# Deno Manual ## Table of Contents ## Project Status / Disclaimer **A word of caution: Deno is very much under development.** We encourage brave early adopters, but expect bugs large and small. The API is subject to change without notice. [Bug reports](https://github.com/denoland/deno/issues) do help! We are [actively working towards 1.0](https://github.com/denoland/deno/issues/2473), but there is no date guarantee. ## Introduction Deno is a JavaScript/TypeScript runtime with secure defaults and a great developer experience. It's built on V8, Rust, and Tokio. ### Feature Highlights - Secure by default. No file, network, or environment access (unless explicitly enabled). - Supports TypeScript out of the box. - Ships a single executable (`deno`). - Has built in utilities like a dependency inspector (`deno info`) and a code formatter (`deno fmt`). - Has [a set of reviewed (audited) standard modules](https://github.com/denoland/deno/tree/master/std) that are guaranteed to work with Deno. - Scripts can be bundled into a single javascript file. ### Philosophy Deno aims to be a productive and secure scripting environment for the modern programmer. Deno will always be distributed as a single executable. Given a URL to a Deno program, it is runnable with nothing more than [the 10 megabyte zipped executable](https://github.com/denoland/deno/releases). Deno explicitly takes on the role of both runtime and package manager. It uses a standard browser-compatible protocol for loading modules: URLs. Among other things, Deno is a great replacement for utility scripts that may have been historically written with bash or python. ### Goals - Only ship a single executable (`deno`). - Provide Secure Defaults - Unless specifically allowed, scripts can't access files, the environment, or the network. - Browser compatible: The subset of Deno programs which are written completely in JavaScript and do not use the global `Deno` namespace (or feature test for it), ought to also be able to be run in a modern web browser without change. - Provide built-in tooling like unit testing, code formatting, and linting to improve developer experience. - Does not leak V8 concepts into user land. - Be able to serve HTTP efficiently ### Comparison to Node.js - Deno does not use `npm` - It uses modules referenced as URLs or file paths - Deno does not use `package.json` in its module resolution algorithm. - All async actions in Deno return a promise. Thus Deno provides different APIs than Node. - Deno requires explicit permissions for file, network, and environment access. - Deno always dies on uncaught errors. - Uses "ES Modules" and does not support `require()`. Third party modules are imported via URLs: ```javascript import * as log from "https://deno.land/std/log/mod.ts"; ``` ### Other key behaviors - Remote code is fetched and cached on first execution, and never updated until the code is run with the `--reload` flag. (So, this will still work on an airplane.) - Modules/files loaded from remote URLs are intended to be immutable and cacheable. ## Built-in Deno Utilities / Commands - dependency inspector (`deno info`) - code formatter (`deno fmt`) - bundling (`deno bundle`) - runtime type info (`deno types`) - test runner (`deno test`) - command-line debugger (`--debug`) [coming soon](https://github.com/denoland/deno/issues/1120) - linter (`deno lint`) [coming soon](https://github.com/denoland/deno/issues/1880) ## Setup Deno works on OSX, Linux, and Windows. Deno is a single binary executable. It has no external dependencies. ### Download and Install [deno_install](https://github.com/denoland/deno_install) provides convenience scripts to download and install the binary. Using Shell: ```shell curl -fsSL https://deno.land/x/install/install.sh | sh ``` Using PowerShell: ```shell iwr https://deno.land/x/install/install.ps1 -useb | iex ``` Using [Scoop](https://scoop.sh/) (windows): ```shell scoop install deno ``` Using [Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/packages/deno) (windows): ```shell choco install deno ``` Using [Homebrew](https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/deno) (mac): ```shell brew install deno ``` Using [Cargo](https://crates.io/crates/deno): ```shell cargo install deno ``` Deno binaries can also be installed manually, by downloading a tarball or zip file at [github.com/denoland/deno/releases](https://github.com/denoland/deno/releases). These packages contain just a single executable file. You will have to set the executable bit on Mac and Linux. Once it's installed and in your `$PATH`, try it: ```shell deno https://deno.land/std/examples/welcome.ts ``` ### Build from Source Follow the [build instruction for contributors](#development). ## API reference ### `deno types` To get an exact reference of deno's runtime API, run the following in the command line: ```shell $ deno types ``` The output is the concatenation of three library files that are built into Deno: - [lib.deno.ns.d.ts](https://github.com/denoland/deno/blob/master/cli/js/lib.deno.ns.d.ts) - [lib.deno.shared_globals.d.ts](https://github.com/denoland/deno/blob/master/cli/js/lib.deno.shared_globals.d.ts) - [lib.deno.window.d.ts](https://github.com/denoland/deno/blob/master/cli/js/lib.deno.window.d.ts) [This is what the output looks like.](https://github.com/denoland/deno/blob/master/cli/js/lib.deno_runtime.d.ts) ### Reference websites [TypeScript Deno API](https://deno.land/typedoc/index.html). If you are embedding deno in a Rust program, see [Rust Deno API](https://docs.rs/deno). The Deno crate is hosted on [crates.io](https://crates.io/crates/deno). ## Examples ### An implementation of the unix "cat" program In this program each command-line argument is assumed to be a filename, the file is opened, and printed to stdout. ```ts for (let i = 0; i < Deno.args.length; i++) { let filename = Deno.args[i]; let file = await Deno.open(filename); await Deno.copy(Deno.stdout, file); file.close(); } ``` The `copy()` function here actually makes no more than the necessary kernel -> userspace -> kernel copies. That is, the same memory