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Buffer - buffer - Node documentation
interface Buffer
extends Uint8Array

Usage in Deno

import { type Buffer } from "node:buffer";

Methods

write(
string: string,
encoding?: BufferEncoding,
): number

Writes string to buf at offset according to the character encoding inencoding. The length parameter is the number of bytes to write. If buf did not contain enough space to fit the entire string, only part of string will be written. However, partially encoded characters will not be written.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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
write(
string: string,
offset: number,
encoding?: BufferEncoding,
): number
write(
string: string,
offset: number,
length: number,
encoding?: BufferEncoding,
): number
toString(
encoding?: BufferEncoding,
start?: number,
end?: number,
): string

Decodes buf to a string according to the specified character encoding inencoding. start and end may be passed to decode only a subset of buf.

If encoding is 'utf8' and a byte sequence in the input is not valid UTF-8, then each invalid byte is replaced with the replacement character U+FFFD.

The maximum length of a string instance (in UTF-16 code units) is available as constants.MAX_STRING_LENGTH.

import { Buffer } from 'node: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;
}

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
toJSON(): { type: "Buffer"; data: number[]; }

Returns a JSON representation of buf. JSON.stringify() implicitly calls this function when stringifying a Buffer instance.

Buffer.from() accepts objects in the format returned from this method. In particular, Buffer.from(buf.toJSON()) works like Buffer.from(buf).

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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 &#x26;&#x26; value.type === 'Buffer' ?
    Buffer.from(value) :
    value;
});

console.log(copy);
// Prints: <Buffer 01 02 03 04 05>
equals(otherBuffer: Uint8Array): boolean

Returns true if both buf and otherBuffer have exactly the same bytes,false otherwise. Equivalent to buf.compare(otherBuffer) === 0.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf1.equals(buf2));
// Prints: true
console.log(buf1.equals(buf3));
// Prints: false
compare(
target: Uint8Array,
targetStart?: number,
targetEnd?: number,
sourceStart?: number,
sourceEnd?: number,
):
-1
| 0
| 1

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

  • 0 is returned if target is the same as buf
  • 1 is returned if target should come beforebuf when sorted.
  • -1 is returned if target should come afterbuf when sorted.
import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf1.compare(buf1));
// Prints: 0
console.log(buf1.compare(buf2));
// Prints: -1
console.log(buf1.compare(buf3));
// Prints: -1
console.log(buf2.compare(buf1));
// Prints: 1
console.log(buf2.compare(buf3));
// Prints: 1
console.log([buf1, buf2, buf3].sort(Buffer.compare));
// Prints: [ <Buffer 41 42 43>, <Buffer 41 42 43 44>, <Buffer 42 43 44> ]
// (This result is equal to: [buf1, buf3, buf2].)

The optional targetStart, targetEnd, sourceStart, and sourceEnd arguments can be used to limit the comparison to specific ranges within target and buf respectively.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf1.compare(buf2, 5, 9, 0, 4));
// Prints: 0
console.log(buf1.compare(buf2, 0, 6, 4));
// Prints: -1
console.log(buf1.compare(buf2, 5, 6, 5));
// Prints: 1

ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE is thrown if targetStart < 0, sourceStart < 0, targetEnd > target.byteLength, or sourceEnd > source.byteLength.

copy(
target: Uint8Array,
targetStart?: number,
sourceStart?: number,
sourceEnd?: number,
): number

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

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

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

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

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

console.log(buf2.toString('ascii', 0, 25));
// Prints: !!!!!!!!qrst!!!!!!!!!!!!!

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(26);

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

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

console.log(buf.toString());
// Prints: efghijghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
deprecated
slice(
start?: number,
end?: number,
): Buffer & WithArrayBufferLike<ArrayBuffer>

Returns a new Buffer that references the same memory as the original, but offset and cropped by the start and end indices.

This method is not compatible with the Uint8Array.prototype.slice(), which is a superclass of Buffer. To copy the slice, useUint8Array.prototype.slice().

