bindinggyp

Binding.gyp is a project configuration file used by the node-gyp build tool to describe how to compile native C/C++ addons for Node.js. It is commonly named binding.gyp and is read by npm install and related commands to generate platform-specific build scripts. The file serves as the primary instruction set for constructing a binary module that can be loaded by Node.js.

The binding.gyp file uses a JSON-like structure that centers on a top-level object containing a targets array. Each element in targets defines a build target and may include fields such as target_name (the output module name), sources (an array of source files), include_dirs (header search paths), libraries (system or third-party libraries to link), defines (preprocessor macros), and various flag fields (cflags, cppflags, ldflags). Conditions can be used to apply different settings depending on the operating system or Node.js version, enabling cross-platform builds for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

In practice, a binding.gyp describes how to build a single addon or multiple addons within a project. The resulting artifact is a native binary module named with a .node extension, which Node.js can require like any other module. Project authors typically use binding.gyp in conjunction with NAN (Native Abstractions for Node.js) or N-API (via node-addon-api) to ensure compatibility across Node.js versions. Include directories may reference node-addon-api headers when using N-API.

Binding.gyp is a key component of the node-gyp ecosystem, which wraps the GYP build tool and integrates with npm to automate compilation during installation. It is essential for developers creating performance-critical or platform-specific Node.js addons.