 'node:process';

function MyThing(options) { this.setupOptions(options);

nextTick(() => { this.startDoingStuff(); }); }

const thing = new MyThing(); thing.getReadyForStuff();

// thing.startDoingStuff() gets called now, not before. const { nextTick } = require('node:process');

function MyThing(options) { this.setupOptions(options);

nextTick(() => { this.startDoingStuff(); }); }

const thing = new MyThing(); thing.getReadyForStuff();

// thing.startDoingStuff() gets called now, not before.`

It is very important for APIs to be either 100% synchronous or 100% asynchronous. Consider this example:

`// WARNING! DO NOT USE! BAD UNSAFE HAZARD! function maybeSync(arg, cb) { if (arg) { cb(); return; }

fs.stat('file', cb); }`

This API is hazardous because in the following case:

`const maybeTrue = Math.random() > 0.5;

maybeSync(maybeTrue, () => { foo(); });

bar();`

It is not clear whether foo() or bar() will be called first.

The following approach is much better:

`import { nextTick } from 'node:process';

function definitelyAsync(arg, cb) { if (arg) { nextTick(cb); return; }

fs.stat('file', cb); } const { nextTick } = require('node:process');

function definitelyAsync(arg, cb) { if (arg) { nextTick(cb); return; }

fs.stat('file', cb); }`

When to use queueMicrotask() vs. process.nextTick()#

The queueMicrotask() API is an alternative to process.nextTick() that also defers execution of a function using the same microtask queue used to execute the then, catch, and finally handlers of resolved promises. Within Node.js, every time the "next tick queue" is drained, the microtask queue is drained immediately after.

`import { nextTick } from 'node:process';

Promise.resolve().then(() => console.log(2)); queueMicrotask(() => console.log(3)); nextTick(() => console.log(1)); // Output: // 1 // 2 // 3 const { nextTick } = require('node:process');

Promise.resolve().then(() => console.log(2)); queueMicrotask(() => console.log(3)); nextTick(() => console.log(1)); // Output: // 1 // 2 // 3`

For most userland use cases, the queueMicrotask() API provides a portable and reliable mechanism for deferring execution that works across multiple JavaScript platform environments and should be favored over process.nextTick(). In simple scenarios, queueMicrotask() can be a drop-in replacement forprocess.nextTick().

console.log('start'); queueMicrotask(() => { console.log('microtask callback'); }); console.log('scheduled'); // Output: // start // scheduled // microtask callback

One note-worthy difference between the two APIs is that process.nextTick()allows specifying additional values that will be passed as arguments to the deferred function when it is called. Achieving the same result withqueueMicrotask() requires using either a closure or a bound function:

`function deferred(a, b) { console.log('microtask', a + b); }

console.log('start'); queueMicrotask(deferred.bind(undefined, 1, 2)); console.log('scheduled'); // Output: // start // scheduled // microtask 3`

There are minor differences in the way errors raised from within the next tick queue and microtask queue are handled. Errors thrown within a queued microtask callback should be handled within the queued callback when possible. If they are not, the process.on('uncaughtException') event handler can be used to capture and handle the errors.

When in doubt, unless the specific capabilities of process.nextTick() are needed, use queueMicrotask().

process.noDeprecation#

Added in: v0.8.0

The process.noDeprecation property indicates whether the --no-deprecationflag is set on the current Node.js process. See the documentation for the 'warning' event and theemitWarning() method for more information about this flag's behavior.

process.pid#

Added in: v0.1.15

The process.pid property returns the PID of the process.

`` import { pid } from 'node:process';

console.log(This process is pid ${pid}); const { pid } = require('node:process');

console.log(This process is pid ${pid}); ``

process.platform#

Added in: v0.1.16

The process.platform property returns a string identifying the operating system platform for which the Node.js binary was compiled.

Currently possible values are:

`` import { platform } from 'node:process';

console.log(This platform is ${platform}); const { platform } = require('node:process');

console.log(This platform is ${platform}); ``

The value 'android' may also be returned if the Node.js is built on the Android operating system. However, Android support in Node.jsis experimental.

process.ppid#

Added in: v9.2.0, v8.10.0, v6.13.0

The process.ppid property returns the PID of the parent of the current process.

