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<h2>Table of Contents</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<p><span class="stability_2"><a href="#buffer_buffer">Buffer</a></span></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="#buffer_buffers_and_character_encodings">Buffers and character encodings</a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buffers_and_typedarrays">Buffers and TypedArrays</a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buffers_and_iteration">Buffers and iteration</a></li>
<li>
<p><a href="#buffer_class_buffer">Class: <code>Buffer</code></a></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_alloc_size_fill_encoding">Class Method: <code>Buffer.alloc(size[, fill[, encoding]])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size">Class Method: <code>Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafeslow_size">Class Method: <code>Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow(size)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_bytelength_string_encoding">Class Method: <code>Buffer.byteLength(string[, encoding])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_compare_buf1_buf2">Class Method: <code>Buffer.compare(buf1, buf2)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_concat_list_totallength">Class Method: <code>Buffer.concat(list[, totalLength])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_array">Class Method: <code>Buffer.from(array)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_arraybuffer_byteoffset_length">Class Method: <code>Buffer.from(arrayBuffer[, byteOffset[, length]])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_buffer">Class Method: <code>Buffer.from(buffer)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_object_offsetorencoding_length">Class Method: <code>Buffer.from(object[, offsetOrEncoding[, length]])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_string_encoding">Class Method: <code>Buffer.from(string[, encoding])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_isbuffer_obj">Class Method: <code>Buffer.isBuffer(obj)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_isencoding_encoding">Class Method: <code>Buffer.isEncoding(encoding)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_property_buffer_poolsize">Class Property: <code>Buffer.poolSize</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_index"><code>buf[index]</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_buffer"><code>buf.buffer</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_byteoffset"><code>buf.byteOffset</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_compare_target_targetstart_targetend_sourcestart_sourceend"><code>buf.compare(target[, targetStart[, targetEnd[, sourceStart[, sourceEnd]]]])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_copy_target_targetstart_sourcestart_sourceend"><code>buf.copy(target[, targetStart[, sourceStart[, sourceEnd]]])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_entries"><code>buf.entries()</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_equals_otherbuffer"><code>buf.equals(otherBuffer)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_fill_value_offset_end_encoding"><code>buf.fill(value[, offset[, end]][, encoding])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_includes_value_byteoffset_encoding"><code>buf.includes(value[, byteOffset][, encoding])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_indexof_value_byteoffset_encoding"><code>buf.indexOf(value[, byteOffset][, encoding])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_keys"><code>buf.keys()</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_lastindexof_value_byteoffset_encoding"><code>buf.lastIndexOf(value[, byteOffset][, encoding])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_length"><code>buf.length</code></a></li>
<li><span class="stability_0"><a href="#buffer_buf_parent"><code>buf.parent</code></a></span></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readbigint64be_offset"><code>buf.readBigInt64BE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readbigint64le_offset"><code>buf.readBigInt64LE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readbiguint64be_offset"><code>buf.readBigUInt64BE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readbiguint64le_offset"><code>buf.readBigUInt64LE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readdoublebe_offset"><code>buf.readDoubleBE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readdoublele_offset"><code>buf.readDoubleLE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readfloatbe_offset"><code>buf.readFloatBE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readfloatle_offset"><code>buf.readFloatLE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readint8_offset"><code>buf.readInt8([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readint16be_offset"><code>buf.readInt16BE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readint16le_offset"><code>buf.readInt16LE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readint32be_offset"><code>buf.readInt32BE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readint32le_offset"><code>buf.readInt32LE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readintbe_offset_bytelength"><code>buf.readIntBE(offset, byteLength)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readintle_offset_bytelength"><code>buf.readIntLE(offset, byteLength)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readuint8_offset"><code>buf.readUInt8([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readuint16be_offset"><code>buf.readUInt16BE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readuint16le_offset"><code>buf.readUInt16LE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readuint32be_offset"><code>buf.readUInt32BE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readuint32le_offset"><code>buf.readUInt32LE([offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readuintbe_offset_bytelength"><code>buf.readUIntBE(offset, byteLength)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_readuintle_offset_bytelength"><code>buf.readUIntLE(offset, byteLength)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_subarray_start_end"><code>buf.subarray([start[, end]])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_slice_start_end"><code>buf.slice([start[, end]])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_swap16"><code>buf.swap16()</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_swap32"><code>buf.swap32()</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_swap64"><code>buf.swap64()</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_tojson"><code>buf.toJSON()</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_tostring_encoding_start_end"><code>buf.toString([encoding[, start[, end]]])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_values"><code>buf.values()</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_write_string_offset_length_encoding"><code>buf.write(string[, offset[, length]][, encoding])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writebigint64be_value_offset"><code>buf.writeBigInt64BE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writebigint64le_value_offset"><code>buf.writeBigInt64LE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writebiguint64be_value_offset"><code>buf.writeBigUInt64BE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writebiguint64le_value_offset"><code>buf.writeBigUInt64LE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writedoublebe_value_offset"><code>buf.writeDoubleBE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writedoublele_value_offset"><code>buf.writeDoubleLE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writefloatbe_value_offset"><code>buf.writeFloatBE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writefloatle_value_offset"><code>buf.writeFloatLE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writeint8_value_offset"><code>buf.writeInt8(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writeint16be_value_offset"><code>buf.writeInt16BE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writeint16le_value_offset"><code>buf.writeInt16LE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writeint32be_value_offset"><code>buf.writeInt32BE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writeint32le_value_offset"><code>buf.writeInt32LE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writeintbe_value_offset_bytelength"><code>buf.writeIntBE(value, offset, byteLength)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writeintle_value_offset_bytelength"><code>buf.writeIntLE(value, offset, byteLength)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writeuint8_value_offset"><code>buf.writeUInt8(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writeuint16be_value_offset"><code>buf.writeUInt16BE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writeuint16le_value_offset"><code>buf.writeUInt16LE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writeuint32be_value_offset"><code>buf.writeUInt32BE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writeuint32le_value_offset"><code>buf.writeUInt32LE(value[, offset])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writeuintbe_value_offset_bytelength"><code>buf.writeUIntBE(value, offset, byteLength)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_writeuintle_value_offset_bytelength"><code>buf.writeUIntLE(value, offset, byteLength)</code></a></li>
<li><span class="stability_0"><a href="#buffer_new_buffer_array"><code>new Buffer(array)</code></a></span></li>
<li><span class="stability_0"><a href="#buffer_new_buffer_arraybuffer_byteoffset_length"><code>new Buffer(arrayBuffer[, byteOffset[, length]])</code></a></span></li>
<li><span class="stability_0"><a href="#buffer_new_buffer_buffer"><code>new Buffer(buffer)</code></a></span></li>
<li><span class="stability_0"><a href="#buffer_new_buffer_size"><code>new Buffer(size)</code></a></span></li>
<li><span class="stability_0"><a href="#buffer_new_buffer_string_encoding"><code>new Buffer(string[, encoding])</code></a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buffer_inspect_max_bytes"><code>buffer.INSPECT_MAX_BYTES</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buffer_kmaxlength"><code>buffer.kMaxLength</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buffer_transcode_source_fromenc_toenc"><code>buffer.transcode(source, fromEnc, toEnc)</code></a></li>
<li>
<p><span class="stability_0"><a href="#buffer_class_slowbuffer">Class: <code>SlowBuffer</code></a></span></p>
<ul>
<li><span class="stability_0"><a href="#buffer_new_slowbuffer_size"><code>new SlowBuffer(size)</code></a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<p><a href="#buffer_buffer_constants">Buffer constants</a></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="#buffer_buffer_constants_max_length"><code>buffer.constants.MAX_LENGTH</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buffer_constants_max_string_length"><code>buffer.constants.MAX_STRING_LENGTH</code></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<p><a href="#buffer_buffer_from_buffer_alloc_and_buffer_allocunsafe"><code>Buffer.from()</code>, <code>Buffer.alloc()</code>, and <code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code></a></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="#buffer_the_zero_fill_buffers_command_line_option">The <code>--zero-fill-buffers</code> command line option</a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_what_makes_buffer_allocunsafe_and_buffer_allocunsafeslow_unsafe">What makes <code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code> and <code>Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()</code> "unsafe"?</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="apicontent">
<h1>Buffer<span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buffer" id="buffer_buffer">#</a></span></h1>
<p></p><div class="api_stability api_stability_2"><a href="documentation.html#documentation_stability_index">Stability: 2</a> - Stable</div><p></p>
<p>In Node.js, <code>Buffer</code> objects are used to represent binary data in the form
of a sequence of bytes. Many Node.js APIs, for example streams and file system
operations, support <code>Buffer</code>s, as interactions with the operating system or
other processes generally always happen in terms of binary data.</p>
<p>The <code>Buffer</code> class is a subclass of the <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array"><code>Uint8Array</code></a> class that is built
into the JavaScript language. A number of additional methods are supported
that cover additional use cases. Node.js APIs accept plain <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array"><code>Uint8Array</code></a>s
wherever <code>Buffer</code>s are supported as well.</p>
<p>Instances of <code>Buffer</code>, and instances of <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array"><code>Uint8Array</code></a> in general,
are similar to arrays of integers from <code>0</code> to <code>255</code>, but correspond to
fixed-sized blocks of memory and cannot contain any other values.
The size of a <code>Buffer</code> is established when it is created and cannot be changed.</p>
<p>The <code>Buffer</code> class is within the global scope, making it unlikely that one
would need to ever use <code>require('buffer').Buffer</code>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">// Creates a zero-filled Buffer of length 10.
const buf1 = Buffer.alloc(10);
// Creates a Buffer of length 10,
// filled with bytes which all have the value `1`.
const buf2 = Buffer.alloc(10, 1);
// Creates an uninitialized buffer of length 10.
// This is faster than calling Buffer.alloc() but the returned
// Buffer instance might contain old data that needs to be
// overwritten using fill(), write(), or other functions that fill the Buffer's
// contents.
const buf3 = Buffer.allocUnsafe(10);
// Creates a Buffer containing the bytes [1, 2, 3].
const buf4 = Buffer.from([1, 2, 3]);
// Creates a Buffer containing the bytes [1, 1, 1, 1] – the entries
// are all truncated using `(value & 255)` to fit into the range 0–255.
const buf5 = Buffer.from([257, 257.5, -255, '1']);
// Creates a Buffer containing the UTF-8-encoded bytes for the string 'tést':
// [0x74, 0xc3, 0xa9, 0x73, 0x74] (in hexadecimal notation)
// [116, 195, 169, 115, 116] (in decimal notation)
const buf6 = Buffer.from('tést');
// Creates a Buffer containing the Latin-1 bytes [0x74, 0xe9, 0x73, 0x74].
const buf7 = Buffer.from('tést', 'latin1');
</code></pre>
<h2>Buffers and character encodings<span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buffers_and_character_encodings" id="buffer_buffers_and_character_encodings">#</a></span></h2>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v6.4.0</td>
<td><p>Introduced <code>latin1</code> as an alias for <code>binary</code>.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v5.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed the deprecated <code>raw</code> and <code>raws</code> encodings.</p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<p>When converting between <code>Buffer</code>s and strings, a character encoding may be
specified. If no character encoding is specified, UTF-8 will be used as the
default.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from('hello world', 'utf8');
console.log(buf.toString('hex'));
// Prints: 68656c6c6f20776f726c64
console.log(buf.toString('base64'));
// Prints: aGVsbG8gd29ybGQ=
console.log(Buffer.from('fhqwhgads', 'utf8'));
// Prints: <Buffer 66 68 71 77 68 67 61 64 73>
console.log(Buffer.from('fhqwhgads', 'utf16le'));
// Prints: <Buffer 66 00 68 00 71 00 77 00 68 00 67 00 61 00 64 00 73 00>
</code></pre>
<p>The character encodings currently supported by Node.js are the following:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p><code>'utf8'</code>: Multi-byte encoded Unicode characters. Many web pages and other
document formats use <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-8">UTF-8</a>. This is the default character encoding.
When decoding a <code>Buffer</code> into a string that does not exclusively contain
valid UTF-8 data, the Unicode replacement character <code>U+FFFD</code> � will be used
to represent those errors.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><code>'utf16le'</code>: Multi-byte encoded Unicode characters. Unlike <code>'utf8'</code>, each
character in the string will be encoded using either 2 or 4 bytes.