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

// With buf.slice(), the original buffer is modified.
const notReallyCopiedBuf = buf.slice();
notReallyCopiedBuf[0]++;
console.log(notReallyCopiedBuf.toString());
// Prints: cuffer
console.log(buf.toString());
// Also prints: cuffer (!)
subarray(
start?: number,
end?: number,
): Buffer & WithArrayBufferLike<this["buffer"]>

Returns a new Buffer that references the same memory as the original, but offset and cropped by the start and end indices.

Specifying end greater than buf.length will return the same result as that of end equal to buf.length.

This method is inherited from TypedArray.prototype.subarray().

Modifying the new Buffer slice will modify the memory in the original Bufferbecause the allocated memory of the two objects overlap.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

// 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

Specifying negative indexes causes the slice to be generated relative to the end of buf rather than the beginning.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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).)
writeBigInt64BE(
value: bigint,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as big-endian.

value is interpreted and written as a two's complement signed integer.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(8);

buf.writeBigInt64BE(0x0102030405060708n, 0);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08>
writeBigInt64LE(
value: bigint,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as little-endian.

value is interpreted and written as a two's complement signed integer.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(8);

buf.writeBigInt64LE(0x0102030405060708n, 0);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01>
writeBigUInt64BE(
value: bigint,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as big-endian.

This function is also available under the writeBigUint64BE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(8);

buf.writeBigUInt64BE(0xdecafafecacefaden, 0);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer de ca fa fe ca ce fa de>
writeBigUint64BE(
value: bigint,
offset?: number,
): number
writeBigUInt64LE(
value: bigint,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as little-endian

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(8);

buf.writeBigUInt64LE(0xdecafafecacefaden, 0);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer de fa ce ca fe fa ca de>

This function is also available under the writeBigUint64LE alias.

writeBigUint64LE(
value: bigint,
offset?: number,
): number
writeUIntLE(
value: number,
offset: number,
byteLength: number,
): number

Writes byteLength bytes of value to buf at the specified offsetas little-endian. Supports up to 48 bits of accuracy. Behavior is undefined when value is anything other than an unsigned integer.

This function is also available under the writeUintLE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(6);

buf.writeUIntLE(0x1234567890ab, 0, 6);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer ab 90 78 56 34 12>
writeUintLE(
value: number,
offset: number,
byteLength: number,
): number
writeUIntBE(
value: number,
offset: number,
byteLength: number,
): number

Writes byteLength bytes of value to buf at the specified offsetas big-endian. Supports up to 48 bits of accuracy. Behavior is undefined when value is anything other than an unsigned integer.

This function is also available under the writeUintBE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(6);

buf.writeUIntBE(0x1234567890ab, 0, 6);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 12 34 56 78 90 ab>
writeUintBE(
value: number,
offset: number,
byteLength: number,
): number
writeIntLE(
value: number,
offset: number,
byteLength: number,
): number

Writes byteLength bytes of value to buf at the specified offsetas little-endian. Supports up to 48 bits of accuracy. Behavior is undefined when value is anything other than a signed integer.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(6);

buf.writeIntLE(0x1234567890ab, 0, 6);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer ab 90 78 56 34 12>
writeIntBE(
value: number,
offset: number,
byteLength: number,
): number

Writes byteLength bytes of value to buf at the specified offsetas big-endian. Supports up to 48 bits of accuracy. Behavior is undefined whenvalue is anything other than a signed integer.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(6);

buf.writeIntBE(0x1234567890ab, 0, 6);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 12 34 56 78 90 ab>
readBigUInt64BE(offset?: number): bigint

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

This function is also available under the readBigUint64BE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readBigUInt64BE(0));
// Prints: 4294967295n
readBigUint64BE(offset?: number): bigint
readBigUInt64LE(offset?: number): bigint

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

This function is also available under the readBigUint64LE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readBigUInt64LE(0));
// Prints: 18446744069414584320n
readBigUint64LE(offset?: number): bigint
readBigInt64BE(offset?: number): bigint

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

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

readBigInt64LE(offset?: number): bigint

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

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

readUIntLE(
offset: number,
byteLength: number,
): number

Reads byteLength number of bytes from buf at the specified offset and interprets the result as an unsigned, little-endian integer supporting up to 48 bits of accuracy.

