Interface Buffer

Compares buf with target and returns a number indicating whether bufcomes before, after, or is the same as target in sort order. Comparison is based on the actual sequence of bytes in each Buffer.

• 0 is returned if target is the same as buf
• 1 is returned if target should come beforebuf when sorted.
• -1 is returned if target should come afterbuf when sorted.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf1 = Buffer.from('ABC');
const buf2 = Buffer.from('BCD');
const buf3 = Buffer.from('ABCD');

console.log(buf1.compare(buf1));
// Prints: 0
console.log(buf1.compare(buf2));
// Prints: -1
console.log(buf1.compare(buf3));
// Prints: -1
console.log(buf2.compare(buf1));
// Prints: 1
console.log(buf2.compare(buf3));
// Prints: 1
console.log([buf1, buf2, buf3].sort(Buffer.compare));
// Prints: [ <Buffer 41 42 43>, <Buffer 41 42 43 44>, <Buffer 42 43 44> ]
// (This result is equal to: [buf1, buf3, buf2].)
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The optional targetStart, targetEnd, sourceStart, and sourceEndarguments can be used to limit the comparison to specific ranges within targetand buf respectively.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf1 = Buffer.from([1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]);
const buf2 = Buffer.from([5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 1, 2, 3, 4]);

console.log(buf1.compare(buf2, 5, 9, 0, 4));
// Prints: 0
console.log(buf1.compare(buf2, 0, 6, 4));
// Prints: -1
console.log(buf1.compare(buf2, 5, 6, 5));
// Prints: 1
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ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE is thrown if targetStart < 0, sourceStart < 0,targetEnd > target.byteLength, or sourceEnd > source.byteLength.

Copies data from a region of buf to a region in target, even if the targetmemory region overlaps with buf.

TypedArray.prototype.set() performs the same operation, and is available for all TypedArrays, including Node.js Buffers, although it takes different function arguments.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

// Create two `Buffer` instances.
const buf1 = Buffer.allocUnsafe(26);
const buf2 = Buffer.allocUnsafe(26).fill('!');

for (let i = 0; i < 26; i++) {
  // 97 is the decimal ASCII value for 'a'.
  buf1[i] = i + 97;
}

// Copy `buf1` bytes 16 through 19 into `buf2` starting at byte 8 of `buf2`.
buf1.copy(buf2, 8, 16, 20);
// This is equivalent to:
// buf2.set(buf1.subarray(16, 20), 8);

console.log(buf2.toString('ascii', 0, 25));
// Prints: !!!!!!!!qrst!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

// Create a `Buffer` and copy data from one region to an overlapping region
// within the same `Buffer`.

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(26);

for (let i = 0; i < 26; i++) {
  // 97 is the decimal ASCII value for 'a'.
  buf[i] = i + 97;
}

buf.copy(buf, 0, 4, 10);

console.log(buf.toString());
// Prints: efghijghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
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Creates and returns an iterator of [index, byte] pairs from the contents of buf.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

// Log the entire contents of a `Buffer`.

const buf = Buffer.from('buffer');

for (const pair of buf.entries()) {
  console.log(pair);
}
// Prints:
//   [0, 98]
//   [1, 117]
//   [2, 102]
//   [3, 102]
//   [4, 101]
//   [5, 114]
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Returns true if both buf and otherBuffer have exactly the same bytes,false otherwise. Equivalent to buf.compare(otherBuffer) === 0.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf1 = Buffer.from('ABC');
const buf2 = Buffer.from('414243', 'hex');
const buf3 = Buffer.from('ABCD');

console.log(buf1.equals(buf2));
// Prints: true
console.log(buf1.equals(buf3));
// Prints: false
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Fills buf with the specified value. If the offset and end are not given, the entire buf will be filled:

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

// Fill a `Buffer` with the ASCII character 'h'.

const b = Buffer.allocUnsafe(50).fill('h');

console.log(b.toString());
// Prints: hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

// Fill a buffer with empty string
const c = Buffer.allocUnsafe(5).fill('');

console.log(c.fill(''));
// Prints: <Buffer 00 00 00 00 00>
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value is coerced to a uint32 value if it is not a string, Buffer, or integer. If the resulting integer is greater than 255 (decimal), buf will be filled with value & 255.