Node.js only supports the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">little-endian</a> variant of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-16">UTF-16</a>.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><code>'latin1'</code>: Latin-1 stands for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO-8859-1">ISO-8859-1</a>. This character encoding only
supports the Unicode characters from <code>U+0000</code> to <code>U+00FF</code>. Each character is
encoded using a single byte. Characters that do not fit into that range are
truncated and will be mapped to characters in that range.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Converting a <code>Buffer</code> into a string using one of the above is referred to as
decoding, and converting a string into a <code>Buffer</code> is referred to as encoding.</p>
<p>Node.js also supports the following two binary-to-text encodings. For
binary-to-text encodings, the naming convention is reversed: Converting a
<code>Buffer</code> into a string is typically referred to as encoding, and converting a
string into a <code>Buffer</code> as decoding.</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p><code>'base64'</code>: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base64">Base64</a> encoding. When creating a <code>Buffer</code> from a string,
this encoding will also correctly accept "URL and Filename Safe Alphabet" as
specified in <a href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4648#section-5">RFC 4648, Section 5</a>.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><code>'hex'</code>: Encode each byte as two hexadecimal characters. Data truncation
may occur when decoding string that do exclusively contain valid hexadecimal
characters. See below for an example.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>The following legacy character encodings are also supported:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p><code>'ascii'</code>: For 7-bit <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII">ASCII</a> data only. When encoding a string into a
<code>Buffer</code>, this is equivalent to using <code>'latin1'</code>. When decoding a <code>Buffer</code>
into a string, using encoding this will additionally unset the highest bit of
each byte before decoding as <code>'latin1'</code>.
Generally, there should be no reason to use this encoding, as <code>'utf8'</code>
(or, if the data is known to always be ASCII-only, <code>'latin1'</code>) will be a
better choice when encoding or decoding ASCII-only text. It is only provided
for legacy compatibility.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><code>'binary'</code>: Alias for <code>'latin1'</code>. See <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/DOMString/Binary">binary strings</a> for more background
on this topic. The name of this encoding can be very misleading, as all of the
encodings listed here convert between strings and binary data. For converting
between strings and <code>Buffer</code>s, typically <code>'utf-8'</code> is the right choice.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><code>'ucs2'</code>: Alias of <code>'utf16le'</code>. UCS-2 used to refer to a variant of UTF-16
that did not support characters that had code points larger than U+FFFF.
In Node.js, these code points are always supported.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<pre><code class="language-js">Buffer.from('1ag', 'hex');
// Prints <Buffer 1a>, data truncated when first non-hexadecimal value
// ('g') encountered.
Buffer.from('1a7g', 'hex');
// Prints <Buffer 1a>, data truncated when data ends in single digit ('7').
Buffer.from('1634', 'hex');
// Prints <Buffer 16 34>, all data represented.
</code></pre>
<p>Modern Web browsers follow the <a href="https://encoding.spec.whatwg.org/">WHATWG Encoding Standard</a> which aliases
both <code>'latin1'</code> and <code>'ISO-8859-1'</code> to <code>'win-1252'</code>. This means that while doing
something like <code>http.get()</code>, if the returned charset is one of those listed in
the WHATWG specification it is possible that the server actually returned
<code>'win-1252'</code>-encoded data, and using <code>'latin1'</code> encoding may incorrectly decode
the characters.</p>
<h2>Buffers and TypedArrays<span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buffers_and_typedarrays" id="buffer_buffers_and_typedarrays">#</a></span></h2>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v3.0.0</td>
<td><p>The <code>Buffer</code>s class now inherits from <code>Uint8Array</code>.</p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<p><code>Buffer</code> instances are also <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array"><code>Uint8Array</code></a> instances, which is the language’s
built-in class for working with binary data. <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array"><code>Uint8Array</code></a> in turn is a
subclass of <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray"><code>TypedArray</code></a>. Therefore, all <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray"><code>TypedArray</code></a> methods are also
available on <code>Buffer</code>s. However, there are subtle incompatibilities between
the <code>Buffer</code> API and the <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray"><code>TypedArray</code></a> API.</p>
<p>In particular:</p>
<ul>
<li>While <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray/slice"><code>TypedArray#slice()</code></a> creates a copy of part of the <code>TypedArray</code>,
<a href="#buffer_buf_slice_start_end"><code>Buffer#slice()</code></a> creates a view over the existing <code>Buffer</code>
without copying. This behavior can be surprising, and only exists for legacy
compatibility. <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray/subarray"><code>TypedArray#subarray()</code></a> can be used to achieve the behavior
of <a href="#buffer_buf_slice_start_end"><code>Buffer#slice()</code></a> on both <code>Buffer</code>s and other
<code>TypedArray</code>s.</li>
<li><a href="#buffer_buf_tostring_encoding_start_end"><code>buf.toString()</code></a> is incompatible with its <code>TypedArray</code> equivalent.</li>
<li>A number of methods, e.g. <a href="#buffer_buf_indexof_value_byteoffset_encoding"><code>buf.indexOf()</code></a>, support additional arguments.</li>
</ul>
<p>There are two ways to create new <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray"><code>TypedArray</code></a> instances from a <code>Buffer</code>.</p>
<p>When passing a <code>Buffer</code> to a <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray"><code>TypedArray</code></a> constructor, the <code>Buffer</code>’s
elements will be copied, interpreted as an array of integers, and not as a byte
array of the target type. For example,
<code>new Uint32Array(Buffer.from([1, 2, 3, 4]))</code> creates a 4-element
<a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint32Array"><code>Uint32Array</code></a> with elements <code>[1, 2, 3, 4]</code>, rather than a
<a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint32Array"><code>Uint32Array</code></a> with a single element <code>[0x1020304]</code> or <code>[0x4030201]</code>.</p>
<p>In order to create a <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray"><code>TypedArray</code></a> that shares its memory with the <code>Buffer</code>,
the underlying <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/ArrayBuffer"><code>ArrayBuffer</code></a> can be passed to the <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray"><code>TypedArray</code></a>
constructor instead:</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from('hello', 'utf16le');
const uint16arr = new Uint16Array(
buf.buffer, buf.byteOffset, buf.length / Uint16Array.BYTES_PER_ELEMENT);
</code></pre>
<p>It is also possible to create a new <code>Buffer</code> that shares the same allocated
memory as a <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray"><code>TypedArray</code></a> instance by using the <code>TypedArray</code> object’s
<code>.buffer</code> property in the same way. <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_arraybuffer_byteoffset_length"><code>Buffer.from()</code></a>
behaves like <code>new Uint8Array()</code> in this context.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const arr = new Uint16Array(2);
arr[0] = 5000;
arr[1] = 4000;
// Copies the contents of `arr`.
const buf1 = Buffer.from(arr);
// Shares memory with `arr`.
const buf2 = Buffer.from(arr.buffer);
console.log(buf1);
// Prints: <Buffer 88 a0>
console.log(buf2);
// Prints: <Buffer 88 13 a0 0f>
arr[1] = 6000;
console.log(buf1);
// Prints: <Buffer 88 a0>
console.log(buf2);
// Prints: <Buffer 88 13 70 17>
</code></pre>
<p>When creating a <code>Buffer</code> using a <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray"><code>TypedArray</code></a>'s <code>.buffer</code>, it is
possible to use only a portion of the underlying <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/ArrayBuffer"><code>ArrayBuffer</code></a> by passing in
<code>byteOffset</code> and <code>length</code> parameters.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const arr = new Uint16Array(20);
const buf = Buffer.from(arr.buffer, 0, 16);
console.log(buf.length);
// Prints: 16
</code></pre>
<p>The <code>Buffer.from()</code> and <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray/from"><code>TypedArray.from()</code></a> have different signatures and
implementations. Specifically, the <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray"><code>TypedArray</code></a> variants accept a second
argument that is a mapping function that is invoked on every element of the
typed array:</p>
<ul>
<li><code>TypedArray.from(source[, mapFn[, thisArg]])</code></li>
</ul>
<p>The <code>Buffer.from()</code> method, however, does not support the use of a mapping
function:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_array"><code>Buffer.from(array)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_buffer"><code>Buffer.from(buffer)</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_arraybuffer_byteoffset_length"><code>Buffer.from(arrayBuffer[, byteOffset[, length]])</code></a></li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_string_encoding"><code>Buffer.from(string[, encoding])</code></a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Buffers and iteration<span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buffers_and_iteration" id="buffer_buffers_and_iteration">#</a></span></h2>
<p><code>Buffer</code> instances can be iterated over using <code>for..of</code> syntax:</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from([1, 2, 3]);
for (const b of buf) {
console.log(b);
}
// Prints:
// 1
// 2
// 3
</code></pre>
<p>Additionally, the <a href="#buffer_buf_values"><code>buf.values()</code></a>, <a href="#buffer_buf_keys"><code>buf.keys()</code></a>, and
<a href="#buffer_buf_entries"><code>buf.entries()</code></a> methods can be used to create iterators.</p>
<h2>Class: <code>Buffer</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_buffer" id="buffer_class_buffer">#</a></span></h2>
<p>The <code>Buffer</code> class is a global type for dealing with binary data directly.
It can be constructed in a variety of ways.</p>
<h3>Class Method: <code>Buffer.alloc(size[, fill[, encoding]])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_alloc_size_fill_encoding" id="buffer_class_method_buffer_alloc_size_fill_encoding">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Attempting to fill a non-zero length buffer with a zero length buffer triggers a thrown exception.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Specifying an invalid string for <code>fill</code> triggers a thrown exception.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v8.9.3</td>
<td><p>Specifying an invalid string for <code>fill</code> now results in a zero-filled buffer.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v5.10.0</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v5.10.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>size</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The desired length of the new <code>Buffer</code>.</li>
<li><code>fill</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> | <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array" class="type"><Uint8Array></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> A value to pre-fill the new <code>Buffer</code>
with. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li><code>encoding</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> If <code>fill</code> is a string, this is its encoding.
<strong>Default:</strong> <code>'utf8'</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Allocates a new <code>Buffer</code> of <code>size</code> bytes. If <code>fill</code> is <code>undefined</code>, the
<code>Buffer</code> will be zero-filled.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.alloc(5);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 00 00 00 00 00>
</code></pre>
<p>If <code>size</code> is larger than
<a href="#buffer_buffer_constants_max_length"><code>buffer.constants.MAX_LENGTH</code></a> or smaller than 0, <a href="errors.html#ERR_INVALID_OPT_VALUE"><code>ERR_INVALID_OPT_VALUE</code></a>
is thrown.</p>
<p>If <code>fill</code> is specified, the allocated <code>Buffer</code> will be initialized by calling
<a href="#buffer_buf_fill_value_offset_end_encoding"><code>buf.fill(fill)</code></a>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.alloc(5, 'a');
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 61 61 61 61 61>
</code></pre>
<p>If both <code>fill</code> and <code>encoding</code> are specified, the allocated <code>Buffer</code> will be
initialized by calling <a href="#buffer_buf_fill_value_offset_end_encoding"><code>buf.fill(fill, encoding)</code></a>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.alloc(11, 'aGVsbG8gd29ybGQ=', 'base64');
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 68 65 6c 6c 6f 20 77 6f 72 6c 64>
</code></pre>
<p>Calling <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_alloc_size_fill_encoding"><code>Buffer.alloc()</code></a> can be measurably slower than the alternative
<a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code></a> but ensures that the newly created <code>Buffer</code> instance
contents will never contain sensitive data from previous allocations, including
data that might not have been allocated for <code>Buffer</code>s.</p>
<p>A <code>TypeError</code> will be thrown if <code>size</code> is not a number.</p>
<h3>Class Method: <code>Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size" id="buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v7.0.0</td>
<td><p>Passing a negative <code>size</code> will now throw an error.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v5.10.0</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v5.10.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>size</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The desired length of the new <code>Buffer</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Allocates a new <code>Buffer</code> of <code>size</code> bytes. If <code>size</code> is larger than
<a href="#buffer_buffer_constants_max_length"><code>buffer.constants.MAX_LENGTH</code></a> or smaller than 0, <a href="errors.html#ERR_INVALID_OPT_VALUE"><code>ERR_INVALID_OPT_VALUE</code></a>
is thrown.</p>
<p>The underlying memory for <code>Buffer</code> instances created in this way is <em>not
initialized</em>. The contents of the newly created <code>Buffer</code> are unknown and
<em>may contain sensitive data</em>. Use <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_alloc_size_fill_encoding"><code>Buffer.alloc()</code></a> instead to initialize
<code>Buffer</code> instances with zeroes.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(10);
console.log(buf);
// Prints (contents may vary): <Buffer a0 8b 28 3f 01 00 00 00 50 32>
buf.fill(0);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00>
</code></pre>
<p>A <code>TypeError</code> will be thrown if <code>size</code> is not a number.</p>
<p>The <code>Buffer</code> module pre-allocates an internal <code>Buffer</code> instance of
size <a href="#buffer_class_property_buffer_poolsize"><code>Buffer.poolSize</code></a> that is used as a pool for the fast allocation of new
<code>Buffer</code> instances created using <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code></a>,
<a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_array"><code>Buffer.from(array)</code></a>, and the deprecated <code>new Buffer(size)</code> constructor only
when <code>size</code> is less than or equal to <code>Buffer.poolSize >> 1</code> (floor of
<a href="#buffer_class_property_buffer_poolsize"><code>Buffer.poolSize</code></a> divided by two).</p>
<p>Use of this pre-allocated internal memory pool is a key difference between
calling <code>Buffer.alloc(size, fill)</code> vs. <code>Buffer.allocUnsafe(size).fill(fill)</code>.