from which data is read from the file, is written to stdout. This illustrates a general design goal for I/O streams in Deno. Try the program: ```shell $ deno --allow-read https://deno.land/std/examples/cat.ts /etc/passwd ``` ### TCP echo server This is an example of a simple server which accepts connections on port 8080, and returns to the client anything it sends. ```ts const listener = Deno.listen({ port: 8080 }); console.log("listening on 0.0.0.0:8080"); for await (const conn of listener) { Deno.copy(conn, conn); } ``` When this program is started, it throws PermissionDenied error. ```shell $ deno https://deno.land/std/examples/echo_server.ts error: Uncaught PermissionDenied: network access to "0.0.0.0:8080", run again with the --allow-net flag ► $deno$/dispatch_json.ts:40:11 at DenoError ($deno$/errors.ts:20:5) ... ``` For security reasons, Deno does not allow programs to access the network without explicit permission. To allow accessing the network, use a command-line flag: ```shell $ deno --allow-net https://deno.land/std/examples/echo_server.ts ``` To test it, try sending data to it with netcat: ```shell $ nc localhost 8080 hello world hello world ``` Like the `cat.ts` example, the `copy()` function here also does not make unnecessary memory copies. It receives a packet from the kernel and sends back, without further complexity. ### Inspecting and revoking permissions Sometimes a program may want to revoke previously granted permissions. When a program, at a later stage, needs those permissions, it will fail. ```ts // lookup a permission const status = await Deno.permissions.query({ name: "write" }); if (status.state !== "granted") { throw new Error("need write permission"); } const log = await Deno.open("request.log", "a+"); // revoke some permissions await Deno.permissions.revoke({ name: "read" }); await Deno.permissions.revoke({ name: "write" }); // use the log file const encoder = new TextEncoder(); await log.write(encoder.encode("hello\n")); // this will fail. await Deno.remove("request.log"); ``` ### File server This one serves a local directory in HTTP. ```bash deno install --allow-net --allow-read file_server https://deno.land/std/http/file_server.ts ``` Run it: ```shell $ file_server . Downloading https://deno.land/std/http/file_server.ts... [...] HTTP server listening on http://0.0.0.0:4500/ ``` And if you ever want to upgrade to the latest published version: ```shell $ file_server --reload ``` ### Reload specific modules Sometimes we want to upgrade only some modules. You can control it by passing an argument to a `--reload` flag. To reload everything `--reload` To reload all standard modules `--reload=https://deno.land/std` To reload specific modules (in this example - colors and file system utils) use a comma to separate URLs `--reload=https://deno.land/std/fs/utils.ts,https://deno.land/std/fmt/colors.ts` ### Permissions whitelist Deno also provides permissions whitelist. This is an example to restrict file system access by whitelist. ```shell $ deno --allow-read=/usr https://deno.land/std/examples/cat.ts /etc/passwd error: Uncaught PermissionDenied: read access to "/etc/passwd", run again with the --allow-read flag ► $deno$/dispatch_json.ts:40:11 at DenoError ($deno$/errors.ts:20:5) ... ``` You can grant read permission under `/etc` dir ```shell $ deno --allow-read=/etc https://deno.land/std/examples/cat.ts /etc/passwd ``` `--allow-write` works same as `--allow-read`. This is an example to restrict host. ```ts const result = await fetch("https://deno.land/"); ``` ```shell $ deno --allow-net=deno.land https://deno.land/std/examples/curl.ts https://deno.land/ ``` ### Run subprocess [API Reference](https://deno.land/typedoc/index.html#run) Example: ```ts // create subprocess const p = Deno.run({ args: ["echo", "hello"] }); // await its completion await p.status(); ``` Run it: ```shell $ deno --allow-run ./subprocess_simple.ts hello ``` Here a function is assigned to `window.onload`. This function is called after the main script is loaded. This is the same as [onload](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/GlobalEventHandlers/onload) of the browsers, and it can be used as the main entrypoint. By default when you use `Deno.run()` subprocess inherits `stdin`, `stdout` and `stderr` of parent process. If you want to communicate with started subprocess you can use `"piped"` option. ```ts const fileNames = Deno.args; const p = Deno.run({ args: [ "deno", "run", "--allow-read", "https://deno.land/std/examples/cat.ts", ...fileNames ], stdout: "piped", stderr: "piped" }); const { code } = await p.status(); if (code === 0) { const rawOutput = await p.output(); await Deno.stdout.write(rawOutput); } else { const rawError = await p.stderrOutput(); const errorString = new TextDecoder().decode(rawError); console.log(errorString); } Deno.exit(code); ``` When you run it: ```shell $ deno run --allow-run ./subprocess.ts [file content] $ deno run --allow-run ./subprocess.ts non_existent_file.md Uncaught NotFound: No such file or directory (os error 2) at DenoError (deno/js/errors.ts:22:5) at maybeError (deno/js/errors.ts:41:12) at handleAsyncMsgFromRust (deno/js/dispatch.ts:27:17) ``` ### Handle OS Signals [API Reference](https://deno.land/typedoc/index.html#signal) You can use `Deno.signal()` function for handling OS signals. ``` for await (const _ of Deno.signal(Deno.Signal.SIGINT)) { console.log("interrupted!"); } ``` `Deno.signal()` also works as a promise. ``` await Deno.signal(Deno.Singal.SIGINT); console.log("interrupted!"); ``` If you want to stop watching the signal, you can use `dispose()` method of the signal object. ``` const sig = Deno.signal(Deno.Signal.SIGINT); setTimeout(() => { sig.dispose(); }, 5000); for await (const _ of sig) { console.log("interrupted"); } ``` The above for-await loop exits after 5 seconds when sig.dispose() is called. ### File system events To poll for file system events: ```ts const iter = Deno.fsEvents("/"); for await (const event of iter) { console.log(">>>> event", event); // { kind: "create", paths: [ "/foo.txt" ] } } ``` Note that