If the final write of a fill() operation falls on a multi-byte character, then only the bytes of that character that fit into buf are written:

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

// Fill a `Buffer` with character that takes up two bytes in UTF-8.

console.log(Buffer.allocUnsafe(5).fill('\u0222'));
// Prints: <Buffer c8 a2 c8 a2 c8>
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If value contains invalid characters, it is truncated; if no valid fill data remains, an exception is thrown:

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(5);

console.log(buf.fill('a'));
// Prints: <Buffer 61 61 61 61 61>
console.log(buf.fill('aazz', 'hex'));
// Prints: <Buffer aa aa aa aa aa>
console.log(buf.fill('zz', 'hex'));
// Throws an exception.
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Equivalent to buf.indexOf() !== -1.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from('this is a buffer');

console.log(buf.includes('this'));
// Prints: true
console.log(buf.includes('is'));
// Prints: true
console.log(buf.includes(Buffer.from('a buffer')));
// Prints: true
console.log(buf.includes(97));
// Prints: true (97 is the decimal ASCII value for 'a')
console.log(buf.includes(Buffer.from('a buffer example')));
// Prints: false
console.log(buf.includes(Buffer.from('a buffer example').slice(0, 8)));
// Prints: true
console.log(buf.includes('this', 4));
// Prints: false
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If value is:

• a string, value is interpreted according to the character encoding inencoding.
• a Buffer or Uint8Array, value will be used in its entirety. To compare a partial Buffer, use buf.subarray.
• a number, value will be interpreted as an unsigned 8-bit integer value between 0 and 255.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from('this is a buffer');

console.log(buf.indexOf('this'));
// Prints: 0
console.log(buf.indexOf('is'));
// Prints: 2
console.log(buf.indexOf(Buffer.from('a buffer')));
// Prints: 8
console.log(buf.indexOf(97));
// Prints: 8 (97 is the decimal ASCII value for 'a')
console.log(buf.indexOf(Buffer.from('a buffer example')));
// Prints: -1
console.log(buf.indexOf(Buffer.from('a buffer example').slice(0, 8)));
// Prints: 8

const utf16Buffer = Buffer.from('\u039a\u0391\u03a3\u03a3\u0395', 'utf16le');

console.log(utf16Buffer.indexOf('\u03a3', 0, 'utf16le'));
// Prints: 4
console.log(utf16Buffer.indexOf('\u03a3', -4, 'utf16le'));
// Prints: 6
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If value is not a string, number, or Buffer, this method will throw a TypeError. If value is a number, it will be coerced to a valid byte value, an integer between 0 and 255.

If byteOffset is not a number, it will be coerced to a number. If the result of coercion is NaN or 0, then the entire buffer will be searched. This behavior matches String.prototype.indexOf().

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const b = Buffer.from('abcdef');

// Passing a value that's a number, but not a valid byte.
// Prints: 2, equivalent to searching for 99 or 'c'.
console.log(b.indexOf(99.9));
console.log(b.indexOf(256 + 99));

// Passing a byteOffset that coerces to NaN or 0.
// Prints: 1, searching the whole buffer.
console.log(b.indexOf('b', undefined));
console.log(b.indexOf('b', {}));
console.log(b.indexOf('b', null));
console.log(b.indexOf('b', []));
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If value is an empty string or empty Buffer and byteOffset is less than buf.length, byteOffset will be returned. If value is empty andbyteOffset is at least buf.length, buf.length will be returned.

Creates and returns an iterator of buf keys (indices).

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from('buffer');

for (const key of buf.keys()) {
  console.log(key);
}
// Prints:
//   0
//   1
//   2
//   3
//   4
//   5
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Identical to buf.indexOf(), except the last occurrence of value is found rather than the first occurrence.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from('this buffer is a buffer');

console.log(buf.lastIndexOf('this'));
// Prints: 0
console.log(buf.lastIndexOf('buffer'));
// Prints: 17
console.log(buf.lastIndexOf(Buffer.from('buffer')));
// Prints: 17
console.log(buf.lastIndexOf(97));
// Prints: 15 (97 is the decimal ASCII value for 'a')
console.log(buf.lastIndexOf(Buffer.from('yolo')));
// Prints: -1
console.log(buf.lastIndexOf('buffer', 5));
// Prints: 5
console.log(buf.lastIndexOf('buffer', 4));
// Prints: -1

const utf16Buffer = Buffer.from('\u039a\u0391\u03a3\u03a3\u0395', 'utf16le');

console.log(utf16Buffer.lastIndexOf('\u03a3', undefined, 'utf16le'));
// Prints: 6
console.log(utf16Buffer.lastIndexOf('\u03a3', -5, 'utf16le'));
// Prints: 4
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If value is not a string, number, or Buffer, this method will throw aTypeError. If value is a number, it will be coerced to a valid byte value, an integer between 0 and 255.

If byteOffset is not a number, it will be coerced to a number. Any arguments that coerce to NaN, like {} or undefined, will search the whole buffer. This behavior matches String.prototype.lastIndexOf().

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const b = Buffer.from('abcdef');

// Passing a value that's a number, but not a valid byte.
// Prints: 2, equivalent to searching for 99 or 'c'.
console.log(b.lastIndexOf(99.9));
console.log(b.lastIndexOf(256 + 99));

// Passing a byteOffset that coerces to NaN.
// Prints: 1, searching the whole buffer.
console.log(b.lastIndexOf('b', undefined));
console.log(b.lastIndexOf('b', {}));

// Passing a byteOffset that coerces to 0.
// Prints: -1, equivalent to passing 0.
console.log(b.lastIndexOf('b', null));
console.log(b.lastIndexOf('b', []));
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If value is an empty string or empty Buffer, byteOffset will be returned.