Specifically, <code>Buffer.alloc(size, fill)</code> will <em>never</em> use the internal <code>Buffer</code>
pool, while <code>Buffer.allocUnsafe(size).fill(fill)</code> <em>will</em> use the internal
<code>Buffer</code> pool if <code>size</code> is less than or equal to half <a href="#buffer_class_property_buffer_poolsize"><code>Buffer.poolSize</code></a>. The
difference is subtle but can be important when an application requires the
additional performance that <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code></a> provides.</p>
<h3>Class Method: <code>Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow(size)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafeslow_size" id="buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafeslow_size">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v5.12.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>size</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The desired length of the new <code>Buffer</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Allocates a new <code>Buffer</code> of <code>size</code> bytes. If <code>size</code> is larger than
<a href="#buffer_buffer_constants_max_length"><code>buffer.constants.MAX_LENGTH</code></a> or smaller than 0, <a href="errors.html#ERR_INVALID_OPT_VALUE"><code>ERR_INVALID_OPT_VALUE</code></a>
is thrown. A zero-length <code>Buffer</code> is created if <code>size</code> is 0.</p>
<p>The underlying memory for <code>Buffer</code> instances created in this way is <em>not
initialized</em>. The contents of the newly created <code>Buffer</code> are unknown and
<em>may contain sensitive data</em>. Use <a href="#buffer_buf_fill_value_offset_end_encoding"><code>buf.fill(0)</code></a> to initialize
such <code>Buffer</code> instances with zeroes.</p>
<p>When using <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code></a> to allocate new <code>Buffer</code> instances,
allocations under 4KB are sliced from a single pre-allocated <code>Buffer</code>. This
allows applications to avoid the garbage collection overhead of creating many
individually allocated <code>Buffer</code> instances. This approach improves both
performance and memory usage by eliminating the need to track and clean up as
many individual <code>ArrayBuffer</code> objects.</p>
<p>However, in the case where a developer may need to retain a small chunk of
memory from a pool for an indeterminate amount of time, it may be appropriate
to create an un-pooled <code>Buffer</code> instance using <code>Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()</code> and
then copying out the relevant bits.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">// Need to keep around a few small chunks of memory.
const store = [];
socket.on('readable', () => {
let data;
while (null !== (data = readable.read())) {
// Allocate for retained data.
const sb = Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow(10);
// Copy the data into the new allocation.
data.copy(sb, 0, 0, 10);
store.push(sb);
}
});
</code></pre>
<p>A <code>TypeError</code> will be thrown if <code>size</code> is not a number.</p>
<h3>Class Method: <code>Buffer.byteLength(string[, encoding])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_bytelength_string_encoding" id="buffer_class_method_buffer_bytelength_string_encoding">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v7.0.0</td>
<td><p>Passing invalid input will now throw an error.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v5.10.0</td>
<td><p>The <code>string</code> parameter can now be any <code>TypedArray</code>, <code>DataView</code> or <code>ArrayBuffer</code>.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.1.90</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.1.90</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>string</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> | <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray" class="type"><TypedArray></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/DataView" class="type"><DataView></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/ArrayBuffer" class="type"><ArrayBuffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/SharedArrayBuffer" class="type"><SharedArrayBuffer></a> A
value to calculate the length of.</li>
<li><code>encoding</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> If <code>string</code> is a string, this is its encoding.
<strong>Default:</strong> <code>'utf8'</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The number of bytes contained within <code>string</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Returns the byte length of a string when encoded using <code>encoding</code>.
This is not the same as <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/String/length"><code>String.prototype.length</code></a>, which does not account
for the encoding that is used to convert the string into bytes.</p>
<p>For <code>'base64'</code> and <code>'hex'</code>, this function assumes valid input. For strings that
contain non-base64/hex-encoded data (e.g. whitespace), the return value might be
greater than the length of a <code>Buffer</code> created from the string.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const str = '\u00bd + \u00bc = \u00be';
console.log(`${str}: ${str.length} characters, ` +
`${Buffer.byteLength(str, 'utf8')} bytes`);
// Prints: ½ + ¼ = ¾: 9 characters, 12 bytes
</code></pre>
<p>When <code>string</code> is a <code>Buffer</code>/<a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/DataView"><code>DataView</code></a>/<a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray"><code>TypedArray</code></a>/<a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/ArrayBuffer"><code>ArrayBuffer</code></a>/
<a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/SharedArrayBuffer"><code>SharedArrayBuffer</code></a>, the byte length as reported by <code>.byteLength</code>
is returned.</p>
<h3>Class Method: <code>Buffer.compare(buf1, buf2)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_compare_buf1_buf2" id="buffer_class_method_buffer_compare_buf1_buf2">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v8.0.0</td>
<td><p>The arguments can now be <code>Uint8Array</code>s.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.11.13</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.11.13</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>buf1</code> <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array" class="type"><Uint8Array></a></li>
<li><code>buf2</code> <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array" class="type"><Uint8Array></a></li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Either <code>-1</code>, <code>0</code>, or <code>1</code>, depending on the result of the
comparison. See <a href="#buffer_buf_compare_target_targetstart_targetend_sourcestart_sourceend"><code>buf.compare()</code></a> for details.</li>
</ul>
<p>Compares <code>buf1</code> to <code>buf2</code>, typically for the purpose of sorting arrays of
<code>Buffer</code> instances. This is equivalent to calling
<a href="#buffer_buf_compare_target_targetstart_targetend_sourcestart_sourceend"><code>buf1.compare(buf2)</code></a>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf1 = Buffer.from('1234');
const buf2 = Buffer.from('0123');
const arr = [buf1, buf2];
console.log(arr.sort(Buffer.compare));
// Prints: [ <Buffer 30 31 32 33>, <Buffer 31 32 33 34> ]
// (This result is equal to: [buf2, buf1].)
</code></pre>
<h3>Class Method: <code>Buffer.concat(list[, totalLength])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_concat_list_totallength" id="buffer_class_method_buffer_concat_list_totallength">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v8.0.0</td>
<td><p>The elements of <code>list</code> can now be <code>Uint8Array</code>s.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.7.11</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.7.11</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>list</code> <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer[]></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array" class="type"><Uint8Array[]></a> List of <code>Buffer</code> or <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array"><code>Uint8Array</code></a>
instances to concatenate.</li>
<li><code>totalLength</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Total length of the <code>Buffer</code> instances in <code>list</code>
when concatenated.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Returns a new <code>Buffer</code> which is the result of concatenating all the <code>Buffer</code>
instances in the <code>list</code> together.</p>
<p>If the list has no items, or if the <code>totalLength</code> is 0, then a new zero-length
<code>Buffer</code> is returned.</p>
<p>If <code>totalLength</code> is not provided, it is calculated from the <code>Buffer</code> instances
in <code>list</code> by adding their lengths.</p>
<p>If <code>totalLength</code> is provided, it is coerced to an unsigned integer. If the
combined length of the <code>Buffer</code>s in <code>list</code> exceeds <code>totalLength</code>, the result is
truncated to <code>totalLength</code>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">// Create a single `Buffer` from a list of three `Buffer` instances.
const buf1 = Buffer.alloc(10);
const buf2 = Buffer.alloc(14);
const buf3 = Buffer.alloc(18);
const totalLength = buf1.length + buf2.length + buf3.length;
console.log(totalLength);
// Prints: 42
const bufA = Buffer.concat([buf1, buf2, buf3], totalLength);
console.log(bufA);
// Prints: <Buffer 00 00 00 00 ...>
console.log(bufA.length);
// Prints: 42
</code></pre>
<h3>Class Method: <code>Buffer.from(array)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_array" id="buffer_class_method_buffer_from_array">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v5.10.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>array</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer[]></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Allocates a new <code>Buffer</code> using an <code>array</code> of bytes in the range <code>0</code> – <code>255</code>.
Array entries outside that range will be truncated to fit into it.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">// Creates a new Buffer containing the UTF-8 bytes of the string 'buffer'.
const buf = Buffer.from([0x62, 0x75, 0x66, 0x66, 0x65, 0x72]);
</code></pre>
<p>A <code>TypeError</code> will be thrown if <code>array</code> is not an <code>Array</code> or another type
appropriate for <code>Buffer.from()</code> variants.</p>
<p><code>Buffer.from(array)</code> and <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_string_encoding"><code>Buffer.from(string)</code></a> may also use the internal
<code>Buffer</code> pool like <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code></a> does.</p>
<h3>Class Method: <code>Buffer.from(arrayBuffer[, byteOffset[, length]])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_arraybuffer_byteoffset_length" id="buffer_class_method_buffer_from_arraybuffer_byteoffset_length">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v5.10.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>arrayBuffer</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/ArrayBuffer" class="type"><ArrayBuffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/SharedArrayBuffer" class="type"><SharedArrayBuffer></a> An <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/ArrayBuffer"><code>ArrayBuffer</code></a>,
<a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/SharedArrayBuffer"><code>SharedArrayBuffer</code></a>, for example the <code>.buffer</code> property of a
<a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray"><code>TypedArray</code></a>.</li>
<li><code>byteOffset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Index of first byte to expose. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li><code>length</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to expose.
<strong>Default:</strong> <code>arrayBuffer.byteLength - byteOffset</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>This creates a view of the <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/ArrayBuffer"><code>ArrayBuffer</code></a> without copying the underlying
memory. For example, when passed a reference to the <code>.buffer</code> property of a
<a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray"><code>TypedArray</code></a> instance, the newly created <code>Buffer</code> will share the same
allocated memory as the <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray"><code>TypedArray</code></a>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const arr = new Uint16Array(2);
arr[0] = 5000;
arr[1] = 4000;
// Shares memory with `arr`.
const buf = Buffer.from(arr.buffer);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 88 13 a0 0f>
// Changing the original Uint16Array changes the Buffer also.
arr[1] = 6000;
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 88 13 70 17>
</code></pre>
<p>The optional <code>byteOffset</code> and <code>length</code> arguments specify a memory range within
the <code>arrayBuffer</code> that will be shared by the <code>Buffer</code>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const ab = new ArrayBuffer(10);
const buf = Buffer.from(ab, 0, 2);
console.log(buf.length);
// Prints: 2
</code></pre>
<p>A <code>TypeError</code> will be thrown if <code>arrayBuffer</code> is not an <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/ArrayBuffer"><code>ArrayBuffer</code></a> or a
<a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/SharedArrayBuffer"><code>SharedArrayBuffer</code></a> or another type appropriate for <code>Buffer.from()</code>
variants.</p>
<h3>Class Method: <code>Buffer.from(buffer)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_buffer" id="buffer_class_method_buffer_from_buffer">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v5.10.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>buffer</code> <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array" class="type"><Uint8Array></a> An existing <code>Buffer</code> or <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array"><code>Uint8Array</code></a> from
which to copy data.</li>
</ul>
<p>Copies the passed <code>buffer</code> data onto a new <code>Buffer</code> instance.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf1 = Buffer.from('buffer');
const buf2 = Buffer.from(buf1);
buf1[0] = 0x61;
console.log(buf1.toString());
// Prints: auffer
console.log(buf2.toString());
// Prints: buffer
</code></pre>
<p>A <code>TypeError</code> will be thrown if <code>buffer</code> is not a <code>Buffer</code> or another type
appropriate for <code>Buffer.from()</code> variants.</p>
<h3>Class Method: <code>Buffer.from(object[, offsetOrEncoding[, length]])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_object_offsetorencoding_length" id="buffer_class_method_buffer_from_object_offsetorencoding_length">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v8.2.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>object</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Object" class="type"><Object></a> An object supporting <code>Symbol.toPrimitive</code> or <code>valueOf()</code>.</li>
<li><code>offsetOrEncoding</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> A byte-offset or encoding.</li>
<li><code>length</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> A length.</li>
</ul>
<p>For objects whose <code>valueOf()</code> function returns a value not strictly equal to
<code>object</code>, returns <code>Buffer.from(object.valueOf(), offsetOrEncoding, length)</code>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from(new String('this is a test'));
// Prints: <Buffer 74 68 69 73 20 69 73 20 61 20 74 65 73 74>
</code></pre>
<p>For objects that support <code>Symbol.toPrimitive</code>, returns
<code>Buffer.from(object[Symbol.toPrimitive]('string'), offsetOrEncoding)</code>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">class Foo {
[Symbol.toPrimitive]() {
return 'this is a test';
}
}
const buf = Buffer.from(new Foo(), 'utf8');
// Prints: <Buffer 74 68 69 73 20 69 73 20 61 20 74 65 73 74>
</code></pre>
<p>A <code>TypeError</code> will be thrown if <code>object</code> does not have the mentioned methods or
is not of another type appropriate for <code>Buffer.from()</code> variants.</p>
<h3>Class Method: <code>Buffer.from(string[, encoding])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_string_encoding" id="buffer_class_method_buffer_from_string_encoding">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v5.10.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>string</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> A string to encode.</li>
<li><code>encoding</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> The encoding of <code>string</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>'utf8'</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Creates a new <code>Buffer</code> containing <code>string</code>. The <code>encoding</code> parameter identifies
the character encoding to be used when converting <code>string</code> into bytes.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf1 = Buffer.from('this is a tést');
const buf2 = Buffer.from('7468697320697320612074c3a97374', 'hex');
console.log(buf1.toString());
// Prints: this is a tést
console.log(buf2.toString());
// Prints: this is a tést
console.log(buf1.toString('latin1'));
// Prints: this is a tést
</code></pre>
<p>A <code>TypeError</code> will be thrown if <code>string</code> is not a string or another type
appropriate for <code>Buffer.from()</code> variants.</p>
<h3>Class Method: <code>Buffer.isBuffer(obj)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_isbuffer_obj" id="buffer_class_method_buffer_isbuffer_obj">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v0.1.101</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>obj</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Object" class="type"><Object></a></li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Boolean_type" class="type"><boolean></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Returns <code>true</code> if <code>obj</code> is a <code>Buffer</code>, <code>false</code> otherwise.</p>
<h3>Class Method: <code>Buffer.isEncoding(encoding)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_isencoding_encoding" id="buffer_class_method_buffer_isencoding_encoding">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v0.9.1</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>encoding</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> A character encoding name to check.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Boolean_type" class="type"><boolean></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Returns <code>true</code> if <code>encoding</code> is the name of a supported character encoding,
or <code>false</code> otherwise.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">console.log(Buffer.isEncoding('utf-8'));
// Prints: true
console.log(Buffer.isEncoding('hex'));
// Prints: true
console.log(Buffer.isEncoding('utf/8'));
// Prints: false
console.log(Buffer.isEncoding(''));
// Prints: false
</code></pre>
<h3>Class Property: <code>Buffer.poolSize</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_property_buffer_poolsize" id="buffer_class_property_buffer_poolsize">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v0.11.3</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> <strong>Default:</strong> <code>8192</code></li>
</ul>
<p>This is the size (in bytes) of pre-allocated internal <code>Buffer</code> instances used
for pooling. This value may be modified.</p>
<h3><code>buf[index]</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_index" id="buffer_buf_index">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>index</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The index operator <code>[index]</code> can be used to get and set the octet at position
<code>index</code> in <code>buf</code>. The values refer to individual bytes, so the legal value
range is between <code>0x00</code> and <code>0xFF</code> (hex) or <code>0</code> and <code>255</code> (decimal).</p>
<p>This operator is inherited from <code>Uint8Array</code>, so its behavior on out-of-bounds
access is the same as <code>Uint8Array</code>. In other words, <code>buf[index]</code> returns
<code>undefined</code> when <code>index</code> is negative or <code>>= buf.length</code>, and
<code>buf[index] = value</code> does not modify the buffer if <code>index</code> is negative or
<code>>= buf.length</code>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">// Copy an ASCII string into a `Buffer` one byte at a time.