the exact ordering of the events can vary between operating systems. This feature uses different syscalls depending on the platform: Linux: inotify macOS: FSEvents Windows: ReadDirectoryChangesW ### Linking to third party code In the above examples, we saw that Deno could execute scripts from URLs. Like browser JavaScript, Deno can import libraries directly from URLs. This example uses a URL to import an assertion library: ```ts import { assertEquals } from "https://deno.land/std/testing/asserts.ts"; Deno.test(function t1() { assertEquals("hello", "hello"); }); Deno.test(function t2() { assertEquals("world", "world"); }); await Deno.runTests(); ``` Try running this: ```shell $ deno run test.ts running 2 tests test t1 ... ok test t2 ... ok test result: ok. 2 passed; 0 failed; 0 ignored; 0 measured; 0 filtered out ``` Note that we did not have to provide the `--allow-net` flag for this program, and yet it accessed the network. The runtime has special access to download imports and cache them to disk. Deno caches remote imports in a special directory specified by the `$DENO_DIR` environmental variable. It defaults to the system's cache directory if `$DENO_DIR` is not specified. The next time you run the program, no downloads will be made. If the program hasn't changed, it won't be recompiled either. The default directory is: - On Linux/Redox: `$XDG_CACHE_HOME/deno` or `$HOME/.cache/deno` - On Windows: `%LOCALAPPDATA%/deno` (`%LOCALAPPDATA%` = `FOLDERID_LocalAppData`) - On macOS: `$HOME/Library/Caches/deno` - If something fails, it falls back to `$HOME/.deno` **But what if `https://deno.land/` goes down?** Relying on external servers is convenient for development but brittle in production. Production software should always bundle its dependencies. In Deno this is done by checking the `$DENO_DIR` into your source control system, and specifying that path as the `$DENO_DIR` environmental variable at runtime. **How can I trust a URL that may change** By using a lock file (using the `--lock` command line flag) you can ensure you're running the code you expect to be. **How do you import to a specific version?** Simply specify the version in the URL. For example, this URL fully specifies the code being run: `https://unpkg.com/liltest@0.0.5/dist/liltest.js`. Combined with the aforementioned technique of setting `$DENO_DIR` in production to stored code, one can fully specify the exact code being run, and execute the code without network access. **It seems unwieldy to import URLs everywhere. What if one of the URLs links to a subtly different version of a library? Isn't it error prone to maintain URLs everywhere in a large project?** The solution is to import and re-export your external libraries in a central `deps.ts` file (which serves the same purpose as Node's `package.json` file). For example, let's say you were using the above assertion library across a large project. Rather than importing `"https://deno.land/std/testing/asserts.ts"` everywhere, you could create a `deps.ts` file that exports the third-party code: ```ts export { assert, assertEquals, assertStrContains } from "https://deno.land/std/testing/asserts.ts"; ``` And throughout the same project, you can import from the `deps.ts` and avoid having many references to the same URL: ```ts import { assertEquals, runTests, test } from "./deps.ts"; ``` This design circumvents a plethora of complexity spawned by package management software, centralized code repositories, and superfluous file formats. ### Using external type definitions Deno supports both JavaScript and TypeScript as first class languages at runtime. This means it requires fully qualified module names, including the extension (or a server providing the correct media type). In addition, Deno has no "magical" module resolution. The out of the box TypeScript compiler though relies on both extension-less modules and the Node.js module resolution logic to apply types to JavaScript modules. In order to bridge this gap, Deno supports three ways of referencing type definition files without having to resort to "magic" resolution. #### Compiler hint If you are importing a JavaScript module, and you know where the type definition for that module is located, you can specify the type definition at import. This takes the form of a compiler hint. Compiler hints inform Deno the location of `.d.ts` files and the JavaScript code that is imported that they relate to. The hint is `@deno-types` and when specified the value will be used in the compiler instead of the JavaScript module. For example if you had `foo.js`, but you know that along side of it was `foo.d.ts` which was the types for the file, the code would look like this: ```ts // @deno-types="./foo.d.ts" import * as foo from "./foo.js"; ``` The value follows the same resolution logic as importing a module, meaning the file needs to have an extension and is relative to the current module. Remote specifiers are also allowed. The hint affects the next `import` statement (or `export ... from` statement) where the value of the `@deno-types` will be substituted at compile time instead of the specified module. Like in the above example, the Deno compiler will load `./foo.d.ts` instead of `./foo.js`. Deno will still load `./foo.js` when it runs the program. #### Triple-slash reference directive in JavaScript files If you are hosting modules which you want to be consumed by Deno, and you want to inform Deno the location of the type definitions, you can utilise a triple-slash directive in the actual code. For example, if you have a JavaScript module, where you want to provide Deno with the location of the type definitions for that JavaScript file, which happens to be along side that file. You JavaScript module named `foo.js` might look like this: ```js /// export const foo = "foo"; ``` Deno will see this, and the compiler will use `foo.d.ts` when type checking the file, though `foo.js` will be loaded at runtime. The resolution of the value of the directive follows the same resolution logic as importing a module, meaning the file needs to have an extension and is relative to the current file. Remote specifiers are also allowed. #### X-TypeScript-Types custom header If you are hosting modules which you want to be consumed by Deno, and you want to inform Deno the location of the type definitions, you can use a custom HTTP header of `X-TypeScript-Types` to inform Deno of the location of that file. The header works in the same way as the triple-slash reference mentioned above, it just means that the content of the JavaScript file itself does not need to be modified, and the location of the type definitions can be determined by the server itself. **Not all type definitions are supported.