Bun
All-in-one JavaScript/TypeScript toolkit: runtime, package manager, test runner, bundler.
Quick Navigation
| Topic | Reference |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| Package Manager | references/package-manager.md |
| Project Setup | references/project-scaffolding.md |
| Development | references/development.md |
| Module System | references/module-system.md |
| TypeScript & JSX | references/typescript-jsx.md |
| Configuration | references/bunfig.md |
| HTTP Server | references/http-server.md |
| WebSockets | references/websockets.md |
| File I/O | references/file-io.md |
| SQLite | references/sqlite.md |
| S3 Storage | references/s3.md |
| Redis | references/redis.md |
| Low-Level Network | references/networking-low-level.md |
| Fetch API | references/fetch.md |
| Shell Scripts | references/shell.md |
| Spawn Process | references/spawn.md |
| Workers | references/workers.md |
| Native FFI | references/native-interop.md |
| C/C++ Compile | references/cc.md |
| Transpiler | references/transpiler.md |
| Plugins | references/plugins.md |
| FS Router | references/file-system-router.md |
| Environment Vars | references/env.md |
| Utilities | references/utilities.md |
| Node.js Compat | references/nodejs-compat.md |
When to Use Bun
- Running TypeScript/JSX without build step
- Fast HTTP server with native routing
- SQLite database (embedded, no deps)
- WebSocket server/client
- S3-compatible storage (AWS, R2, MinIO)
- Redis caching/pub-sub
- Cross-platform shell scripts
- Markdown parsing (v1.3.8+)
- Native library calls via FFI
Core Advantages
- 4x faster startup than Node.js
- Native TypeScript/JSX — no tsconfig needed
- ESM + CommonJS — both work seamlessly
- Web APIs built-in — fetch, WebSocket, etc.
- 30x faster installs than npm
Quick Start
# Run TypeScript directly
bun run index.ts
# Install packages
bun install
# Run package.json script
bun run dev
# Execute package binary
bunx cowsay "Hello"
# Run tests
bun test
# Build for production
bun build ./index.ts --outdir ./dist
# Bundle analysis for LLMs (v1.3.8+)
bun build ./index.ts --metafile-md --outdir ./dist
Critical Rules
| Don't | Do |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------ |
| http.createServer() | Bun.serve() |
| fs.readFileSync() | Bun.file().text() |
| better-sqlite3 | bun:sqlite |
| child_process.exec() | Bun.$ or Bun.spawn() |
| dotenv | Built-in .env support |
Essential Recipes
HTTP Server
Bun.serve({
port: 3000,
fetch(req) {
const url = new URL(req.url);
if (url.pathname === "/api/data") {
return Response.json({ ok: true });
}
return new Response("Not Found", { status: 404 });
},
});
File Operations
// Read
const content = await Bun.file("data.txt").text();
// Write
await Bun.write("output.txt", "Hello World");
// JSON
const config = await Bun.file("config.json").json();
SQLite
import { Database } from "bun:sqlite";
const db = new Database("app.db");
db.run("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT)");
const insert = db.prepare("INSERT INTO users (name) VALUES (?)");
insert.run("Alice");
const users = db.query("SELECT * FROM users").all();
WebSocket Server
Bun.serve({
fetch(req, server) {
if (server.upgrade(req)) return;
return new Response("Upgrade failed", { status: 400 });
},
websocket: {
message(ws, message) {
ws.send(`Echo: ${message}`);
},
},
});
Shell Commands
import { $ } from "bun";
// Simple command
const files = await $`ls -la`.text();
// With variables (auto-escaped)
const name = "my file.txt";
await $`cat ${name}`;
// Piping
await $`cat data.csv | grep "pattern" | wc -l`;
S3 Storage
import { s3 } from "bun";
// Upload
await s3.file("uploads/doc.pdf").write(data);
// Download
const content = await s3.file("uploads/doc.pdf").text();
// Presigned URL
const url = s3.presign("uploads/doc.pdf", { expiresIn: 3600 });
Redis
import { redis } from "bun";
await redis.set("key", "value");
const value = await redis.get("key");
await redis.expire("key", 3600);
Testing
import { expect, test, describe } from "bun:test";
describe("math", () => {
test("2 + 2 = 4", () => {
expect(2 + 2).toBe(4);
});
});
Configuration (bunfig.toml)
[run]
watch = true
[install]
registry = "https://registry.npmjs.org"
[test]
coverage = true
Environment Variables
# .env files loaded automatically
DATABASE_URL=postgres://localhost/mydb
// Access
Bun.env.DATABASE_URL;
process.env.DATABASE_URL;
import.meta.env.DATABASE_URL;