mirror of
https://github.com/oven-sh/bun
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67 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
67 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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name: Spawn a child process and communicate using IPC
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---
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Use [`Bun.spawn()`](https://bun.com/docs/api/spawn) to spawn a child process. When spawning a second `bun` process, you can open a direct inter-process communication (IPC) channel between the two processes.
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{%callout%}
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**Note** — This API is only compatible with other `bun` processes. Use `process.execPath` to get a path to the currently running `bun` executable.
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{%/callout%}
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```ts#parent.ts
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const child = Bun.spawn(["bun", "child.ts"], {
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ipc(message) {
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/**
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* The message received from the sub process
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**/
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},
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});
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```
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---
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The parent process can send messages to the subprocess using the `.send()` method on the returned `Subprocess` instance. A reference to the sending subprocess is also available as the second argument in the `ipc` handler.
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```ts#parent.ts
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const childProc = Bun.spawn(["bun", "child.ts"], {
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ipc(message, childProc) {
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/**
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* The message received from the sub process
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**/
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childProc.send("Respond to child")
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},
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});
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childProc.send("I am your father"); // The parent can send messages to the child as well
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```
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---
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Meanwhile the child process can send messages to its parent using with `process.send()` and receive messages with `process.on("message")`. This is the same API used for `child_process.fork()` in Node.js.
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```ts#child.ts
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process.send("Hello from child as string");
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process.send({ message: "Hello from child as object" });
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process.on("message", (message) => {
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// print message from parent
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console.log(message);
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});
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```
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---
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All messages are serialized using the JSC `serialize` API, which allows for the same set of [transferrable types](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Web_Workers_API/Transferable_objects) supported by `postMessage` and `structuredClone`, including strings, typed arrays, streams, and objects.
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```ts#child.ts
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// send a string
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process.send("Hello from child as string");
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// send an object
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process.send({ message: "Hello from child as object" });
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```
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---
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See [Docs > API > Child processes](https://bun.com/docs/api/spawn) for complete documentation.
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