`` import { ppid } from 'node:process';

console.log(The parent process is pid ${ppid}); const { ppid } = require('node:process');

console.log(The parent process is pid ${ppid}); ``

process.release#

The process.release property returns an Object containing metadata related to the current release, including URLs for the source tarball and headers-only tarball.

process.release contains the following properties:

{ name: 'node', lts: 'Hydrogen', sourceUrl: 'https://nodejs.org/download/release/v18.12.0/node-v18.12.0.tar.gz', headersUrl: 'https://nodejs.org/download/release/v18.12.0/node-v18.12.0-headers.tar.gz', libUrl: 'https://nodejs.org/download/release/v18.12.0/win-x64/node.lib' }

In custom builds from non-release versions of the source tree, only thename property may be present. The additional properties should not be relied upon to exist.

process.report#

process.report is an object whose methods are used to generate diagnostic reports for the current process. Additional documentation is available in thereport documentation.

process.report.compact#

Added in: v13.12.0, v12.17.0

Write reports in a compact format, single-line JSON, more easily consumable by log processing systems than the default multi-line format designed for human consumption.

`` import { report } from 'node:process';

console.log(Reports are compact? ${report.compact}); const { report } = require('node:process');

console.log(Reports are compact? ${report.compact}); ``

process.report.directory#

Directory where the report is written. The default value is the empty string, indicating that reports are written to the current working directory of the Node.js process.

`` import { report } from 'node:process';

console.log(Report directory is ${report.directory}); const { report } = require('node:process');

console.log(Report directory is ${report.directory}); ``

process.report.filename#

Filename where the report is written. If set to the empty string, the output filename will be comprised of a timestamp, PID, and sequence number. The default value is the empty string.

If the value of process.report.filename is set to 'stdout' or 'stderr', the report is written to the stdout or stderr of the process respectively.

`` import { report } from 'node:process';

console.log(Report filename is ${report.filename}); const { report } = require('node:process');

console.log(Report filename is ${report.filename}); ``

process.report.getReport([err])#

Returns a JavaScript Object representation of a diagnostic report for the running process. The report's JavaScript stack trace is taken from err, if present.

`import { report } from 'node:process'; import util from 'node:util';

const data = report.getReport(); console.log(data.header.nodejsVersion);

// Similar to process.report.writeReport() import fs from 'node:fs'; fs.writeFileSync('my-report.log', util.inspect(data), 'utf8'); const { report } = require('node:process'); const util = require('node:util');

const data = report.getReport(); console.log(data.header.nodejsVersion);

// Similar to process.report.writeReport() const fs = require('node:fs'); fs.writeFileSync('my-report.log', util.inspect(data), 'utf8');`

Additional documentation is available in the report documentation.

process.report.reportOnFatalError#

If true, a diagnostic report is generated on fatal errors, such as out of memory errors or failed C++ assertions.

`` import { report } from 'node:process';

console.log(Report on fatal error: ${report.reportOnFatalError}); const { report } = require('node:process');

console.log(Report on fatal error: ${report.reportOnFatalError}); ``

process.report.reportOnSignal#

If true, a diagnostic report is generated when the process receives the signal specified by process.report.signal.

`` import { report } from 'node:process';

console.log(Report on signal: ${report.reportOnSignal}); const { report } = require('node:process');

console.log(Report on signal: ${report.reportOnSignal}); ``

process.report.reportOnUncaughtException#

If true, a diagnostic report is generated on uncaught exception.

`` import { report } from 'node:process';

console.log(Report on exception: ${report.reportOnUncaughtException}); const { report } = require('node:process');

console.log(Report on exception: ${report.reportOnUncaughtException}); ``

process.report.signal#

The signal used to trigger the creation of a diagnostic report. Defaults to'SIGUSR2'.

`` import { report } from 'node:process';

console.log(Report signal: ${report.signal}); const { report } = require('node:process');

console.log(Report signal: ${report.signal}); ``

process.report.writeReport([filename][, err])#

Writes a diagnostic report to a file. If filename is not provided, the default filename includes the date, time, PID, and a sequence number. The report's JavaScript stack trace is taken from err, if present.