// (This only works for ASCII-only strings. In general, one should use
// `Buffer.from()` to perform this conversion.)
const str = 'Node.js';
const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(str.length);
for (let i = 0; i < str.length; i++) {
buf[i] = str.charCodeAt(i);
}
console.log(buf.toString('utf8'));
// Prints: Node.js
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.buffer</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_buffer" id="buffer_buf_buffer">#</a></span></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/ArrayBuffer" class="type"><ArrayBuffer></a> The underlying <code>ArrayBuffer</code> object based on
which this <code>Buffer</code> object is created.</li>
</ul>
<p>This <code>ArrayBuffer</code> is not guaranteed to correspond exactly to the original
<code>Buffer</code>. See the notes on <code>buf.byteOffset</code> for details.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const arrayBuffer = new ArrayBuffer(16);
const buffer = Buffer.from(arrayBuffer);
console.log(buffer.buffer === arrayBuffer);
// Prints: true
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.byteOffset</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_byteoffset" id="buffer_buf_byteoffset">#</a></span></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The <code>byteOffset</code> on the underlying <code>ArrayBuffer</code> object based on
which this <code>Buffer</code> object is created.</li>
</ul>
<p>When setting <code>byteOffset</code> in <code>Buffer.from(ArrayBuffer, byteOffset, length)</code>,
or sometimes when allocating a buffer smaller than <code>Buffer.poolSize</code>, the
buffer doesn't start from a zero offset on the underlying <code>ArrayBuffer</code>.</p>
<p>This can cause problems when accessing the underlying <code>ArrayBuffer</code> directly
using <code>buf.buffer</code>, as other parts of the <code>ArrayBuffer</code> may be unrelated
to the <code>buf</code> object itself.</p>
<p>A common issue when creating a <code>TypedArray</code> object that shares its memory with
a <code>Buffer</code> is that in this case one needs to specify the <code>byteOffset</code> correctly:</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">// Create a buffer smaller than `Buffer.poolSize`.
const nodeBuffer = new Buffer.from([0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]);
// When casting the Node.js Buffer to an Int8Array, use the byteOffset
// to refer only to the part of `nodeBuffer.buffer` that contains the memory
// for `nodeBuffer`.
new Int8Array(nodeBuffer.buffer, nodeBuffer.byteOffset, nodeBuffer.length);
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.compare(target[, targetStart[, targetEnd[, sourceStart[, sourceEnd]]]])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_compare_target_targetstart_targetend_sourcestart_sourceend" id="buffer_buf_compare_target_targetstart_targetend_sourcestart_sourceend">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v8.0.0</td>
<td><p>The <code>target</code> parameter can now be a <code>Uint8Array</code>.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v5.11.0</td>
<td><p>Additional parameters for specifying offsets are supported now.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.11.13</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.11.13</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>target</code> <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array" class="type"><Uint8Array></a> A <code>Buffer</code> or <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array"><code>Uint8Array</code></a> with which to
compare <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li><code>targetStart</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The offset within <code>target</code> at which to begin
comparison. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li><code>targetEnd</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The offset within <code>target</code> at which to end comparison
(not inclusive). <strong>Default:</strong> <code>target.length</code>.</li>
<li><code>sourceStart</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The offset within <code>buf</code> at which to begin comparison.
<strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li><code>sourceEnd</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The offset within <code>buf</code> at which to end comparison
(not inclusive). <strong>Default:</strong> <a href="#buffer_buf_length"><code>buf.length</code></a>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Compares <code>buf</code> with <code>target</code> and returns a number indicating whether <code>buf</code>
comes before, after, or is the same as <code>target</code> in sort order.
Comparison is based on the actual sequence of bytes in each <code>Buffer</code>.</p>
<ul>
<li><code>0</code> is returned if <code>target</code> is the same as <code>buf</code></li>
<li><code>1</code> is returned if <code>target</code> should come <em>before</em> <code>buf</code> when sorted.</li>
<li><code>-1</code> is returned if <code>target</code> should come <em>after</em> <code>buf</code> when sorted.</li>
</ul>
<pre><code class="language-js">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].)
</code></pre>
<p>The optional <code>targetStart</code>, <code>targetEnd</code>, <code>sourceStart</code>, and <code>sourceEnd</code>
arguments can be used to limit the comparison to specific ranges within <code>target</code>
and <code>buf</code> respectively.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">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
</code></pre>
<p><a href="errors.html#ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE"><code>ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE</code></a> is thrown if <code>targetStart < 0</code>, <code>sourceStart < 0</code>,
<code>targetEnd > target.byteLength</code>, or <code>sourceEnd > source.byteLength</code>.</p>
<h3><code>buf.copy(target[, targetStart[, sourceStart[, sourceEnd]]])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_copy_target_targetstart_sourcestart_sourceend" id="buffer_buf_copy_target_targetstart_sourcestart_sourceend">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v0.1.90</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>target</code> <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array" class="type"><Uint8Array></a> A <code>Buffer</code> or <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array"><code>Uint8Array</code></a> to copy into.</li>
<li><code>targetStart</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The offset within <code>target</code> at which to begin
writing. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li><code>sourceStart</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The offset within <code>buf</code> from which to begin copying.
<strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li><code>sourceEnd</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The offset within <code>buf</code> at which to stop copying (not
inclusive). <strong>Default:</strong> <a href="#buffer_buf_length"><code>buf.length</code></a>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The number of bytes copied.</li>
</ul>
<p>Copies data from a region of <code>buf</code> to a region in <code>target</code>, even if the <code>target</code>
memory region overlaps with <code>buf</code>.</p>
<p><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray/set"><code>TypedArray#set()</code></a> performs the same operation, and is available for all
TypedArrays, including Node.js <code>Buffer</code>s, although it takes different
function arguments.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">// 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!!!!!!!!!!!!!
</code></pre>
<pre><code class="language-js">// 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
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.entries()</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_entries" id="buffer_buf_entries">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v1.1.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Iteration_protocols#The_iterator_protocol" class="type"><Iterator></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Creates and returns an <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Iteration_protocols">iterator</a> of <code>[index, byte]</code> pairs from the contents
of <code>buf</code>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">// 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]
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.equals(otherBuffer)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_equals_otherbuffer" id="buffer_buf_equals_otherbuffer">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v8.0.0</td>
<td><p>The arguments can now be <code>Uint8Array</code>s.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.11.13</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.11.13</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>otherBuffer</code> <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array" class="type"><Uint8Array></a> A <code>Buffer</code> or <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array"><code>Uint8Array</code></a> with which to
compare <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Boolean_type" class="type"><boolean></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Returns <code>true</code> if both <code>buf</code> and <code>otherBuffer</code> have exactly the same bytes,
<code>false</code> otherwise. Equivalent to
<a href="#buffer_buf_compare_target_targetstart_targetend_sourcestart_sourceend"><code>buf.compare(otherBuffer) === 0</code></a>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">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
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.fill(value[, offset[, end]][, encoding])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_fill_value_offset_end_encoding" id="buffer_buf_fill_value_offset_end_encoding">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v11.0.0</td>
<td><p>Throws <code>ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE</code> instead of <code>ERR_INDEX_OUT_OF_RANGE</code>.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Negative <code>end</code> values throw an <code>ERR_INDEX_OUT_OF_RANGE</code> error.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Attempting to fill a non-zero length buffer with a zero length buffer triggers a thrown exception.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Specifying an invalid string for <code>value</code> triggers a thrown exception.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v5.7.0</td>
<td><p>The <code>encoding</code> parameter is supported now.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.5.0</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.5.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> | <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array" class="type"><Uint8Array></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The value with which to fill <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to fill <code>buf</code>.
<strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li><code>end</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Where to stop filling <code>buf</code> (not inclusive). <strong>Default:</strong>
<a href="#buffer_buf_length"><code>buf.length</code></a>.</li>
<li><code>encoding</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> The encoding for <code>value</code> if <code>value</code> is a string.
<strong>Default:</strong> <code>'utf8'</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> A reference to <code>buf</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Fills <code>buf</code> with the specified <code>value</code>. If the <code>offset</code> and <code>end</code> are not given,
the entire <code>buf</code> will be filled:</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">// Fill a `Buffer` with the ASCII character 'h'.
const b = Buffer.allocUnsafe(50).fill('h');
console.log(b.toString());
// Prints: hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
</code></pre>
<p><code>value</code> is coerced to a <code>uint32</code> value if it is not a string, <code>Buffer</code>, or
integer. If the resulting integer is greater than <code>255</code> (decimal), <code>buf</code> will be
filled with <code>value & 255</code>.</p>
<p>If the final write of a <code>fill()</code> operation falls on a multi-byte character,
then only the bytes of that character that fit into <code>buf</code> are written:</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">// 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>
</code></pre>
<p>If <code>value</code> contains invalid characters, it is truncated; if no valid
fill data remains, an exception is thrown:</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">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.
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.includes(value[, byteOffset][, encoding])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_includes_value_byteoffset_encoding" id="buffer_buf_includes_value_byteoffset_encoding">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v5.3.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> | <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array" class="type"><Uint8Array></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> What to search for.</li>
<li><code>byteOffset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Where to begin searching in <code>buf</code>. If negative, then
offset is calculated from the end of <code>buf</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li><code>encoding</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> If <code>value</code> is a string, this is its encoding.