Reads a signed, big-endian 64-bit integer from buf at the specified offset.

Integers read from a Buffer are interpreted as two's complement signed values.

Reads a signed, little-endian 64-bit integer from buf at the specifiedoffset.

Integers read from a Buffer are interpreted as two's complement signed values.

Reads an unsigned, big-endian 64-bit integer from buf at the specifiedoffset.

This function is also available under the readBigUint64BE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff]);

console.log(buf.readBigUInt64BE(0));
// Prints: 4294967295n
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Reads an unsigned, little-endian 64-bit integer from buf at the specifiedoffset.

This function is also available under the readBigUint64LE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff]);

console.log(buf.readBigUInt64LE(0));
// Prints: 18446744069414584320n
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Reads a 64-bit, big-endian double from buf at the specified offset.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]);

console.log(buf.readDoubleBE(0));
// Prints: 8.20788039913184e-304
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Reads a 64-bit, little-endian double from buf at the specified offset.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]);

console.log(buf.readDoubleLE(0));
// Prints: 5.447603722011605e-270
console.log(buf.readDoubleLE(1));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
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Reads a 32-bit, big-endian float from buf at the specified offset.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([1, 2, 3, 4]);

console.log(buf.readFloatBE(0));
// Prints: 2.387939260590663e-38
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Reads a 32-bit, little-endian float from buf at the specified offset.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([1, 2, 3, 4]);

console.log(buf.readFloatLE(0));
// Prints: 1.539989614439558e-36
console.log(buf.readFloatLE(1));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
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Reads a signed, big-endian 16-bit integer from buf at the specified offset.

Integers read from a Buffer are interpreted as two's complement signed values.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([0, 5]);

console.log(buf.readInt16BE(0));
// Prints: 5
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Reads a signed, little-endian 16-bit integer from buf at the specifiedoffset.

Integers read from a Buffer are interpreted as two's complement signed values.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([0, 5]);

console.log(buf.readInt16LE(0));
// Prints: 1280
console.log(buf.readInt16LE(1));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
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Reads a signed, big-endian 32-bit integer from buf at the specified offset.

Integers read from a Buffer are interpreted as two's complement signed values.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([0, 0, 0, 5]);

console.log(buf.readInt32BE(0));
// Prints: 5
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Reads a signed, little-endian 32-bit integer from buf at the specifiedoffset.

Integers read from a Buffer are interpreted as two's complement signed values.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([0, 0, 0, 5]);

console.log(buf.readInt32LE(0));
// Prints: 83886080
console.log(buf.readInt32LE(1));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
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Reads a signed 8-bit integer from buf at the specified offset.

Integers read from a Buffer are interpreted as two's complement signed values.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([-1, 5]);

console.log(buf.readInt8(0));
// Prints: -1
console.log(buf.readInt8(1));
// Prints: 5
console.log(buf.readInt8(2));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
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Reads byteLength number of bytes from buf at the specified offsetand interprets the result as a big-endian, two's complement signed value supporting up to 48 bits of accuracy.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([0x12, 0x34, 0x56, 0x78, 0x90, 0xab]);

console.log(buf.readIntBE(0, 6).toString(16));
// Prints: 1234567890ab
console.log(buf.readIntBE(1, 6).toString(16));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
console.log(buf.readIntBE(1, 0).toString(16));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
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Reads byteLength number of bytes from buf at the specified offsetand interprets the result as a little-endian, two's complement signed value supporting up to 48 bits of accuracy.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([0x12, 0x34, 0x56, 0x78, 0x90, 0xab]);

console.log(buf.readIntLE(0, 6).toString(16));
// Prints: -546f87a9cbee
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Reads an unsigned, big-endian 16-bit integer from buf at the specifiedoffset.

This function is also available under the readUint16BE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([0x12, 0x34, 0x56]);

console.log(buf.readUInt16BE(0).toString(16));
// Prints: 1234
console.log(buf.readUInt16BE(1).toString(16));
// Prints: 3456
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Reads an unsigned, little-endian 16-bit integer from buf at the specifiedoffset.

This function is also available under the readUint16LE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([0x12, 0x34, 0x56]);

console.log(buf.readUInt16LE(0).toString(16));
// Prints: 3412
console.log(buf.readUInt16LE(1).toString(16));
// Prints: 5634
console.log(buf.readUInt16LE(2).toString(16));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
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Reads an unsigned, big-endian 32-bit integer from buf at the specifiedoffset.

This function is also available under the readUint32BE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([0x12, 0x34, 0x56, 0x78]);

console.log(buf.readUInt32BE(0).toString(16));
// Prints: 12345678
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Reads an unsigned, little-endian 32-bit integer from buf at the specifiedoffset.

This function is also available under the readUint32LE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from([0x12, 0x34, 0x56, 0x78]);

console.log(buf.readUInt32LE(0).toString(16));
// Prints: 78563412
console.log(buf.readUInt32LE(1).toString(16));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
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