If the value of filename is set to 'stdout' or 'stderr', the report is written to the stdout or stderr of the process respectively.

`import { report } from 'node:process';

report.writeReport(); const { report } = require('node:process');

report.writeReport();`

Additional documentation is available in the report documentation.

process.resourceUsage()#

Added in: v12.6.0

`import { resourceUsage } from 'node:process';

console.log(resourceUsage()); /* Will output: { userCPUTime: 82872, systemCPUTime: 4143, maxRSS: 33164, sharedMemorySize: 0, unsharedDataSize: 0, unsharedStackSize: 0, minorPageFault: 2469, majorPageFault: 0, swappedOut: 0, fsRead: 0, fsWrite: 8, ipcSent: 0, ipcReceived: 0, signalsCount: 0, voluntaryContextSwitches: 79, involuntaryContextSwitches: 1 } */ const { resourceUsage } = require('node:process');

console.log(resourceUsage()); /* Will output: { userCPUTime: 82872, systemCPUTime: 4143, maxRSS: 33164, sharedMemorySize: 0, unsharedDataSize: 0, unsharedStackSize: 0, minorPageFault: 2469, majorPageFault: 0, swappedOut: 0, fsRead: 0, fsWrite: 8, ipcSent: 0, ipcReceived: 0, signalsCount: 0, voluntaryContextSwitches: 79, involuntaryContextSwitches: 1 } */`

process.send(message[, sendHandle[, options]][, callback])#

Added in: v0.5.9

If Node.js is spawned with an IPC channel, the process.send() method can be used to send messages to the parent process. Messages will be received as a'message' event on the parent's ChildProcess object.

If Node.js was not spawned with an IPC channel, process.send will beundefined.

The message goes through serialization and parsing. The resulting message might not be the same as what is originally sent.

process.setegid(id)#

Added in: v2.0.0

The process.setegid() method sets the effective group identity of the process. (See setegid(2).) The id can be passed as either a numeric ID or a group name string. If a group name is specified, this method blocks while resolving the associated a numeric ID.

`` import process from 'node:process';

if (process.getegid && process.setegid) { console.log(Current gid: ${process.getegid()}); try { process.setegid(501); console.log(New gid: ${process.getegid()}); } catch (err) { console.error(Failed to set gid: ${err}); } } const process = require('node:process');

if (process.getegid && process.setegid) { console.log(Current gid: ${process.getegid()}); try { process.setegid(501); console.log(New gid: ${process.getegid()}); } catch (err) { console.error(Failed to set gid: ${err}); } } ``

This function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows or Android). This feature is not available in Worker threads.

process.seteuid(id)#

Added in: v2.0.0

The process.seteuid() method sets the effective user identity of the process. (See seteuid(2).) The id can be passed as either a numeric ID or a username string. If a username is specified, the method blocks while resolving the associated numeric ID.

`` import process from 'node:process';

if (process.geteuid && process.seteuid) { console.log(Current uid: ${process.geteuid()}); try { process.seteuid(501); console.log(New uid: ${process.geteuid()}); } catch (err) { console.error(Failed to set uid: ${err}); } } const process = require('node:process');

if (process.geteuid && process.seteuid) { console.log(Current uid: ${process.geteuid()}); try { process.seteuid(501); console.log(New uid: ${process.geteuid()}); } catch (err) { console.error(Failed to set uid: ${err}); } } ``

This function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows or Android). This feature is not available in Worker threads.

process.setgid(id)#

Added in: v0.1.31

The process.setgid() method sets the group identity of the process. (Seesetgid(2).) The id can be passed as either a numeric ID or a group name string. If a group name is specified, this method blocks while resolving the associated numeric ID.

`` import process from 'node:process';

if (process.getgid && process.setgid) { console.log(Current gid: ${process.getgid()}); try { process.setgid(501); console.log(New gid: ${process.getgid()}); } catch (err) { console.error(Failed to set gid: ${err}); } } const process = require('node:process');

if (process.getgid && process.setgid) { console.log(Current gid: ${process.getgid()}); try { process.setgid(501); console.log(New gid: ${process.getgid()}); } catch (err) { console.error(Failed to set gid: ${err}); } } ``

This function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows or Android). This feature is not available in Worker threads.

process.setgroups(groups)#

Added in: v0.9.4

The process.setgroups() method sets the supplementary group IDs for the Node.js process. This is a privileged operation that requires the Node.js process to have root or the CAP_SETGID capability.