<strong>Default:</strong> <code>'utf8'</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Boolean_type" class="type"><boolean></a> <code>true</code> if <code>value</code> was found in <code>buf</code>, <code>false</code> otherwise.</li>
</ul>
<p>Equivalent to <a href="#buffer_buf_indexof_value_byteoffset_encoding"><code>buf.indexOf() !== -1</code></a>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">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
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.indexOf(value[, byteOffset][, encoding])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_indexof_value_byteoffset_encoding" id="buffer_buf_indexof_value_byteoffset_encoding">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v8.0.0</td>
<td><p>The <code>value</code> can now be a <code>Uint8Array</code>.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v5.7.0, v4.4.0</td>
<td><p>When <code>encoding</code> is being passed, the <code>byteOffset</code> parameter is no longer required.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v1.5.0</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v1.5.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> | <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array" class="type"><Uint8Array></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> What to search for.</li>
<li><code>byteOffset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Where to begin searching in <code>buf</code>. If negative, then
offset is calculated from the end of <code>buf</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li><code>encoding</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> If <code>value</code> is a string, this is the encoding used to
determine the binary representation of the string that will be searched for in
<code>buf</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>'utf8'</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The index of the first occurrence of <code>value</code> in <code>buf</code>, or
<code>-1</code> if <code>buf</code> does not contain <code>value</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>If <code>value</code> is:</p>
<ul>
<li>a string, <code>value</code> is interpreted according to the character encoding in
<code>encoding</code>.</li>
<li>a <code>Buffer</code> or <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array"><code>Uint8Array</code></a>, <code>value</code> will be used in its entirety.
To compare a partial <code>Buffer</code>, use <a href="#buffer_buf_slice_start_end"><code>buf.slice()</code></a>.</li>
<li>a number, <code>value</code> will be interpreted as an unsigned 8-bit integer
value between <code>0</code> and <code>255</code>.</li>
</ul>
<pre><code class="language-js">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
</code></pre>
<p>If <code>value</code> is not a string, number, or <code>Buffer</code>, this method will throw a
<code>TypeError</code>. If <code>value</code> is a number, it will be coerced to a valid byte value,
an integer between 0 and 255.</p>
<p>If <code>byteOffset</code> is not a number, it will be coerced to a number. If the result
of coercion is <code>NaN</code> or <code>0</code>, then the entire buffer will be searched. This
behavior matches <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/String/indexOf"><code>String#indexOf()</code></a>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">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', []));
</code></pre>
<p>If <code>value</code> is an empty string or empty <code>Buffer</code> and <code>byteOffset</code> is less
than <code>buf.length</code>, <code>byteOffset</code> will be returned. If <code>value</code> is empty and
<code>byteOffset</code> is at least <code>buf.length</code>, <code>buf.length</code> will be returned.</p>
<h3><code>buf.keys()</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_keys" id="buffer_buf_keys">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v1.1.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Iteration_protocols#The_iterator_protocol" class="type"><Iterator></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Creates and returns an <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Iteration_protocols">iterator</a> of <code>buf</code> keys (indices).</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from('buffer');
for (const key of buf.keys()) {
console.log(key);
}
// Prints:
// 0
// 1
// 2
// 3
// 4
// 5
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.lastIndexOf(value[, byteOffset][, encoding])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_lastindexof_value_byteoffset_encoding" id="buffer_buf_lastindexof_value_byteoffset_encoding">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v8.0.0</td>
<td><p>The <code>value</code> can now be a <code>Uint8Array</code>.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v6.0.0</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v6.0.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> | <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array" class="type"><Uint8Array></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> What to search for.</li>
<li><code>byteOffset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Where to begin searching in <code>buf</code>. If negative, then
offset is calculated from the end of <code>buf</code>. <strong>Default:</strong>
<code>buf.length - 1</code>.</li>
<li><code>encoding</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> If <code>value</code> is a string, this is the encoding used to
determine the binary representation of the string that will be searched for in
<code>buf</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>'utf8'</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The index of the last occurrence of <code>value</code> in <code>buf</code>, or
<code>-1</code> if <code>buf</code> does not contain <code>value</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Identical to <a href="#buffer_buf_indexof_value_byteoffset_encoding"><code>buf.indexOf()</code></a>, except the last occurrence of <code>value</code> is found
rather than the first occurrence.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">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
</code></pre>
<p>If <code>value</code> is not a string, number, or <code>Buffer</code>, this method will throw a
<code>TypeError</code>. If <code>value</code> is a number, it will be coerced to a valid byte value,
an integer between 0 and 255.</p>
<p>If <code>byteOffset</code> is not a number, it will be coerced to a number. Any arguments
that coerce to <code>NaN</code>, like <code>{}</code> or <code>undefined</code>, will search the whole buffer.
This behavior matches <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/String/lastIndexOf"><code>String#lastIndexOf()</code></a>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">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', []));
</code></pre>
<p>If <code>value</code> is an empty string or empty <code>Buffer</code>, <code>byteOffset</code> will be returned.</p>
<h3><code>buf.length</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_length" id="buffer_buf_length">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v0.1.90</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Returns the number of bytes in <code>buf</code>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">// Create a `Buffer` and write a shorter string to it using UTF-8.
const buf = Buffer.alloc(1234);
console.log(buf.length);
// Prints: 1234
buf.write('some string', 0, 'utf8');
console.log(buf.length);
// Prints: 1234
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.parent</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_parent" id="buffer_buf_parent">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Deprecated since: v8.0.0</span>
</div>
<p></p><div class="api_stability api_stability_0"><a href="documentation.html#documentation_stability_index">Stability: 0</a> - Deprecated: Use <a href="#buffer_buf_buffer"><code>buf.buffer</code></a> instead.</div><p></p>
<p>The <code>buf.parent</code> property is a deprecated alias for <code>buf.buffer</code>.</p>
<h3><code>buf.readBigInt64BE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readbigint64be_offset" id="buffer_buf_readbigint64be_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.readBigInt64LE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readbigint64le_offset" id="buffer_buf_readbigint64le_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v12.0.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to read. Must
satisfy: <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 8</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/BigInt" class="type"><bigint></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Reads a signed 64-bit integer from <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with
the specified <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a> (<code>readBigInt64BE()</code> reads as big endian,
<code>readBigInt64LE()</code> reads as little endian).</p>
<p>Integers read from a <code>Buffer</code> are interpreted as two's complement signed values.</p>
<h3><code>buf.readBigUInt64BE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readbiguint64be_offset" id="buffer_buf_readbiguint64be_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.readBigUInt64LE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readbiguint64le_offset" id="buffer_buf_readbiguint64le_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v12.0.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to read. Must
satisfy: <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 8</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/BigInt" class="type"><bigint></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Reads an unsigned 64-bit integer from <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with
the specified <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a> (<code>readBigUInt64BE()</code> reads as big endian,
<code>readBigUInt64LE()</code> reads as little endian).</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from([0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff]);
console.log(buf.readBigUInt64BE(0));
// Prints: 4294967295n
console.log(buf.readBigUInt64LE(0));
// Prints: 18446744069414584320n
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.readDoubleBE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readdoublebe_offset" id="buffer_buf_readdoublebe_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.readDoubleLE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readdoublele_offset" id="buffer_buf_readdoublele_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.11.15</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.11.15</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to read. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 8</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><number></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Reads a 64-bit double from <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with the specified
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a> (<code>readDoubleBE()</code> reads as big endian, <code>readDoubleLE()</code> reads as
little endian).</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from([1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]);
console.log(buf.readDoubleBE(0));
// Prints: 8.20788039913184e-304
console.log(buf.readDoubleLE(0));
// Prints: 5.447603722011605e-270
console.log(buf.readDoubleLE(1));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.readFloatBE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readfloatbe_offset" id="buffer_buf_readfloatbe_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.readFloatLE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readfloatle_offset" id="buffer_buf_readfloatle_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.11.15</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.11.15</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to read. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 4</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><number></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Reads a 32-bit float from <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with the specified
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a> (<code>readFloatBE()</code> reads as big endian, <code>readFloatLE()</code> reads as
little endian).</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from([1, 2, 3, 4]);
console.log(buf.readFloatBE(0));
// Prints: 2.387939260590663e-38
console.log(buf.readFloatLE(0));
// Prints: 1.539989614439558e-36
console.log(buf.readFloatLE(1));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.readInt8([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readint8_offset" id="buffer_buf_readint8_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.5.0</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.5.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to read. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 1</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Reads a signed 8-bit integer from <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code>.</p>
<p>Integers read from a <code>Buffer</code> are interpreted as two's complement signed values.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">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.
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.readInt16BE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readint16be_offset" id="buffer_buf_readint16be_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.readInt16LE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readint16le_offset" id="buffer_buf_readint16le_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.5.5</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.5.5</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to read. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 2</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Reads a signed 16-bit integer from <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with
the specified <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a> (<code>readInt16BE()</code> reads as big endian,
<code>readInt16LE()</code> reads as little endian).</p>
<p>Integers read from a <code>Buffer</code> are interpreted as two's complement signed values.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from([0, 5]);
console.log(buf.readInt16BE(0));
// Prints: 5
console.log(buf.readInt16LE(0));
// Prints: 1280
console.log(buf.readInt16LE(1));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.readInt32BE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readint32be_offset" id="buffer_buf_readint32be_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.readInt32LE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readint32le_offset" id="buffer_buf_readint32le_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.5.5</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.5.5</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to read. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 4</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Reads a signed 32-bit integer from <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with
the specified <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a> (<code>readInt32BE()</code> reads as big endian,
<code>readInt32LE()</code> reads as little endian).</p>
<p>Integers read from a <code>Buffer</code> are interpreted as two's complement signed values.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from([0, 0, 0, 5]);
console.log(buf.readInt32BE(0));
// Prints: 5
console.log(buf.readInt32LE(0));
// Prints: 83886080
console.log(buf.readInt32LE(1));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.readIntBE(offset, byteLength)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readintbe_offset_bytelength" id="buffer_buf_readintbe_offset_bytelength">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.readIntLE(offset, byteLength)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readintle_offset_bytelength" id="buffer_buf_readintle_offset_bytelength">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset and <code>byteLength</code> to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.11.15</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.11.15</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to read. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - byteLength</code>.</li>
<li><code>byteLength</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to read. Must satisfy
<code>0 < byteLength <= 6</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Reads <code>byteLength</code> number of bytes from <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code>
and interprets the result as a two's complement signed value. Supports up to 48
bits of accuracy.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from([0x12, 0x34, 0x56, 0x78, 0x90, 0xab]);
console.log(buf.readIntLE(0, 6).toString(16));
// Prints: -546f87a9cbee
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.
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.readUInt8([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readuint8_offset" id="buffer_buf_readuint8_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.5.0</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.5.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to read. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 1</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Reads an unsigned 8-bit integer from <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from([1, -2]);
console.log(buf.readUInt8(0));
// Prints: 1
console.log(buf.readUInt8(1));
// Prints: 254
console.log(buf.readUInt8(2));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.readUInt16BE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readuint16be_offset" id="buffer_buf_readuint16be_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.readUInt16LE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readuint16le_offset" id="buffer_buf_readuint16le_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.5.5</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.5.5</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to read. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 2</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Reads an unsigned 16-bit integer from <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with
the specified <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a> (<code>readUInt16BE()</code> reads as big endian, <code>readUInt16LE()</code>
reads as little endian).</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from([0x12, 0x34, 0x56]);
console.log(buf.readUInt16BE(0).toString(16));
// Prints: 1234
console.log(buf.readUInt16LE(0).toString(16));
// Prints: 3412
console.log(buf.readUInt16BE(1).toString(16));
// Prints: 3456
console.log(buf.readUInt16LE(1).toString(16));
// Prints: 5634
console.log(buf.readUInt16LE(2).toString(16));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.readUInt32BE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readuint32be_offset" id="buffer_buf_readuint32be_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.readUInt32LE([offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readuint32le_offset" id="buffer_buf_readuint32le_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.5.5</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.5.5</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to read. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 4</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Reads an unsigned 32-bit integer from <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with
the specified <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a> (<code>readUInt32BE()</code> reads as big endian,
<code>readUInt32LE()</code> reads as little endian).</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from([0x12, 0x34, 0x56, 0x78]);
console.log(buf.readUInt32BE(0).toString(16));
// Prints: 12345678
console.log(buf.readUInt32LE(0).toString(16));
// Prints: 78563412
console.log(buf.readUInt32LE(1).toString(16));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.readUIntBE(offset, byteLength)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readuintbe_offset_bytelength" id="buffer_buf_readuintbe_offset_bytelength">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.readUIntLE(offset, byteLength)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_readuintle_offset_bytelength" id="buffer_buf_readuintle_offset_bytelength">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset and <code>byteLength</code> to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.11.15</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.11.15</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to read. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - byteLength</code>.</li>
<li><code>byteLength</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to read. Must satisfy
<code>0 < byteLength <= 6</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Reads <code>byteLength</code> number of bytes from <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code>
and interprets the result as an unsigned integer. Supports up to 48
bits of accuracy.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from([0x12, 0x34, 0x56, 0x78, 0x90, 0xab]);
console.log(buf.readUIntBE(0, 6).toString(16));
// Prints: 1234567890ab
console.log(buf.readUIntLE(0, 6).toString(16));
// Prints: ab9078563412
console.log(buf.readUIntBE(1, 6).toString(16));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.subarray([start[, end]])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_subarray_start_end" id="buffer_buf_subarray_start_end">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v3.0.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>start</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Where the new <code>Buffer</code> will start. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li><code>end</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Where the new <code>Buffer</code> will end (not inclusive).