** Deno will use the compiler hint to load the indicated `.d.ts` files, but some `.d.ts` files contain unsupported features. Specifically, some `.d.ts` files expect to be able to load or reference type definitions from other packages using the module resolution logic. For example a type reference directive to include `node`, expecting to resolve to some path like `./node_modules/@types/node/index.d.ts`. Since this depends on non-relative "magical" resolution, Deno cannot resolve this. **Why not use the triple-slash type reference in TypeScript files?** The TypeScript compiler supports triple-slash directives, including a type reference directive. If Deno used this, it would interfere with the behavior of the TypeScript compiler. Deno only looks for the directive in JavaScript (and JSX) files. ### Referencing TypeScript library files When you use `deno run`, or other Deno commands which type check TypeScript, that code is evaluated against custom libraries which describe the environment that Deno supports. By default, the compiler runtime APIs which type check TypeScript also use these libraries (`Deno.compile()` and `Deno.bundle()`). But if you want to compile or bundle TypeScript for some other runtime, you may want to override the default libraries. In order to do this, the runtime APIs support the `lib` property in the compiler options. For example, if you had TypeScript code that is destined for the browser, you would want to use the TypeScript `"dom"` library: ```ts const [errors, emitted] = Deno.compile( "main.ts", { "main.ts": `document.getElementById("foo");\n` }, { lib: ["dom", "esnext"] } ); ``` For a list of all the libraries that TypeScript supports, see the [`lib` compiler option](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/compiler-options.html) documentation. **Don't forget to include the JavaScript library** Just like `tsc`, when you supply a `lib` compiler option, it overrides the default ones, which means that the basic JavaScript library won't be included and you should include the one that best represents your target runtime (e.g. `es5`, `es2015`, `es2016`, `es2017`, `es2018`, `es2019`, `es2020` or `esnext`). #### Including the `Deno` namespace In addition to the libraries that are provided by TypeScript, there are four libraries that are built into Deno that can be referenced: - `deno.ns` - Provides the `Deno` namespace. - `deno.shared_globals` - Provides global interfaces and variables which Deno supports at runtime that are then exposed by the final runtime library. - `deno.window` - Exposes the global variables plus the Deno namespace that are available in the Deno main worker and is the default for the runtime compiler APIs. - `deno.worker` - Exposes the global variables that are available in workers under Deno. So to add the Deno namespace to a compilation, you would include the `deno.ns` lib in the array. For example: ```ts const [errors, emitted] = Deno.compile( "main.ts", { "main.ts": `document.getElementById("foo");\n` }, { lib: ["dom", "esnext", "deno.ns"] } ); ``` **Note** that the Deno namespace expects a runtime environment that is at least ES2018 or later. This means if you use a lib "lower" than ES2018 you will get errors logged as part of the compilation. #### Using the triple slash reference You do not have to specify the `lib` in just the compiler options. Deno supports [the triple-slash reference to a lib](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/triple-slash-directives.html#-reference-lib-). and could be embedded in the contents of the file. For example of you have a `main.ts` like: ```ts /// document.getElementById("foo"); ``` It would compiler without errors like this: ```ts const [errors, emitted] = Deno.compile("./main.ts", undefined, { lib: ["esnext"] }); ``` **Note** that the `dom` library conflicts with some of the default globals that are defined in the default type library for Deno. To avoid this, you need to specify a `lib` option in the compiler options to the runtime compiler APIs. ### Testing if current file is the main program To test if the current script has been executed as the main input to the program check `import.meta.main`. ```ts if (import.meta.main) { console.log("main"); } ``` ## Command line interface ### Flags Use `deno help` to see the help text. ``` A secure JavaScript and TypeScript runtime Docs: https://deno.land/std/manual.md Modules: https://deno.land/x/ Bugs: https://github.com/denoland/deno/issues To run the REPL supply no arguments: deno To evaluate code from the command line: deno eval "console.log(30933 + 404)" To execute a script: deno https://deno.land/std/examples/welcome.ts The default subcommand is 'run'. The above is equivalent to deno run https://deno.land/std/examples/welcome.ts See 'deno help run' for run specific flags. USAGE: deno [SUBCOMMAND] OPTIONS: -h, --help Prints help information -L, --log-level Set log level [possible values: debug, info] -V, --version Prints version information SUBCOMMANDS: bundle Bundle module and dependencies into single file completions Generate shell completions eval Eval script fetch Fetch the dependencies fmt Format files help Prints this message or the help of the given subcommand(s) info Show info about cache or info related to source file install Install script as executable repl Read Eval Print Loop run Run a program given a filename or url to the source code test Run tests types Print runtime TypeScript