The groups array can contain numeric group IDs, group names, or both.

`` import process from 'node:process';

if (process.getgroups && process.setgroups) { try { process.setgroups([501]); console.log(process.getgroups()); // new groups } catch (err) { console.error(Failed to set groups: ${err}); } } const process = require('node:process');

if (process.getgroups && process.setgroups) { try { process.setgroups([501]); console.log(process.getgroups()); // new groups } catch (err) { console.error(Failed to set groups: ${err}); } } ``

This function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows or Android). This feature is not available in Worker threads.

process.setuid(id)#

Added in: v0.1.28

The process.setuid(id) method sets the user identity of the process. (Seesetuid(2).) The id can be passed as either a numeric ID or a username string. If a username is specified, the method blocks while resolving the associated numeric ID.

`` import process from 'node:process';

if (process.getuid && process.setuid) { console.log(Current uid: ${process.getuid()}); try { process.setuid(501); console.log(New uid: ${process.getuid()}); } catch (err) { console.error(Failed to set uid: ${err}); } } const process = require('node:process');

if (process.getuid && process.setuid) { console.log(Current uid: ${process.getuid()}); try { process.setuid(501); console.log(New uid: ${process.getuid()}); } catch (err) { console.error(Failed to set uid: ${err}); } } ``

This function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows or Android). This feature is not available in Worker threads.

process.setSourceMapsEnabled(val)#

Added in: v16.6.0, v14.18.0

This function enables or disables the Source Map v3 support for stack traces.

It provides same features as launching Node.js process with commandline options--enable-source-maps.

Only source maps in JavaScript files that are loaded after source maps has been enabled will be parsed and loaded.

process.setUncaughtExceptionCaptureCallback(fn)#

Added in: v9.3.0

The process.setUncaughtExceptionCaptureCallback() function sets a function that will be invoked when an uncaught exception occurs, which will receive the exception value itself as its first argument.

If such a function is set, the 'uncaughtException' event will not be emitted. If --abort-on-uncaught-exception was passed from the command line or set through v8.setFlagsFromString(), the process will not abort. Actions configured to take place on exceptions such as report generations will be affected too

To unset the capture function,process.setUncaughtExceptionCaptureCallback(null) may be used. Calling this method with a non-null argument while another capture function is set will throw an error.

Using this function is mutually exclusive with using the deprecateddomain built-in module.

process.sourceMapsEnabled#

Added in: v18.19.0

The process.sourceMapsEnabled property returns whether theSource Map v3 support for stack traces is enabled.

process.stderr#

The process.stderr property returns a stream connected tostderr (fd 2). It is a net.Socket (which is a Duplexstream) unless fd 2 refers to a file, in which case it is a Writable stream.

process.stderr differs from other Node.js streams in important ways. Seenote on process I/O for more information.

process.stderr.fd#

This property refers to the value of underlying file descriptor ofprocess.stderr. The value is fixed at 2. In Worker threads, this field does not exist.

process.stdin#

The process.stdin property returns a stream connected tostdin (fd 0). It is a net.Socket (which is a Duplexstream) unless fd 0 refers to a file, in which case it is a Readable stream.

For details of how to read from stdin see readable.read().

As a Duplex stream, process.stdin can also be used in "old" mode that is compatible with scripts written for Node.js prior to v0.10. For more information see Stream compatibility.

In "old" streams mode the stdin stream is paused by default, so one must call process.stdin.resume() to read from it. Note also that callingprocess.stdin.resume() itself would switch stream to "old" mode.

process.stdin.fd#

This property refers to the value of underlying file descriptor ofprocess.stdin. The value is fixed at 0. In Worker threads, this field does not exist.

process.stdout#

The process.stdout property returns a stream connected tostdout (fd 1). It is a net.Socket (which is a Duplexstream) unless fd 1 refers to a file, in which case it is a Writable stream.