This function is also available under the readUintLE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readUIntLE(0, 6).toString(16));
// Prints: ab9078563412
readUintLE(
offset: number,
byteLength: number,
): number
readUIntBE(
offset: number,
byteLength: number,
): number

Reads byteLength number of bytes from buf at the specified offset and interprets the result as an unsigned big-endian integer supporting up to 48 bits of accuracy.

This function is also available under the readUintBE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readUIntBE(0, 6).toString(16));
// Prints: 1234567890ab
console.log(buf.readUIntBE(1, 6).toString(16));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
readUintBE(
offset: number,
byteLength: number,
): number
readIntLE(
offset: number,
byteLength: number,
): number

Reads byteLength number of bytes from buf at the specified offset and interprets the result as a little-endian, two's complement signed value supporting up to 48 bits of accuracy.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readIntLE(0, 6).toString(16));
// Prints: -546f87a9cbee
readIntBE(
offset: number,
byteLength: number,
): number

Reads byteLength number of bytes from buf at the specified offset and interprets the result as a big-endian, two's complement signed value supporting up to 48 bits of accuracy.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readIntBE(0, 6).toString(16));
// Prints: 1234567890ab
console.log(buf.readIntBE(1, 6).toString(16));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
console.log(buf.readIntBE(1, 0).toString(16));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
readUInt8(offset?: number): number

Reads an unsigned 8-bit integer from buf at the specified offset.

This function is also available under the readUint8 alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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.
readUint8(offset?: number): number
readUInt16LE(offset?: number): number

Reads an unsigned, little-endian 16-bit integer from buf at the specified offset.

This function is also available under the readUint16LE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readUInt16LE(0).toString(16));
// Prints: 3412
console.log(buf.readUInt16LE(1).toString(16));
// Prints: 5634
console.log(buf.readUInt16LE(2).toString(16));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
readUint16LE(offset?: number): number
readUInt16BE(offset?: number): number

Reads an unsigned, big-endian 16-bit integer from buf at the specifiedoffset.

This function is also available under the readUint16BE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readUInt16BE(0).toString(16));
// Prints: 1234
console.log(buf.readUInt16BE(1).toString(16));
// Prints: 3456
readUint16BE(offset?: number): number
readUInt32LE(offset?: number): number

Reads an unsigned, little-endian 32-bit integer from buf at the specifiedoffset.

This function is also available under the readUint32LE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readUInt32LE(0).toString(16));
// Prints: 78563412
console.log(buf.readUInt32LE(1).toString(16));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
readUint32LE(offset?: number): number
readUInt32BE(offset?: number): number

Reads an unsigned, big-endian 32-bit integer from buf at the specifiedoffset.

This function is also available under the readUint32BE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readUInt32BE(0).toString(16));
// Prints: 12345678
readUint32BE(offset?: number): number
readInt8(offset?: number): number

Reads a signed 8-bit integer from buf at the specified offset.

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

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readInt8(0));
// Prints: -1
console.log(buf.readInt8(1));
// Prints: 5
console.log(buf.readInt8(2));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
readInt16LE(offset?: number): number

Reads a signed, little-endian 16-bit integer from buf at the specifiedoffset.

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

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readInt16LE(0));
// Prints: 1280
console.log(buf.readInt16LE(1));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
readInt16BE(offset?: number): number

Reads a signed, big-endian 16-bit integer from buf at the specified offset.

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

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readInt16BE(0));
// Prints: 5
readInt32LE(offset?: number): number

Reads a signed, little-endian 32-bit integer from buf at the specifiedoffset.

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

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readInt32LE(0));
// Prints: 83886080
console.log(buf.readInt32LE(1));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
readInt32BE(offset?: number): number

Reads a signed, big-endian 32-bit integer from buf at the specified offset.