declarations ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES: DENO_DIR Set deno's base directory NO_COLOR Set to disable color HTTP_PROXY Proxy address for HTTP requests (module downloads, fetch) HTTPS_PROXY Same but for HTTPS ``` ### Environmental variables There are several env vars that control how Deno behaves: `DENO_DIR` defaults to `$HOME/.deno` but can be set to any path to control where generated and cached source code is written and read to. `NO_COLOR` will turn off color output if set. See https://no-color.org/. User code can test if `NO_COLOR` was set without having `--allow-env` by using the boolean constant `Deno.noColor`. ### Shell completion You can generate completion script for your shell using the `deno completions ` command. The command outputs to stdout so you should redirect it to an appropriate file. The supported shells are: - zsh - bash - fish - powershell - elvish Example: ```shell deno completions bash > /usr/local/etc/bash_completion.d/deno.bash source /usr/local/etc/bash_completion.d/deno.bash ``` ### V8 flags V8 has many many internal command-line flags. ```shell # list available v8 flags $ deno --v8-flags=--help # example for applying multiple flags $ deno --v8-flags=--expose-gc,--use-strict ``` Particularly useful ones: ``` --async-stack-trace ``` ### Bundling `deno bundle [URL]` will output a single JavaScript file, which includes all dependencies of the specified input. For example: ``` > deno bundle https://deno.land/std/examples/colors.ts colors.bundle.js Bundling "colors.bundle.js" Emitting bundle to "colors.bundle.js" 9.2 kB emitted. ``` If you omit the out file, the bundle will be sent to `stdout`. The bundle can just be run as any other module in Deno would: ``` deno colors.bundle.js ``` The output is a self contained ES Module, which any exports from the main module supplied on the command line will be available. For example if the main module looked something like this: ```ts export { foo } from "./foo.js"; export const bar = "bar"; ``` It could be imported like this: ```ts import { foo, bar } from "./lib.bundle.js"; ``` Bundles can also be loaded in the web browser. The bundle is a self-contained ES module, and so the attribute of `type` must be set to `"module"`. For example: ```html ``` Or you could import it into another ES module to consume: ```html ``` ### Installing executable scripts Deno provides ability to easily install and distribute executable code via `deno install` command. `deno install [FLAGS...] [EXE_NAME] [URL] [SCRIPT_ARGS...]` will install script available at `URL` with name `EXE_NAME`. This command is a thin wrapper that creates executable shell scripts which invoke `deno` with specified permissions and CLI flags. Example: ```shell $ deno install --allow-net --allow-read file_server https://deno.land/std/http/file_server.ts [1/1] Compiling https://deno.land/std/http/file_server.ts ✅ Successfully installed file_server. /Users/deno/.deno/bin/file_server ``` By default scripts are installed at `$HOME/.deno/bin` or `$USERPROFILE/.deno/bin` and one of that directories must be added to the path manually. ```shell $ echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.deno/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc ``` Installation directory can be changed using `-d/--dir` flag: ```shell $ deno install --allow-net --allow-read --dir /usr/local/bin file_server https://deno.land/std/http/file_server.ts ``` When installing a script you can specify permissions that will be used to run the script. Example: ```shell $ deno install --allow-net --allow-read file_server https://deno.land/std/http/file_server.ts 8080 ``` Above command creates an executable called `file_server` that runs with write and read permissions and binds to port 8080. It is a good practice to use `import.meta.main` idiom for an entry point for executable file. See [Testing if current file is the main program](#testing-if-current-file-is-the-main-program) section. Example: ```ts // https://example.com/awesome/cli.ts async function myAwesomeCli(): Promise { -- snip -- } if (import.meta.main) { myAwesomeCli(); } ``` When you create executable script make sure to let users know by adding example installation command to your repository: ```shell # Install using deno install $ deno install awesome_cli https://example.com/awesome/cli.ts ``` ## Proxies Deno supports proxies for module downloads and `fetch` API. Proxy configuration is read from environmental variables: `HTTP_PROXY` and `HTTPS_PROXY`. In case of Windows if environmental variables are not found Deno falls back to reading proxies from registry. ## Lock file Deno can store and check module subresource integrity for modules using a small JSON file. Use the `--lock=lock.json` to enable and specify lock file checking. To update or create a lock use `--lock=lock.json --lock-write`. ## Import maps Deno supports [import maps](https://github.com/WICG/import-maps). One can use import map with `--importmap=` CLI flag. Current limitations: - single import map - no fallback URLs - Deno does not support `std:` namespace - Does supports only `file:`, `http:` and `https:` schemes Example: ```js // import_map.json { "imports": { "http/": "https://deno.land/std/http/" } } ``` ```ts // hello_server.ts import { serve } from "http/server.ts"; const body = new TextEncoder().encode("Hello World\n"); for await (const req of serve(":8000")) { req.respond({ body }); } ``` ```shell $ deno run --importmap=import_map.json hello_server.ts ``` ## WASM support Deno can execute [wasm](https://webassembly.org/) binaries. ```js const wasmCode = new Uint8Array([ 0, 97, 115, 109, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 133, 128, 128, 128, 0, 1, 96, 0, 1, 127, 3, 130, 128, 128, 128, 0, 1, 0, 4, 132, 128, 128, 128, 0, 1, 112, 0, 0, 5, 131, 128, 128, 128, 0, 1, 0, 1, 6, 129, 128, 128, 128, 0, 0, 7, 145, 128, 128, 128, 0, 2, 6, 109, 101, 109, 111, 114, 121, 2, 0, 4, 109, 97, 105, 110, 0, 0, 10, 138, 128, 128, 128, 0, 1, 132, 128, 128, 128, 0, 0, 65, 42, 11 ]); const wasmModule = new WebAssembly.Module(wasmCode); const