For example, to copy process.stdin to process.stdout:

`import { stdin, stdout } from 'node:process';

stdin.pipe(stdout); const { stdin, stdout } = require('node:process');

stdin.pipe(stdout);`

process.stdout differs from other Node.js streams in important ways. Seenote on process I/O for more information.

process.stdout.fd#

This property refers to the value of underlying file descriptor ofprocess.stdout. The value is fixed at 1. In Worker threads, this field does not exist.

A note on process I/O#

process.stdout and process.stderr differ from other Node.js streams in important ways:

  1. They are used internally by console.log() and console.error(), respectively.
  2. Writes may be synchronous depending on what the stream is connected to and whether the system is Windows or POSIX:
    • Files: synchronous on Windows and POSIX
    • TTYs (Terminals): asynchronous on Windows, synchronous on POSIX
    • Pipes (and sockets): synchronous on Windows, asynchronous on POSIX

These behaviors are partly for historical reasons, as changing them would create backward incompatibility, but they are also expected by some users.

Synchronous writes avoid problems such as output written with console.log() orconsole.error() being unexpectedly interleaved, or not written at all ifprocess.exit() is called before an asynchronous write completes. Seeprocess.exit() for more information.

Warning: Synchronous writes block the event loop until the write has completed. This can be near instantaneous in the case of output to a file, but under high system load, pipes that are not being read at the receiving end, or with slow terminals or file systems, it's possible for the event loop to be blocked often enough and long enough to have severe negative performance impacts. This may not be a problem when writing to an interactive terminal session, but consider this particularly careful when doing production logging to the process output streams.

To check if a stream is connected to a TTY context, check the isTTYproperty.

For instance:

$ node -p "Boolean(process.stdin.isTTY)" true $ echo "foo" | node -p "Boolean(process.stdin.isTTY)" false $ node -p "Boolean(process.stdout.isTTY)" true $ node -p "Boolean(process.stdout.isTTY)" | cat false

See the TTY documentation for more information.

process.throwDeprecation#

Added in: v0.9.12

The initial value of process.throwDeprecation indicates whether the--throw-deprecation flag is set on the current Node.js process.process.throwDeprecation is mutable, so whether or not deprecation warnings result in errors may be altered at runtime. See the documentation for the 'warning' event and theemitWarning() method for more information.

`$ node --throw-deprecation -p "process.throwDeprecation" true $ node -p "process.throwDeprecation" undefined $ node

process.emitWarning('test', 'DeprecationWarning'); undefined (node:26598) DeprecationWarning: test process.throwDeprecation = true; true process.emitWarning('test', 'DeprecationWarning'); Thrown: [DeprecationWarning: test] { name: 'DeprecationWarning' }`

process.title#

Added in: v0.1.104

The process.title property returns the current process title (i.e. returns the current value of ps). Assigning a new value to process.title modifies the current value of ps.

When a new value is assigned, different platforms will impose different maximum length restrictions on the title. Usually such restrictions are quite limited. For instance, on Linux and macOS, process.title is limited to the size of the binary name plus the length of the command-line arguments because setting theprocess.title overwrites the argv memory of the process. Node.js v0.8 allowed for longer process title strings by also overwriting the environmemory but that was potentially insecure and confusing in some (rather obscure) cases.

Assigning a value to process.title might not result in an accurate label within process manager applications such as macOS Activity Monitor or Windows Services Manager.

process.traceDeprecation#

Added in: v0.8.0

The process.traceDeprecation property indicates whether the--trace-deprecation flag is set on the current Node.js process. See the documentation for the 'warning' event and theemitWarning() method for more information about this flag's behavior.

process.umask()#

Stability: 0 - Deprecated. Calling process.umask() with no argument causes the process-wide umask to be written twice. This introduces a race condition between threads, and is a potential security vulnerability. There is no safe, cross-platform alternative API.

process.umask() returns the Node.js process's file mode creation mask. Child processes inherit the mask from the parent process.

process.umask(mask)#

Added in: v0.1.19

process.umask(mask) sets the Node.js process's file mode creation mask. Child processes inherit the mask from the parent process. Returns the previous mask.