<strong>Default:</strong> <a href="#buffer_buf_length"><code>buf.length</code></a>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Returns a new <code>Buffer</code> that references the same memory as the original, but
offset and cropped by the <code>start</code> and <code>end</code> indices.</p>
<p>Specifying <code>end</code> greater than <a href="#buffer_buf_length"><code>buf.length</code></a> will return the same result as
that of <code>end</code> equal to <a href="#buffer_buf_length"><code>buf.length</code></a>.</p>
<p>This method is inherited from <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray/subarray"><code>TypedArray#subarray()</code></a>.</p>
<p>Modifying the new <code>Buffer</code> slice will modify the memory in the original <code>Buffer</code>
because the allocated memory of the two objects overlap.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">// Create a `Buffer` with the ASCII alphabet, take a slice, and modify one byte
// from the original `Buffer`.
const buf1 = Buffer.allocUnsafe(26);
for (let i = 0; i < 26; i++) {
// 97 is the decimal ASCII value for 'a'.
buf1[i] = i + 97;
}
const buf2 = buf1.subarray(0, 3);
console.log(buf2.toString('ascii', 0, buf2.length));
// Prints: abc
buf1[0] = 33;
console.log(buf2.toString('ascii', 0, buf2.length));
// Prints: !bc
</code></pre>
<p>Specifying negative indexes causes the slice to be generated relative to the
end of <code>buf</code> rather than the beginning.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from('buffer');
console.log(buf.subarray(-6, -1).toString());
// Prints: buffe
// (Equivalent to buf.subarray(0, 5).)
console.log(buf.subarray(-6, -2).toString());
// Prints: buff
// (Equivalent to buf.subarray(0, 4).)
console.log(buf.subarray(-5, -2).toString());
// Prints: uff
// (Equivalent to buf.subarray(1, 4).)
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.slice([start[, end]])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_slice_start_end" id="buffer_buf_slice_start_end">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v7.1.0, v6.9.2</td>
<td><p>Coercing the offsets to integers now handles values outside the 32-bit integer range properly.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v7.0.0</td>
<td><p>All offsets are now coerced to integers before doing any calculations with them.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.3.0</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.3.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>start</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Where the new <code>Buffer</code> will start. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li><code>end</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Where the new <code>Buffer</code> will end (not inclusive).
<strong>Default:</strong> <a href="#buffer_buf_length"><code>buf.length</code></a>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Returns a new <code>Buffer</code> that references the same memory as the original, but
offset and cropped by the <code>start</code> and <code>end</code> indices.</p>
<p>This is the same behavior as <code>buf.subarray()</code>.</p>
<p>This method is not compatible with the <code>Uint8Array.prototype.slice()</code>,
which is a superclass of <code>Buffer</code>. To copy the slice, use
<code>Uint8Array.prototype.slice()</code>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from('buffer');
const copiedBuf = Uint8Array.prototype.slice.call(buf);
copiedBuf[0]++;
console.log(copiedBuf.toString());
// Prints: cuffer
console.log(buf.toString());
// Prints: buffer
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.swap16()</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_swap16" id="buffer_buf_swap16">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v5.10.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Returns: <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> A reference to <code>buf</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Interprets <code>buf</code> as an array of unsigned 16-bit integers and swaps the
byte order <em>in-place</em>. Throws <a href="errors.html#ERR_INVALID_BUFFER_SIZE"><code>ERR_INVALID_BUFFER_SIZE</code></a> if <a href="#buffer_buf_length"><code>buf.length</code></a>
is not a multiple of 2.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf1 = Buffer.from([0x1, 0x2, 0x3, 0x4, 0x5, 0x6, 0x7, 0x8]);
console.log(buf1);
// Prints: <Buffer 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08>
buf1.swap16();
console.log(buf1);
// Prints: <Buffer 02 01 04 03 06 05 08 07>
const buf2 = Buffer.from([0x1, 0x2, 0x3]);
buf2.swap16();
// Throws ERR_INVALID_BUFFER_SIZE.
</code></pre>
<p>One convenient use of <code>buf.swap16()</code> is to perform a fast in-place conversion
between UTF-16 little-endian and UTF-16 big-endian:</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from('This is little-endian UTF-16', 'utf16le');
buf.swap16(); // Convert to big-endian UTF-16 text.
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.swap32()</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_swap32" id="buffer_buf_swap32">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v5.10.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Returns: <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> A reference to <code>buf</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Interprets <code>buf</code> as an array of unsigned 32-bit integers and swaps the
byte order <em>in-place</em>. Throws <a href="errors.html#ERR_INVALID_BUFFER_SIZE"><code>ERR_INVALID_BUFFER_SIZE</code></a> if <a href="#buffer_buf_length"><code>buf.length</code></a>
is not a multiple of 4.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf1 = Buffer.from([0x1, 0x2, 0x3, 0x4, 0x5, 0x6, 0x7, 0x8]);
console.log(buf1);
// Prints: <Buffer 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08>
buf1.swap32();
console.log(buf1);
// Prints: <Buffer 04 03 02 01 08 07 06 05>
const buf2 = Buffer.from([0x1, 0x2, 0x3]);
buf2.swap32();
// Throws ERR_INVALID_BUFFER_SIZE.
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.swap64()</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_swap64" id="buffer_buf_swap64">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v6.3.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Returns: <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> A reference to <code>buf</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Interprets <code>buf</code> as an array of 64-bit numbers and swaps byte order <em>in-place</em>.
Throws <a href="errors.html#ERR_INVALID_BUFFER_SIZE"><code>ERR_INVALID_BUFFER_SIZE</code></a> if <a href="#buffer_buf_length"><code>buf.length</code></a> is not a multiple of 8.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf1 = Buffer.from([0x1, 0x2, 0x3, 0x4, 0x5, 0x6, 0x7, 0x8]);
console.log(buf1);
// Prints: <Buffer 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08>
buf1.swap64();
console.log(buf1);
// Prints: <Buffer 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01>
const buf2 = Buffer.from([0x1, 0x2, 0x3]);
buf2.swap64();
// Throws ERR_INVALID_BUFFER_SIZE.
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.toJSON()</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_tojson" id="buffer_buf_tojson">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v0.9.2</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Object" class="type"><Object></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Returns a JSON representation of <code>buf</code>. <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/JSON/stringify"><code>JSON.stringify()</code></a> implicitly calls
this function when stringifying a <code>Buffer</code> instance.</p>
<p><code>Buffer.from()</code> accepts objects in the format returned from this method.
In particular, <code>Buffer.from(buf.toJSON())</code> works like <code>Buffer.from(buf)</code>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from([0x1, 0x2, 0x3, 0x4, 0x5]);
const json = JSON.stringify(buf);
console.log(json);
// Prints: {"type":"Buffer","data":[1,2,3,4,5]}
const copy = JSON.parse(json, (key, value) => {
return value && value.type === 'Buffer' ?
Buffer.from(value) :
value;
});
console.log(copy);
// Prints: <Buffer 01 02 03 04 05>
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.toString([encoding[, start[, end]]])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_tostring_encoding_start_end" id="buffer_buf_tostring_encoding_start_end">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v0.1.90</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>encoding</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> The character encoding to use. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>'utf8'</code>.</li>
<li><code>start</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The byte offset to start decoding at. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li><code>end</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The byte offset to stop decoding at (not inclusive).
<strong>Default:</strong> <a href="#buffer_buf_length"><code>buf.length</code></a>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Decodes <code>buf</code> to a string according to the specified character encoding in
<code>encoding</code>. <code>start</code> and <code>end</code> may be passed to decode only a subset of <code>buf</code>.</p>
<p>If <code>encoding</code> is <code>'utf8'</code> and a byte sequence in the input is not valid UTF-8,
then each invalid byte is replaced with the replacement character <code>U+FFFD</code>.</p>
<p>The maximum length of a string instance (in UTF-16 code units) is available
as <a href="#buffer_buffer_constants_max_string_length"><code>buffer.constants.MAX_STRING_LENGTH</code></a>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf1 = Buffer.allocUnsafe(26);
for (let i = 0; i < 26; i++) {
// 97 is the decimal ASCII value for 'a'.
buf1[i] = i + 97;
}
console.log(buf1.toString('utf8'));
// Prints: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
console.log(buf1.toString('utf8', 0, 5));
// Prints: abcde
const buf2 = Buffer.from('tést');
console.log(buf2.toString('hex'));
// Prints: 74c3a97374
console.log(buf2.toString('utf8', 0, 3));
// Prints: té
console.log(buf2.toString(undefined, 0, 3));
// Prints: té
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.values()</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_values" id="buffer_buf_values">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v1.1.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Iteration_protocols#The_iterator_protocol" class="type"><Iterator></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Creates and returns an <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Iteration_protocols">iterator</a> for <code>buf</code> values (bytes). This function is
called automatically when a <code>Buffer</code> is used in a <code>for..of</code> statement.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.from('buffer');
for (const value of buf.values()) {
console.log(value);
}
// Prints:
// 98
// 117
// 102
// 102
// 101
// 114
for (const value of buf) {
console.log(value);
}
// Prints:
// 98
// 117
// 102
// 102
// 101
// 114
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.write(string[, offset[, length]][, encoding])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_write_string_offset_length_encoding" id="buffer_buf_write_string_offset_length_encoding">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v0.1.90</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>string</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> String to write to <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to write <code>string</code>.
<strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li><code>length</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Maximum number of bytes to write (written bytes will not
exceed <code>buf.length - offset</code>). <strong>Default:</strong> <code>buf.length - offset</code>.</li>
<li><code>encoding</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> The character encoding of <code>string</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>'utf8'</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes written.</li>
</ul>
<p>Writes <code>string</code> to <code>buf</code> at <code>offset</code> according to the character encoding in
<code>encoding</code>. The <code>length</code> parameter is the number of bytes to write. If <code>buf</code> did
not contain enough space to fit the entire string, only part of <code>string</code> will be
written. However, partially encoded characters will not be written.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.alloc(256);
const len = buf.write('\u00bd + \u00bc = \u00be', 0);
console.log(`${len} bytes: ${buf.toString('utf8', 0, len)}`);
// Prints: 12 bytes: ½ + ¼ = ¾
const buffer = Buffer.alloc(10);
const length = buffer.write('abcd', 8);
console.log(`${length} bytes: ${buffer.toString('utf8', 8, 10)}`);
// Prints: 2 bytes : ab
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.writeBigInt64BE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writebigint64be_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writebigint64be_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.writeBigInt64LE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writebigint64le_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writebigint64le_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v12.0.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/BigInt" class="type"><bigint></a> Number to be written to <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to write. Must
satisfy: <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 8</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> <code>offset</code> plus the number of bytes written.</li>
</ul>
<p>Writes <code>value</code> to <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with the specified
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a> (<code>writeBigInt64BE()</code> writes as big endian, <code>writeBigInt64LE()</code>
writes as little endian).</p>
<p><code>value</code> is interpreted and written as a two's complement signed integer.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(8);
buf.writeBigInt64BE(0x0102030405060708n, 0);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08>
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.writeBigUInt64BE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writebiguint64be_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writebiguint64be_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.writeBigUInt64LE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writebiguint64le_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writebiguint64le_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v12.0.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/BigInt" class="type"><bigint></a> Number to be written to <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to write. Must
satisfy: <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 8</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> <code>offset</code> plus the number of bytes written.</li>
</ul>
<p>Writes <code>value</code> to <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with specified <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a>
(<code>writeBigUInt64BE()</code> writes as big endian, <code>writeBigUInt64LE()</code> writes as
little endian).</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(8);
buf.writeBigUInt64LE(0xdecafafecacefaden, 0);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer de fa ce ca fe fa ca de>
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.writeDoubleBE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writedoublebe_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writedoublebe_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.writeDoubleLE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writedoublele_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writedoublele_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.11.15</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.11.15</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><number></a> Number to be written to <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to write. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 8</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> <code>offset</code> plus the number of bytes written.</li>
</ul>
<p>Writes <code>value</code> to <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with the specified
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a> (<code>writeDoubleBE()</code> writes as big endian, <code>writeDoubleLE()</code> writes
as little endian). <code>value</code> must be a JavaScript number. Behavior is undefined
when <code>value</code> is anything other than a JavaScript number.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(8);
buf.writeDoubleBE(123.456, 0);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 40 5e dd 2f 1a 9f be 77>
buf.writeDoubleLE(123.456, 0);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 77 be 9f 1a 2f dd 5e 40>
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.writeFloatBE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writefloatbe_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writefloatbe_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.writeFloatLE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writefloatle_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writefloatle_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.11.15</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.11.15</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><number></a> Number to be written to <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to write. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 4</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> <code>offset</code> plus the number of bytes written.</li>
</ul>
<p>Writes <code>value</code> to <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with specified <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a>
(<code>writeFloatBE()</code> writes as big endian, <code>writeFloatLE()</code> writes as little
endian). <code>value</code> must be a JavaScript number. Behavior is undefined when
<code>value</code> is anything other than a JavaScript number.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(4);
buf.writeFloatBE(0xcafebabe, 0);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 4f 4a fe bb>
buf.writeFloatLE(0xcafebabe, 0);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer bb fe 4a 4f>
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.writeInt8(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writeint8_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writeint8_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.5.0</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.5.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number to be written to <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to write. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 1</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> <code>offset</code> plus the number of bytes written.</li>
</ul>
<p>Writes <code>value</code> to <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code>. <code>value</code> must be a valid
signed 8-bit integer. Behavior is undefined when <code>value</code> is anything other than
a signed 8-bit integer.</p>
<p><code>value</code> is interpreted and written as a two's complement signed integer.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(2);
buf.writeInt8(2, 0);
buf.writeInt8(-2, 1);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 02 fe>
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.writeInt16BE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writeint16be_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writeint16be_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.writeInt16LE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writeint16le_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writeint16le_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.5.5</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.5.5</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number to be written to <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to write. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 2</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> <code>offset</code> plus the number of bytes written.</li>
</ul>
<p>Writes <code>value</code> to <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with the specified
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a> (<code>writeInt16BE()</code> writes as big endian, <code>writeInt16LE()</code> writes
as little endian). <code>value</code> must be a valid signed 16-bit integer. Behavior is
undefined when <code>value</code> is anything other than a signed 16-bit integer.</p>
<p><code>value</code> is interpreted and written as a two's complement signed integer.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(4);
buf.writeInt16BE(0x0102, 0);
buf.writeInt16LE(0x0304, 2);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 01 02 04 03>
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.writeInt32BE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writeint32be_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writeint32be_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.writeInt32LE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writeint32le_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writeint32le_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.5.5</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.5.5</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number to be written to <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to write. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 4</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> <code>offset</code> plus the number of bytes written.</li>
</ul>
<p>Writes <code>value</code> to <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with the specified
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a> (<code>writeInt32BE()</code> writes aS big endian, <code>writeInt32LE()</code> writes
as little endian). <code>value</code> must be a valid signed 32-bit integer. Behavior is
undefined when <code>value</code> is anything other than a signed 32-bit integer.</p>
<p><code>value</code> is interpreted and written as a two's complement signed integer.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(8);
buf.writeInt32BE(0x01020304, 0);
buf.writeInt32LE(0x05060708, 4);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 01 02 03 04 08 07 06 05>
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.writeIntBE(value, offset, byteLength)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writeintbe_value_offset_bytelength" id="buffer_buf_writeintbe_value_offset_bytelength">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.writeIntLE(value, offset, byteLength)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writeintle_value_offset_bytelength" id="buffer_buf_writeintle_value_offset_bytelength">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset and <code>byteLength</code> to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.11.15</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.11.15</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number to be written to <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to write. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - byteLength</code>.</li>
<li><code>byteLength</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to write. Must satisfy
<code>0 < byteLength <= 6</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> <code>offset</code> plus the number of bytes written.</li>
</ul>
<p>Writes <code>byteLength</code> bytes of <code>value</code> to <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code>.
