About this documentation#
Welcome to the official API reference documentation for Node.js!
Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on the V8 JavaScript engine.
Stability index#
Throughout the documentation are indications of a section's stability. Some APIs
are so proven and so relied upon that they are unlikely to ever change at all.
Others are brand new and experimental, or known to be hazardous.
The stability indices are as follows:
Stability: 0 - Deprecated. The feature may emit warnings. Backward
compatibility is not guaranteed.
Stability: 1 - Experimental. The feature is not subject to
semantic versioning rules. Non-backward compatible changes or removal may
occur in any future release. Use of the feature is not recommended in
production environments.
Stability: 2 - Stable. Compatibility with the npm ecosystem is a high
priority.
Stability: 3 - Legacy. Although this feature is unlikely to be removed and is
still covered by semantic versioning guarantees, it is no longer actively
maintained, and other alternatives are available.
Features are marked as legacy rather than being deprecated if their use does no
harm, and they are widely relied upon within the npm ecosystem. Bugs found in
legacy features are unlikely to be fixed.
Use caution when making use of Experimental features, particularly within
modules. Users may not be aware that experimental features are being used.
Bugs or behavior changes may surprise users when Experimental API
modifications occur. To avoid surprises, use of an Experimental feature may need
a command-line flag. Experimental features may also emit a warning.
JSON output#
Added in: v0.6.12
Every .html
document has a corresponding .json
document. This is for IDEs
and other utilities that consume the documentation.
System calls and man pages#
Node.js functions which wrap a system call will document that. The docs link
to the corresponding man pages which describe how the system call works.
Most Unix system calls have Windows analogues. Still, behavior differences may
be unavoidable.