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

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readInt32BE(0));
// Prints: 5
readFloatLE(offset?: number): number

Reads a 32-bit, little-endian float from buf at the specified offset.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readFloatLE(0));
// Prints: 1.539989614439558e-36
console.log(buf.readFloatLE(1));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
readFloatBE(offset?: number): number

Reads a 32-bit, big-endian float from buf at the specified offset.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readFloatBE(0));
// Prints: 2.387939260590663e-38
readDoubleLE(offset?: number): number

Reads a 64-bit, little-endian double from buf at the specified offset.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readDoubleLE(0));
// Prints: 5.447603722011605e-270
console.log(buf.readDoubleLE(1));
// Throws ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE.
readDoubleBE(offset?: number): number

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

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(buf.readDoubleBE(0));
// Prints: 8.20788039913184e-304
reverse(): this
swap16(): this

Interprets buf as an array of unsigned 16-bit integers and swaps the byte order in-place. Throws ERR_INVALID_BUFFER_SIZE if buf.length is not a multiple of 2.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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.

One convenient use of buf.swap16() is to perform a fast in-place conversion between UTF-16 little-endian and UTF-16 big-endian:

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.from('This is little-endian UTF-16', 'utf16le');
buf.swap16(); // Convert to big-endian UTF-16 text.
swap32(): this

Interprets buf as an array of unsigned 32-bit integers and swaps the byte order in-place. Throws ERR_INVALID_BUFFER_SIZE if buf.length is not a multiple of 4.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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.
swap64(): this

Interprets buf as an array of 64-bit numbers and swaps byte order in-place. Throws ERR_INVALID_BUFFER_SIZE if buf.length is not a multiple of 8.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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.
writeUInt8(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset. value must be a valid unsigned 8-bit integer. Behavior is undefined when value is anything other than an unsigned 8-bit integer.

This function is also available under the writeUint8 alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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>
writeUint8(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number
writeUInt16LE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as little-endian. The value must be a valid unsigned 16-bit integer. Behavior is undefined when value is anything other than an unsigned 16-bit integer.

This function is also available under the writeUint16LE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(4);

buf.writeUInt16LE(0xdead, 0);
buf.writeUInt16LE(0xbeef, 2);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer ad de ef be>
writeUint16LE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number
writeUInt16BE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as big-endian. The value must be a valid unsigned 16-bit integer. Behavior is undefined when valueis anything other than an unsigned 16-bit integer.

This function is also available under the writeUint16BE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(4);

buf.writeUInt16BE(0xdead, 0);
buf.writeUInt16BE(0xbeef, 2);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer de ad be ef>
writeUint16BE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number
writeUInt32LE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as little-endian. The value must be a valid unsigned 32-bit integer. Behavior is undefined when value is anything other than an unsigned 32-bit integer.

This function is also available under the writeUint32LE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(4);

buf.writeUInt32LE(0xfeedface, 0);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer ce fa ed fe>
writeUint32LE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number
writeUInt32BE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as big-endian. The value must be a valid unsigned 32-bit integer. Behavior is undefined when valueis anything other than an unsigned 32-bit integer.

This function is also available under the writeUint32BE alias.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(4);

buf.writeUInt32BE(0xfeedface, 0);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer fe ed fa ce>
writeUint32BE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number
writeInt8(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset. value must be a valid signed 8-bit integer. Behavior is undefined when value is anything other than a signed 8-bit integer.

value is interpreted and written as a two's complement signed integer.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(2);

buf.writeInt8(2, 0);
buf.writeInt8(-2, 1);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 02 fe>
writeInt16LE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as little-endian. The value must be a valid signed 16-bit integer. Behavior is undefined when value is anything other than a signed 16-bit integer.

The value is interpreted and written as a two's complement signed integer.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(2);

buf.writeInt16LE(0x0304, 0);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 04 03>
writeInt16BE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as big-endian. The value must be a valid signed 16-bit integer. Behavior is undefined when value is anything other than a signed 16-bit integer.

The value is interpreted and written as a two's complement signed integer.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(2);

buf.writeInt16BE(0x0102, 0);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 01 02>
writeInt32LE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as little-endian. The value must be a valid signed 32-bit integer. Behavior is undefined when value is anything other than a signed 32-bit integer.

The value is interpreted and written as a two's complement signed integer.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(4);

buf.writeInt32LE(0x05060708, 0);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 08 07 06 05>
writeInt32BE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as big-endian. The value must be a valid signed 32-bit integer. Behavior is undefined when value is anything other than a signed 32-bit integer.