Supports up to 48 bits of accuracy. Behavior is undefined when <code>value</code> is
anything other than a signed integer.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(6);
buf.writeIntBE(0x1234567890ab, 0, 6);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 12 34 56 78 90 ab>
buf.writeIntLE(0x1234567890ab, 0, 6);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer ab 90 78 56 34 12>
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.writeUInt8(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writeuint8_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writeuint8_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.5.0</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.5.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number to be written to <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to write. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 1</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> <code>offset</code> plus the number of bytes written.</li>
</ul>
<p>Writes <code>value</code> to <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code>. <code>value</code> must be a
valid unsigned 8-bit integer. Behavior is undefined when <code>value</code> is anything
other than an unsigned 8-bit integer.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(4);
buf.writeUInt8(0x3, 0);
buf.writeUInt8(0x4, 1);
buf.writeUInt8(0x23, 2);
buf.writeUInt8(0x42, 3);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 03 04 23 42>
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.writeUInt16BE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writeuint16be_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writeuint16be_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.writeUInt16LE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writeuint16le_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writeuint16le_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.5.5</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.5.5</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number to be written to <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to write. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 2</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> <code>offset</code> plus the number of bytes written.</li>
</ul>
<p>Writes <code>value</code> to <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with the specified
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a> (<code>writeUInt16BE()</code> writes as big endian, <code>writeUInt16LE()</code> writes
as little endian). <code>value</code> must be a valid unsigned 16-bit integer. Behavior is
undefined when <code>value</code> is anything other than an unsigned 16-bit integer.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(4);
buf.writeUInt16BE(0xdead, 0);
buf.writeUInt16BE(0xbeef, 2);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer de ad be ef>
buf.writeUInt16LE(0xdead, 0);
buf.writeUInt16LE(0xbeef, 2);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer ad de ef be>
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.writeUInt32BE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writeuint32be_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writeuint32be_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.writeUInt32LE(value[, offset])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writeuint32le_value_offset" id="buffer_buf_writeuint32le_value_offset">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.5.5</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.5.5</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number to be written to <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to write. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - 4</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> <code>offset</code> plus the number of bytes written.</li>
</ul>
<p>Writes <code>value</code> to <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code> with the specified
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness">endianness</a> (<code>writeUInt32BE()</code> writes as big endian, <code>writeUInt32LE()</code> writes
as little endian). <code>value</code> must be a valid unsigned 32-bit integer. Behavior is
undefined when <code>value</code> is anything other than an unsigned 32-bit integer.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(4);
buf.writeUInt32BE(0xfeedface, 0);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer fe ed fa ce>
buf.writeUInt32LE(0xfeedface, 0);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer ce fa ed fe>
</code></pre>
<h3><code>buf.writeUIntBE(value, offset, byteLength)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writeuintbe_value_offset_bytelength" id="buffer_buf_writeuintbe_value_offset_bytelength">#</a></span></h3>
<h3><code>buf.writeUIntLE(value, offset, byteLength)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buf_writeuintle_value_offset_bytelength" id="buffer_buf_writeuintle_value_offset_bytelength">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Removed <code>noAssert</code> and no implicit coercion of the offset and <code>byteLength</code> to <code>uint32</code> anymore.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v0.5.5</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v0.5.5</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>value</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number to be written to <code>buf</code>.</li>
<li><code>offset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to skip before starting to write. Must
satisfy <code>0 <= offset <= buf.length - byteLength</code>.</li>
<li><code>byteLength</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to write. Must satisfy
<code>0 < byteLength <= 6</code>.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> <code>offset</code> plus the number of bytes written.</li>
</ul>
<p>Writes <code>byteLength</code> bytes of <code>value</code> to <code>buf</code> at the specified <code>offset</code>.
Supports up to 48 bits of accuracy. Behavior is undefined when <code>value</code> is
anything other than an unsigned integer.</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(6);
buf.writeUIntBE(0x1234567890ab, 0, 6);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 12 34 56 78 90 ab>
buf.writeUIntLE(0x1234567890ab, 0, 6);
console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer ab 90 78 56 34 12>
</code></pre>
<h3><code>new Buffer(array)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_new_buffer_array" id="buffer_new_buffer_array">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Calling this constructor emits a deprecation warning when run from code outside the <code>node_modules</code> directory.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v7.2.1</td>
<td><p>Calling this constructor no longer emits a deprecation warning.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v7.0.0</td>
<td><p>Calling this constructor emits a deprecation warning now.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v6.0.0</td>
<td><p><span>Deprecated since: v6.0.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<p></p><div class="api_stability api_stability_0"><a href="documentation.html#documentation_stability_index">Stability: 0</a> - Deprecated: Use <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_array"><code>Buffer.from(array)</code></a> instead.</div><p></p>
<ul>
<li><code>array</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer[]></a> An array of bytes to copy from.</li>
</ul>
<p>See <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_array"><code>Buffer.from(array)</code></a>.</p>
<h3><code>new Buffer(arrayBuffer[, byteOffset[, length]])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_new_buffer_arraybuffer_byteoffset_length" id="buffer_new_buffer_arraybuffer_byteoffset_length">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Calling this constructor emits a deprecation warning when run from code outside the <code>node_modules</code> directory.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v7.2.1</td>
<td><p>Calling this constructor no longer emits a deprecation warning.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v7.0.0</td>
<td><p>Calling this constructor emits a deprecation warning now.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v6.0.0</td>
<td><p>The <code>byteOffset</code> and <code>length</code> parameters are supported now.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v6.0.0</td>
<td><p><span>Deprecated since: v6.0.0</span></p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v3.0.0</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v3.0.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<p></p><div class="api_stability api_stability_0"><a href="documentation.html#documentation_stability_index">Stability: 0</a> - Deprecated: Use
<a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_arraybuffer_byteoffset_length"><code>Buffer.from(arrayBuffer[, byteOffset[, length]])</code></a>
instead.</div><p></p>
<ul>
<li><code>arrayBuffer</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/ArrayBuffer" class="type"><ArrayBuffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/SharedArrayBuffer" class="type"><SharedArrayBuffer></a> An <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/ArrayBuffer"><code>ArrayBuffer</code></a>,
<a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/SharedArrayBuffer"><code>SharedArrayBuffer</code></a> or the <code>.buffer</code> property of a <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray"><code>TypedArray</code></a>.</li>
<li><code>byteOffset</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Index of first byte to expose. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>0</code>.</li>
<li><code>length</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> Number of bytes to expose.
<strong>Default:</strong> <code>arrayBuffer.byteLength - byteOffset</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>See
<a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_arraybuffer_byteoffset_length"><code>Buffer.from(arrayBuffer[, byteOffset[, length]])</code></a>.</p>
<h3><code>new Buffer(buffer)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_new_buffer_buffer" id="buffer_new_buffer_buffer">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Calling this constructor emits a deprecation warning when run from code outside the <code>node_modules</code> directory.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v7.2.1</td>
<td><p>Calling this constructor no longer emits a deprecation warning.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v7.0.0</td>
<td><p>Calling this constructor emits a deprecation warning now.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v6.0.0</td>
<td><p><span>Deprecated since: v6.0.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<p></p><div class="api_stability api_stability_0"><a href="documentation.html#documentation_stability_index">Stability: 0</a> - Deprecated: Use <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_buffer"><code>Buffer.from(buffer)</code></a> instead.</div><p></p>
<ul>
<li><code>buffer</code> <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array" class="type"><Uint8Array></a> An existing <code>Buffer</code> or <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array"><code>Uint8Array</code></a> from
which to copy data.</li>
</ul>
<p>See <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_buffer"><code>Buffer.from(buffer)</code></a>.</p>
<h3><code>new Buffer(size)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_new_buffer_size" id="buffer_new_buffer_size">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Calling this constructor emits a deprecation warning when run from code outside the <code>node_modules</code> directory.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v8.0.0</td>
<td><p>The <code>new Buffer(size)</code> will return zero-filled memory by default.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v7.2.1</td>
<td><p>Calling this constructor no longer emits a deprecation warning.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v7.0.0</td>
<td><p>Calling this constructor emits a deprecation warning now.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v6.0.0</td>
<td><p><span>Deprecated since: v6.0.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<p></p><div class="api_stability api_stability_0"><a href="documentation.html#documentation_stability_index">Stability: 0</a> - Deprecated: Use <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_alloc_size_fill_encoding"><code>Buffer.alloc()</code></a> instead (also see
<a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code></a>).</div><p></p>
<ul>
<li><code>size</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The desired length of the new <code>Buffer</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>See <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_alloc_size_fill_encoding"><code>Buffer.alloc()</code></a> and <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code></a>. This variant of the
constructor is equivalent to <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_alloc_size_fill_encoding"><code>Buffer.alloc()</code></a>.</p>
<h3><code>new Buffer(string[, encoding])</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_new_buffer_string_encoding" id="buffer_new_buffer_string_encoding">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v10.0.0</td>
<td><p>Calling this constructor emits a deprecation warning when run from code outside the <code>node_modules</code> directory.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v7.2.1</td>
<td><p>Calling this constructor no longer emits a deprecation warning.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v7.0.0</td>
<td><p>Calling this constructor emits a deprecation warning now.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v6.0.0</td>
<td><p><span>Deprecated since: v6.0.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<p></p><div class="api_stability api_stability_0"><a href="documentation.html#documentation_stability_index">Stability: 0</a> - Deprecated:
Use <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_string_encoding"><code>Buffer.from(string[, encoding])</code></a> instead.</div><p></p>
<ul>
<li><code>string</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> String to encode.</li>
<li><code>encoding</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> The encoding of <code>string</code>. <strong>Default:</strong> <code>'utf8'</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>See <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_string_encoding"><code>Buffer.from(string[, encoding])</code></a>.</p>
<h2><code>buffer.INSPECT_MAX_BYTES</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buffer_inspect_max_bytes" id="buffer_buffer_inspect_max_bytes">#</a></span></h2>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v0.5.4</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> <strong>Default:</strong> <code>50</code></li>
</ul>
<p>Returns the maximum number of bytes that will be returned when
<code>buf.inspect()</code> is called. This can be overridden by user modules. See
<a href="util.html#util_util_inspect_object_options"><code>util.inspect()</code></a> for more details on <code>buf.inspect()</code> behavior.</p>
<p>This is a property on the <code>buffer</code> module returned by
<code>require('buffer')</code>, not on the <code>Buffer</code> global or a <code>Buffer</code> instance.</p>
<h2><code>buffer.kMaxLength</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buffer_kmaxlength" id="buffer_buffer_kmaxlength">#</a></span></h2>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v3.0.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The largest size allowed for a single <code>Buffer</code> instance.</li>
</ul>
<p>An alias for <a href="#buffer_buffer_constants_max_length"><code>buffer.constants.MAX_LENGTH</code></a>.</p>
<p>This is a property on the <code>buffer</code> module returned by
<code>require('buffer')</code>, not on the <code>Buffer</code> global or a <code>Buffer</code> instance.</p>
<h2><code>buffer.transcode(source, fromEnc, toEnc)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buffer_transcode_source_fromenc_toenc" id="buffer_buffer_transcode_source_fromenc_toenc">#</a></span></h2>
<div class="api_metadata">
<details class="changelog"><summary>History</summary>
<table>
<tbody><tr><th>Version</th><th>Changes</th></tr>
<tr><td>v8.0.0</td>
<td><p>The <code>source</code> parameter can now be a <code>Uint8Array</code>.</p></td></tr>
<tr><td>v7.1.0</td>
<td><p><span>Added in: v7.1.0</span></p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</details>
</div>
<ul>
<li><code>source</code> <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a> | <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Uint8Array" class="type"><Uint8Array></a> A <code>Buffer</code> or <code>Uint8Array</code> instance.</li>
<li><code>fromEnc</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> The current encoding.</li>
<li><code>toEnc</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type" class="type"><string></a> To target encoding.</li>
<li>Returns: <a href="buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer" class="type"><Buffer></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Re-encodes the given <code>Buffer</code> or <code>Uint8Array</code> instance from one character
encoding to another. Returns a new <code>Buffer</code> instance.</p>
<p>Throws if the <code>fromEnc</code> or <code>toEnc</code> specify invalid character encodings or if
conversion from <code>fromEnc</code> to <code>toEnc</code> is not permitted.</p>
<p>Encodings supported by <code>buffer.transcode()</code> are: <code>'ascii'</code>, <code>'utf8'</code>,
<code>'utf16le'</code>, <code>'ucs2'</code>, <code>'latin1'</code>, and <code>'binary'</code>.</p>
<p>The transcoding process will use substitution characters if a given byte
sequence cannot be adequately represented in the target encoding. For instance:</p>
<pre><code class="language-js">const buffer = require('buffer');
const newBuf = buffer.transcode(Buffer.from('€'), 'utf8', 'ascii');
console.log(newBuf.toString('ascii'));
// Prints: '?'