wasmInstance = new WebAssembly.Instance(wasmModule); console.log(wasmInstance.exports.main().toString()); ``` WASM files can also be loaded using imports: ```ts import { fib } from "./fib.wasm"; console.log(fib(20)); ``` ## Compiler API Deno supports runtime access to the built in TypeScript compiler. There are three methods in the `Deno` namespace that provide this access. ### `Deno.compile()` This works similar to `deno fetch` in that it can fetch code, compile it, but not run it. It takes up to three arguments, the `rootName`, optionally `sources`, and optionally `options`. The `rootName` is the root module which will be used to generate the resulting program. This is like module name you would pass on the command line in `deno --reload run example.ts`. The `sources` is a hash where the key is the fully qualified module name, and the value is the text source of the module. If `sources` is passed, Deno will resolve all the modules from within that hash and not attempt to resolve them outside of Deno. If `sources` are not provided, Deno will resolve modules as if the root module had been passed on the command line. Deno will also cache any of these resources. The `options` argument is a set of options of type `Deno.CompilerOptions`, which is a subset of the TypeScript compiler options which can be supported by Deno. The method resolves with a tuple where the first argument is any diagnostics (syntax or type errors) related to the code, and a map of the code, where the key would be the output filename and the value would be the content. An example of providing sources: ```ts const [diagnostics, emitMap] = await Deno.compile("/foo.ts", { "/foo.ts": `import * as bar from "./bar.ts";\nconsole.log(bar);\n`, "/bar.ts": `export const bar = "bar";\n` }); assert(diagnostics == null); // ensuring no diagnostics are returned console.log(emitMap); ``` We would expect map to contain 4 "files", named `/foo.js.map`, `/foo.js`, `/bar.js.map`, and `/bar.js`. When not supplying resources, you can use local or remote modules, just like you could do on the command line. So you could do something like this: ```ts const [diagnostics, emitMap] = await Deno.compile( "https://deno.land/std/examples/welcome.ts" ); ``` We should get back in the `emitMap` a simple `console.log()` statement. ### `Deno.bundle()` This works a lot like `deno bundle` does on the command line. It is also like `Deno.compile()`, except instead of returning a map of files, it returns a single string, which is a self-contained JavaScript ES module which will include all of the code that was provided or resolved as well as exports of all the exports of the root module that was provided. It takes up to three arguments, the `rootName`, optionally `sources`, and optionally `options`. The `rootName` is the root module which will be used to generate the resulting program. This is like module name you would pass on the command line in `deno bundle example.ts`. The `sources` is a hash where the key is the fully qualified module name, and the value is the text source of the module. If `sources` is passed, Deno will resolve all the modules from within that hash and not attempt to resolve them outside of Deno. If `sources` are not provided, Deno will resolve modules as if the root module had been passed on the command line. Deno will also cache any of these resources. The `options` argument is a set of options of type `Deno.CompilerOptions`, which is a subset of the TypeScript compiler options which can be supported by Deno. An example of providing sources: ```ts const [diagnostics, emit] = await Deno.bundle("/foo.ts", { "/foo.ts": `import * as bar from "./bar.ts";\nconsole.log(bar);\n`, "/bar.ts": `export const bar = "bar";\n` }); assert(diagnostics == null); // ensuring no diagnostics are returned console.log(emit); ``` We would expect `emit` to be the text for an ES module, which would contain the output sources for both modules. When not supplying resources, you can use local or remote modules, just like you could do on the command line. So you could do something like this: ```ts const [diagnostics, emit] = await Deno.bundle( "https://deno.land/std/http/server.ts" ); ``` We should get back in `emit` a self contained JavaScript ES module with all of its dependencies resolved and exporting the same exports as the source module. ### `Deno.transpileOnly()` This is based off of the TypeScript function `transpileModule()`. All this does is "erase" any types from the modules and emit JavaScript. There is no type checking and no resolution of dependencies. It accepts up to two arguments, the first is a hash where the key is the module name and the value is the contents. The only purpose of the module name is when putting information into a source map, of what the source file name was. The second is optionally `options` which is of type `Deno.CompilerOptions`. This is a subset of options which can be supported by Deno. It resolves with a map where the key is the source module name supplied, and the value is an object with a property of `source` which is the output contents of the module, and optionally `map` which would be the source map. By default, source maps are output, but can be turned off via the `options` argument. An example: ```ts const result = await Deno.transpileOnly({ "/foo.ts": `enum Foo { Foo, Bar, Baz };\n` }); console.log(result["/foo.ts"].source); console.log(result["/foo.ts"].map); ``` We would expect the `enum` would be rewritten to an IIFE which constructs the enumerable, and the map to be defined. ## Program lifecycle Deno supports browser compatible lifecycle events: `load` and `unload`. You can use these event to provide setup and cleanup code in your program. `load` event listener supports asynchronous functions and will await these functions. `unload` event listener supports only synchronous code. Both events are not cancellable. Example: ```typescript // main.ts import "./imported.ts"; const handler = (e: Event): void => { console.log(`got ${e.type} event in event handler (main)`); }; window.addEventListener("load", handler); window.addEventListener("unload", handler); window.onload = (e: Event): void => { console.log(`got ${e.type} event in onload function (main)`); }; window.onunload = (e: Event): void => { console.log(`got ${e.type} event in onunload function (main)`); }; // imported.ts const handler = (e: Event): void => { console.log(`got ${e.type} event in event handler (imported)`); }; window.addEventListener("load", handler); window.addEventListener("unload", handler); window.onload = (e: Event): void => { console.log(`got ${e.type} event in onload function (imported)`); }; window.onunload = (e: Event): void => { console.log(`got ${e.type} event in onunload function (imported)`); }; console.log("log from imported script"); ``` Note that you can use both `window.addEventListener` and `window.onload`/`window.onunload` to define handlers for events. There is a major difference between them, let's run example: ```shell $ deno main.ts log from imported script log from main script got load event in onload function (main) got load event in event handler (imported) got load event in event handler (main) got unload event in onunload function (main) got unload event in event handler (imported) got unload event in event handler (main) ``` All listeners added using `window.addEventListener` were run, but `window.onload` and `window.onunload` defined in `main.ts` overridden handlers defined in `imported.ts`. ## Internal details ### Deno and Linux analogy | **Linux** | **Deno** | | ------------------------------: | :------------------------------- | | Processes | Web Workers | | Syscalls | Ops | | File descriptors (fd) | [Resource ids (rid)](#resources) | | Scheduler | Tokio | | Userland: libc++ / glib / boost | https://deno.land/std/ | | /proc/\$\$/stat | [Deno.metrics()](#metrics) | | man pages | deno types | #### Resources Resources (AKA `rid`) are Deno's version of file descriptors. They are integer values used to refer to open files, sockets, and other concepts. For testing it would be good to be able to query the system for how many open resources there are. ```ts const { resources, close } = Deno; console.log(resources()); // { 0: "stdin", 1: "stdout", 2: "stderr" } close(0); console.log(resources()); // { 1: "stdout", 2: "stderr" } ``` #### Metrics Metrics is Deno's internal counters for various statics. ```shell > console.table(Deno.metrics()) ┌──────────────────┬────────┐ │ (index) │ Values │ ├──────────────────┼────────┤ │ opsDispatched │ 9 │ │ opsCompleted │ 9 │ │ bytesSentControl │ 504 │ │ bytesSentData │ 0 │ │ bytesReceived │ 856 │ └──────────────────┴────────┘ ``` ### Schematic diagram ### Profiling To start profiling, ```sh # Make sure we're only building release. # Build deno and V8's d8. ninja -C target/release d8 # Start the program we want to benchmark with --prof ./target/release/deno tests/http_bench.ts --allow-net --v8-flags=--prof & # Exercise it. third_party/wrk/linux/wrk http://localhost:4500/ kill `pgrep deno` ``` V8 will write a file in the current directory that looks like this: `isolate-0x7fad98242400-v8.log`. To examine this file: ```sh D8_PATH=target/release/ ./third_party/v8/tools/linux-tick-processor isolate-0x7fad98242400-v8.log > prof.log # on macOS, use ./third_party/v8/tools/mac-tick-processor instead ``` `prof.log` will contain information about tick distribution of different calls. To view the log with Web UI, generate JSON file of the log: ```sh D8_PATH=target/release/ ./third_party/v8/tools/linux-tick-processor isolate-0x7fad98242400-v8.log --preprocess > prof.json ``` Open `third_party/v8/tools/profview/index.html` in your browser, and select `prof.json` to view the distribution graphically. Useful V8 flags during profiling: - --prof - --log-internal-timer-events - --log-timer-events - --track-gc - --log-source-code - --track-gc-object-stats To learn more about `d8` and profiling, check out the following links: - [https://v8.dev/docs/d8](https://v8.dev/docs/d8) - [https://v8.dev/docs/profile](https://v8.dev/docs/profile) ### Debugging with LLDB We can use LLDB to debug Deno. ```shell $ lldb -- target/debug/deno run tests/worker.js > run > bt > up > up > l ``` To debug Rust code, we can use `rust-lldb`. It should come with `rustc` and is a wrapper around LLDB. ```shell $ rust-lldb -- ./target/debug/deno run --allow-net tests/http_bench.ts # On macOS, you might get warnings like # `ImportError: cannot import name _remove_dead_weakref` # In that case, use system python by setting PATH, e.g. # PATH=/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/bin:$PATH (lldb) command script import "/Users/kevinqian/.rustup/toolchains/1.36.0-x86_64-apple-darwin/lib/rustlib/etc/lldb_rust_formatters.py" (lldb) type summary add --no-value --python-function lldb_rust_formatters.print_val -x ".*" --category Rust (lldb) type category enable Rust (lldb) target create "../deno/target/debug/deno" Current executable set to '../deno/target/debug/deno' (x86_64). (lldb) settings set -- target.run-args "tests/http_bench.ts" "--allow-net" (lldb) b op_start (lldb) r ``` ### Deno Core The core binding layer for Deno. It is released as a [standalone crate](https://crates.io/crates/deno). Inside of core is V8 itself, with a binding API called "libdeno". See the crate documentation for more details. ### Continuous Benchmarks See our benchmarks [over here](https://deno.land/benchmarks.html) The benchmark chart supposes `//website/data.json` has the type `BenchmarkData[]` where `BenchmarkData` is defined like the below: ```ts interface ExecTimeData { mean: number; stddev: number; user: number; system: number; min: number; max: number; } interface BenchmarkData { created_at: string; sha1: string; benchmark: { [key: string]: ExecTimeData; }; binarySizeData: { [key: string]: number; }; threadCountData: { [key: string]: number; }; syscallCountData: { [key: string]: number; }; } ``` ### Logos These Deno logos, like the Deno software, are distributed under the MIT license (public domain and free for use) - [A hand drawn one by @ry](https://deno.land/images/deno_logo.png) - [An animated one by @hashrock](https://github.com/denolib/animated-deno-logo/) - [A high resolution SVG one by @kevinkassimo](https://github.com/denolib/high-res-deno-logo) - [A pixelated animation one by @tanakaworld](https://deno.land/images/deno_logo_4.gif) ## Contributing - Read the [style guide](style_guide.md). - Progress towards future releases is tracked [here](https://github.com/denoland/deno/milestones). - Please don't make [the benchmarks](https://deno.land/benchmarks.html) worse. - Ask for help in the [community chat room](https://gitter.im/denolife/Lobby). - If you are going to work on an issue, mention so in the issue comments _before_ you start working on the issue. ### Development #### Cloning the Repository Clone on Linux or Mac: ```bash git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/denoland/deno.git ``` Extra steps for Windows users: 1. [Enable "Developer Mode"](https://www.google.com/search?q=windows+enable+developer+mode) (otherwise symlinks would require administrator privileges). 2. Make sure you are using git version 2.19.2.windows.1 or newer. 3. Set `core.symlinks=true` before the checkout: ```bash git config --global core.symlinks true git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/denoland/deno.git ``` #### Prerequisites Deno has most of its dependencies in a git submodule to ensure reproducible builds. The following must be installed separately: 1. [Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/en-US/install.html) - Ensure that your version is compatible with the one used in [CI]( https://github.com/denoland/deno/blob/master/.github/workflows/ci.yml). This is updated frequently. 2. [Python 2](https://www.python.org/downloads) - Ensure that a suffix-less `python`/`python.exe` exists in your `PATH` and it refers to Python 2, [not 3]( https://github.com/denoland/deno/issues/464#issuecomment-411795578). Extra steps for Linux users: - Install glib-2.0 development files. - Required by [rusty_v8](https://github.com/denoland/rusty_v8#build). - On Ubuntu, run `sudo apt install libglib2.0-dev`. Extra steps for Mac users: - Install [XCode](https://developer.apple.com/xcode/) :( Extra steps for Windows users: 1. Get [VS Community 2019](https://www.visualstudio.com/downloads/) with "Desktop development with C++" toolkit and make sure to select the following required tools listed below along with all C++ tools. - Visual C++ tools for CMake - Windows 10 SDK (10.0.17763.0) - Testing tools core features - Build Tools - Visual C++ ATL for x86 and x64 - Visual C++ MFC for x86 and x64 - C++/CLI support - VC++ 2015.3 v14.00 (v140) toolset for desktop 2. Enable "Debugging Tools for Windows". Go to "Control Panel" → "Programs" → "Programs and Features" → Select "Windows Software Development Kit - Windows 10" → "Change" → "Change" → Check "Debugging Tools For Windows" → "Change" -> "Finish". Or use: [Debugging Tools for Windows](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/) (Notice: it will download the files, you should install `X64 Debuggers And Tools-x64_en-us.msi` file manually.) #### Building Build with Cargo: ```bash # Build: cargo build -vv # Run: ./target/debug/deno cli/tests/002_hello.ts ``` #### Testing and Tools Test `deno`: ```bash # Run the whole suite: cargo test # Only test cli/js/: cargo test js_unit_tests ``` Test `std/`: ```bash cd std cargo run -- -A testing/runner.ts --exclude "**/testdata" ``` Lint the code: ```bash ./tools/lint.py ``` Format the code: ```bash ./tools/format.py ``` #### Other Useful Commands ```bash # Call ninja manually. ninja -C target/debug # Build a release binary. cargo build --release # List executable targets. gn --root=core/libdeno ls target/debug "//:*" --as=output --type=executable # List build configuration. gn --root=core/libdeno args target/debug/ --list # Edit build configuration. gn --root=core/libdeno args target/debug/ # Describe a target. gn --root=core/libdeno desc target/debug/ :deno gn help # Update third_party modules git submodule update # Skip downloading binary build tools and point the build # to the system provided ones (for packagers of deno ...). export DENO_BUILD_ARGS="clang_base_path=/usr clang_use_chrome_plugins=false" DENO_NO_BINARY_DOWNLOAD=1 DENO_GN_PATH=/usr/bin/gn cargo build ``` Environment variables: `DENO_BUILD_MODE`, `DENO_BUILD_PATH`, `DENO_BUILD_ARGS`, `DENO_DIR`, `DENO_GN_PATH`, `DENO_NO_BINARY_DOWNLOAD`. ### Submitting a Pull Request Before submitting, please make sure the following is done: 1. That there is a related issue and it is referenced in the PR text. 2. There are tests that cover the changes. 3. Ensure `cargo test` passes. 4. Format your code with `tools/format.py` 5. Make sure `./tools/lint.py` passes. ### Changes to `third_party` [`deno_third_party`](https://github.com/denoland/deno_third_party) contains most of the external code that Deno depends on, so that we know exactly what we are executing at any given time. It is carefully maintained with a mixture of manual labor and private scripts. It's likely you will need help from @ry or @piscisaureus to make changes. ### Adding Ops (aka bindings) We are very concerned about making mistakes when adding new APIs. When adding an Op to Deno, the counterpart interfaces on other platforms should be researched. Please list how this functionality is done in Go, Node, Rust, and Python. As an example, see how `Deno.rename()` was proposed and added in [PR #671](https://github.com/denoland/deno/pull/671). ### Documenting APIs It is important to document public APIs and we want to do that inline with the code. This helps ensure that code and documentation are tightly coupled together. #### Utilize JSDoc All publicly exposed APIs and types, both via the `deno` module as well as the global/`window` namespace should have JSDoc documentation. This documentation is parsed and available to the TypeScript compiler, and therefore easy to provide further downstream. JSDoc blocks come just prior to the statement they apply to and are denoted by a leading `/**` before terminating with a `*/`. For example: ```ts /** A simple JSDoc comment */ export const FOO = "foo"; ```