The value is interpreted and written as a two's complement signed integer.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(4);

buf.writeInt32BE(0x01020304, 0);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 01 02 03 04>
writeFloatLE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as little-endian. Behavior is undefined when value is anything other than a JavaScript number.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(4);

buf.writeFloatLE(0xcafebabe, 0);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer bb fe 4a 4f>
writeFloatBE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as big-endian. Behavior is undefined when value is anything other than a JavaScript number.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(4);

buf.writeFloatBE(0xcafebabe, 0);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 4f 4a fe bb>
writeDoubleLE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as little-endian. The value must be a JavaScript number. Behavior is undefined when value is anything other than a JavaScript number.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(8);

buf.writeDoubleLE(123.456, 0);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 77 be 9f 1a 2f dd 5e 40>
writeDoubleBE(
value: number,
offset?: number,
): number

Writes value to buf at the specified offset as big-endian. The value must be a JavaScript number. Behavior is undefined when value is anything other than a JavaScript number.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(8);

buf.writeDoubleBE(123.456, 0);

console.log(buf);
// Prints: <Buffer 40 5e dd 2f 1a 9f be 77>
fill(
value:
string
| Uint8Array
| number
,
offset?: number,
end?: number,
encoding?: BufferEncoding,
): this

Fills buf with the specified value. If the offset and end are not given, the entire buf will be filled:

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

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

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

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

console.log(c.fill(''));
// Prints: <Buffer 00 00 00 00 00>

value is coerced to a uint32 value if it is not a string, Buffer, or integer. If the resulting integer is greater than 255 (decimal), buf will be filled with value &#x26; 255.

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

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

console.log(Buffer.allocUnsafe(5).fill('\u0222'));
// Prints: <Buffer c8 a2 c8 a2 c8>

If value contains invalid characters, it is truncated; if no valid fill data remains, an exception is thrown:

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(5);

console.log(buf.fill('a'));
// Prints: <Buffer 61 61 61 61 61>
console.log(buf.fill('aazz', 'hex'));
// Prints: <Buffer aa aa aa aa aa>
console.log(buf.fill('zz', 'hex'));
// Throws an exception.
indexOf(
value:
string
| number
| Uint8Array
,
byteOffset?: number,
encoding?: BufferEncoding,
): number

If value is:

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

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

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

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

console.log(utf16Buffer.indexOf('\u03a3', 0, 'utf16le'));
// Prints: 4
console.log(utf16Buffer.indexOf('\u03a3', -4, 'utf16le'));
// Prints: 6

If value is not a string, number, or Buffer, this method will throw a TypeError. If value is a number, it will be coerced to a valid byte value, an integer between 0 and 255.

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

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

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

// Passing a byteOffset that coerces to NaN or 0.
// Prints: 1, searching the whole buffer.
console.log(b.indexOf('b', undefined));
console.log(b.indexOf('b', {}));
console.log(b.indexOf('b', null));
console.log(b.indexOf('b', []));

If value is an empty string or empty Buffer and byteOffset is less than buf.length, byteOffset will be returned. If value is empty andbyteOffset is at least buf.length, buf.length will be returned.

lastIndexOf(
value:
string
| number
| Uint8Array
,
byteOffset?: number,
encoding?: BufferEncoding,
): number

Identical to buf.indexOf(), except the last occurrence of value is found rather than the first occurrence.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

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

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

console.log(utf16Buffer.lastIndexOf('\u03a3', undefined, 'utf16le'));
// Prints: 6
console.log(utf16Buffer.lastIndexOf('\u03a3', -5, 'utf16le'));
// Prints: 4

If value is not a string, number, or Buffer, this method will throw a TypeError. If value is a number, it will be coerced to a valid byte value, an integer between 0 and 255.

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

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

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

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

// Passing a byteOffset that coerces to 0.
// Prints: -1, equivalent to passing 0.
console.log(b.lastIndexOf('b', null));
console.log(b.lastIndexOf('b', []));

If value is an empty string or empty Buffer, byteOffset will be returned.

includes(
value:
string
| number
| Buffer
,
byteOffset?: number,
encoding?: BufferEncoding,
): boolean

Equivalent to buf.indexOf() !== -1.

import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer';

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

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