</code></pre>
<p>Because the Euro (<code>€</code>) sign is not representable in US-ASCII, it is replaced
with <code>?</code> in the transcoded <code>Buffer</code>.</p>
<p>This is a property on the <code>buffer</code> module returned by
<code>require('buffer')</code>, not on the <code>Buffer</code> global or a <code>Buffer</code> instance.</p>
<h2>Class: <code>SlowBuffer</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_class_slowbuffer" id="buffer_class_slowbuffer">#</a></span></h2>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Deprecated since: v6.0.0</span>
</div>
<p></p><div class="api_stability api_stability_0"><a href="documentation.html#documentation_stability_index">Stability: 0</a> - Deprecated: Use <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafeslow_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()</code></a> instead.</div><p></p>
<p>See <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafeslow_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()</code></a>. This was never a class in the sense that
the constructor always returned a <code>Buffer</code> instance, rather than a <code>SlowBuffer</code>
instance.</p>
<h3><code>new SlowBuffer(size)</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_new_slowbuffer_size" id="buffer_new_slowbuffer_size">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Deprecated since: v6.0.0</span>
</div>
<p></p><div class="api_stability api_stability_0"><a href="documentation.html#documentation_stability_index">Stability: 0</a> - Deprecated: Use <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafeslow_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()</code></a> instead.</div><p></p>
<ul>
<li><code>size</code> <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The desired length of the new <code>SlowBuffer</code>.</li>
</ul>
<p>See <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafeslow_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()</code></a>.</p>
<h2>Buffer constants<span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buffer_constants" id="buffer_buffer_constants">#</a></span></h2>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v8.2.0</span>
</div>
<p><code>buffer.constants</code> is a property on the <code>buffer</code> module returned by
<code>require('buffer')</code>, not on the <code>Buffer</code> global or a <code>Buffer</code> instance.</p>
<h3><code>buffer.constants.MAX_LENGTH</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buffer_constants_max_length" id="buffer_buffer_constants_max_length">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v8.2.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The largest size allowed for a single <code>Buffer</code> instance.</li>
</ul>
<p>On 32-bit architectures, this value currently is <code>(2^30)-1</code> (~1GB).
On 64-bit architectures, this value currently is <code>(2^31)-1</code> (~2GB).</p>
<p>This value is also available as <a href="#buffer_buffer_kmaxlength"><code>buffer.kMaxLength</code></a>.</p>
<h3><code>buffer.constants.MAX_STRING_LENGTH</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buffer_constants_max_string_length" id="buffer_buffer_constants_max_string_length">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v8.2.0</span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type" class="type"><integer></a> The largest length allowed for a single <code>string</code> instance.</li>
</ul>
<p>Represents the largest <code>length</code> that a <code>string</code> primitive can have, counted
in UTF-16 code units.</p>
<p>This value may depend on the JS engine that is being used.</p>
<h2><code>Buffer.from()</code>, <code>Buffer.alloc()</code>, and <code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code><span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_buffer_from_buffer_alloc_and_buffer_allocunsafe" id="buffer_buffer_from_buffer_alloc_and_buffer_allocunsafe">#</a></span></h2>
<p>In versions of Node.js prior to 6.0.0, <code>Buffer</code> instances were created using the
<code>Buffer</code> constructor function, which allocates the returned <code>Buffer</code>
differently based on what arguments are provided:</p>
<ul>
<li>Passing a number as the first argument to <code>Buffer()</code> (e.g. <code>new Buffer(10)</code>)
allocates a new <code>Buffer</code> object of the specified size. Prior to Node.js 8.0.0,
the memory allocated for such <code>Buffer</code> instances is <em>not</em> initialized and
<em>can contain sensitive data</em>. Such <code>Buffer</code> instances <em>must</em> be subsequently
initialized by using either <a href="#buffer_buf_fill_value_offset_end_encoding"><code>buf.fill(0)</code></a> or by writing to the
entire <code>Buffer</code> before reading data from the <code>Buffer</code>.
While this behavior is <em>intentional</em> to improve performance,
development experience has demonstrated that a more explicit distinction is
required between creating a fast-but-uninitialized <code>Buffer</code> versus creating a
slower-but-safer <code>Buffer</code>. Since Node.js 8.0.0, <code>Buffer(num)</code> and <code>new Buffer(num)</code> return a <code>Buffer</code> with initialized memory.</li>
<li>Passing a string, array, or <code>Buffer</code> as the first argument copies the
passed object's data into the <code>Buffer</code>.</li>
<li>Passing an <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/ArrayBuffer"><code>ArrayBuffer</code></a> or a <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/SharedArrayBuffer"><code>SharedArrayBuffer</code></a> returns a <code>Buffer</code>
that shares allocated memory with the given array buffer.</li>
</ul>
<p>Because the behavior of <code>new Buffer()</code> is different depending on the type of the
first argument, security and reliability issues can be inadvertently introduced
into applications when argument validation or <code>Buffer</code> initialization is not
performed.</p>
<p>For example, if an attacker can cause an application to receive a number where
a string is expected, the application may call <code>new Buffer(100)</code>
instead of <code>new Buffer("100")</code>, leading it to allocate a 100 byte buffer instead
of allocating a 3 byte buffer with content <code>"100"</code>. This is commonly possible
using JSON API calls. Since JSON distinguishes between numeric and string types,
it allows injection of numbers where a naively written application that does not
validate its input sufficiently might expect to always receive a string.
Before Node.js 8.0.0, the 100 byte buffer might contain
arbitrary pre-existing in-memory data, so may be used to expose in-memory
secrets to a remote attacker. Since Node.js 8.0.0, exposure of memory cannot
occur because the data is zero-filled. However, other attacks are still
possible, such as causing very large buffers to be allocated by the server,
leading to performance degradation or crashing on memory exhaustion.</p>
<p>To make the creation of <code>Buffer</code> instances more reliable and less error-prone,
the various forms of the <code>new Buffer()</code> constructor have been <strong>deprecated</strong>
and replaced by separate <code>Buffer.from()</code>, <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_alloc_size_fill_encoding"><code>Buffer.alloc()</code></a>, and
<a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code></a> methods.</p>
<p><em>Developers should migrate all existing uses of the <code>new Buffer()</code> constructors
to one of these new APIs.</em></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_array"><code>Buffer.from(array)</code></a> returns a new <code>Buffer</code> that <em>contains a copy</em> of the
provided octets.</li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_arraybuffer_byteoffset_length"><code>Buffer.from(arrayBuffer[, byteOffset[, length]])</code></a>
returns a new <code>Buffer</code> that <em>shares the same allocated memory</em> as the given
<a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/ArrayBuffer"><code>ArrayBuffer</code></a>.</li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_buffer"><code>Buffer.from(buffer)</code></a> returns a new <code>Buffer</code> that <em>contains a copy</em> of the
contents of the given <code>Buffer</code>.</li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_string_encoding"><code>Buffer.from(string[, encoding])</code></a> returns a new
<code>Buffer</code> that <em>contains a copy</em> of the provided string.</li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_alloc_size_fill_encoding"><code>Buffer.alloc(size[, fill[, encoding]])</code></a> returns a new
initialized <code>Buffer</code> of the specified size. This method is slower than
<a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)</code></a> but guarantees that newly
created <code>Buffer</code> instances never contain old data that is potentially
sensitive. A <code>TypeError</code> will be thrown if <code>size</code> is not a number.</li>
<li><a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)</code></a> and
<a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafeslow_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow(size)</code></a> each return a
new uninitialized <code>Buffer</code> of the specified <code>size</code>. Because the <code>Buffer</code> is
uninitialized, the allocated segment of memory might contain old data that is
potentially sensitive.</li>
</ul>
<p><code>Buffer</code> instances returned by <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code></a> and
<a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_from_array"><code>Buffer.from(array)</code></a> <em>may</em> be allocated off a shared internal memory pool
if <code>size</code> is less than or equal to half <a href="#buffer_class_property_buffer_poolsize"><code>Buffer.poolSize</code></a>. Instances
returned by <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafeslow_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()</code></a> <em>never</em> use the shared internal
memory pool.</p>
<h3>The <code>--zero-fill-buffers</code> command line option<span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_the_zero_fill_buffers_command_line_option" id="buffer_the_zero_fill_buffers_command_line_option">#</a></span></h3>
<div class="api_metadata">
<span>Added in: v5.10.0</span>
</div>
<p>Node.js can be started using the <code>--zero-fill-buffers</code> command line option to
cause all newly-allocated <code>Buffer</code> instances to be zero-filled upon creation by
default. Without the option, buffers created with <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code></a>,
<a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafeslow_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()</code></a>, and <code>new SlowBuffer(size)</code> are not zero-filled.
Use of this flag can have a measurable negative impact on performance. Use the
<code>--zero-fill-buffers</code> option only when necessary to enforce that newly allocated
<code>Buffer</code> instances cannot contain old data that is potentially sensitive.</p>
<pre><code class="language-console">$ node --zero-fill-buffers
> Buffer.allocUnsafe(5);
<Buffer 00 00 00 00 00>
</code></pre>
<h3>What makes <code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code> and <code>Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()</code> "unsafe"?<span><a class="mark" href="#buffer_what_makes_buffer_allocunsafe_and_buffer_allocunsafeslow_unsafe" id="buffer_what_makes_buffer_allocunsafe_and_buffer_allocunsafeslow_unsafe">#</a></span></h3>
<p>When calling <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code></a> and <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafeslow_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()</code></a>, the
segment of allocated memory is <em>uninitialized</em> (it is not zeroed-out). While
this design makes the allocation of memory quite fast, the allocated segment of
memory might contain old data that is potentially sensitive. Using a <code>Buffer</code>
created by <a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code></a> without <em>completely</em> overwriting the
memory can allow this old data to be leaked when the <code>Buffer</code> memory is read.</p>
<p>While there are clear performance advantages to using
<a href="#buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size"><code>Buffer.allocUnsafe()</code></a>, extra care <em>must</em> be taken in order to avoid
introducing security vulnerabilities into an application.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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