`` import { umask } from 'node:process';

const newmask = 0o022; const oldmask = umask(newmask); console.log( Changed umask from <span class="katex"><span class="katex-mathml"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><semantics><mrow><mrow><mi>o</mi><mi>l</mi><mi>d</mi><mi>m</mi><mi>a</mi><mi>s</mi><mi>k</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">.</mi><mi>t</mi><mi>o</mi><mi>S</mi><mi>t</mi><mi>r</mi><mi>i</mi><mi>n</mi><mi>g</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>8</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow><mi>t</mi><mi>o</mi></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{oldmask.toString(8)} to </annotation></semantics></math></span><span class="katex-html" aria-hidden="true"><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:1em;vertical-align:-0.25em;"></span><span class="mord"><span class="mord mathnormal">o</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.01968em;">l</span><span class="mord mathnormal">d</span><span class="mord mathnormal">ma</span><span class="mord mathnormal">s</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.03148em;">k</span><span class="mord">.</span><span class="mord mathnormal">t</span><span class="mord mathnormal">o</span><span class="mord mathnormal">St</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.02778em;">r</span><span class="mord mathnormal">in</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.03588em;">g</span><span class="mopen">(</span><span class="mord">8</span><span class="mclose">)</span></span><span class="mord mathnormal">t</span><span class="mord mathnormal">o</span></span></span></span>{newmask.toString(8)}, ); const { umask } = require('node:process');

const newmask = 0o022; const oldmask = umask(newmask); console.log( Changed umask from <span class="katex"><span class="katex-mathml"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><semantics><mrow><mrow><mi>o</mi><mi>l</mi><mi>d</mi><mi>m</mi><mi>a</mi><mi>s</mi><mi>k</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">.</mi><mi>t</mi><mi>o</mi><mi>S</mi><mi>t</mi><mi>r</mi><mi>i</mi><mi>n</mi><mi>g</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>8</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow><mi>t</mi><mi>o</mi></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{oldmask.toString(8)} to </annotation></semantics></math></span><span class="katex-html" aria-hidden="true"><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:1em;vertical-align:-0.25em;"></span><span class="mord"><span class="mord mathnormal">o</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.01968em;">l</span><span class="mord mathnormal">d</span><span class="mord mathnormal">ma</span><span class="mord mathnormal">s</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.03148em;">k</span><span class="mord">.</span><span class="mord mathnormal">t</span><span class="mord mathnormal">o</span><span class="mord mathnormal">St</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.02778em;">r</span><span class="mord mathnormal">in</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.03588em;">g</span><span class="mopen">(</span><span class="mord">8</span><span class="mclose">)</span></span><span class="mord mathnormal">t</span><span class="mord mathnormal">o</span></span></span></span>{newmask.toString(8)}, ); ``

In Worker threads, process.umask(mask) will throw an exception.

process.uptime()#

Added in: v0.5.0

The process.uptime() method returns the number of seconds the current Node.js process has been running.

The return value includes fractions of a second. Use Math.floor() to get whole seconds.

process.version#

Added in: v0.1.3

The process.version property contains the Node.js version string.

`` import { version } from 'node:process';

console.log(Version: ${version}); // Version: v14.8.0 const { version } = require('node:process');

console.log(Version: ${version}); // Version: v14.8.0 ``

To get the version string without the prepended v, useprocess.versions.node.

process.versions#

The process.versions property returns an object listing the version strings of Node.js and its dependencies. process.versions.modules indicates the current ABI version, which is increased whenever a C++ API changes. Node.js will refuse to load modules that were compiled against a different module ABI version.

`import { versions } from 'node:process';

console.log(versions); const { versions } = require('node:process');

console.log(versions);`

Will generate an object similar to:

{ node: '11.13.0', v8: '7.0.276.38-node.18', uv: '1.27.0', zlib: '1.2.11', brotli: '1.0.7', ares: '1.15.0', modules: '67', nghttp2: '1.34.0', napi: '4', llhttp: '1.1.1', openssl: '1.1.1b', cldr: '34.0', icu: '63.1', tz: '2018e', unicode: '11.0' }

Exit codes#

Node.js will normally exit with a 0 status code when no more async operations are pending. The following status codes are used in other cases: