Cross-Runtime JavaScript: Introduction
by Hexagon, 2 minutes read javascript typescript cross-runtime nodejs deno bun
Kickstart your cross-runtime JavaScript journey! Learn the basics and why building code for all runtimes (Node.js, Deno, and Bun) matters.
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Master the art of cross-runtime JavaScript development and build applications that run seamlessly in Node.js, Deno, and Bun. In this post, we'll explore the core concepts and practical techniques you need to write function cross-runtime JavaScript or TypeScript.
There are two ways to ensure your JavaScript code works flawlessly across different runtimes:
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Targeting a single runtime, distributing for multiple: Use one runtime for development, and make it compatible with other runtimes through bundling or transpiling. One example of this is my cross-runtime library croner, which i have adapted to browsers and different back-end runtimes as the've popped up, and made available through npm, deno.land/x, jsr.io, jsdelivr etc.
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Cross-Runtime from the ground up: The other path is to write truly cross-runtime code, which will run in all runtimes with no change whatsoever. This is a more recent technique which i've utilized in webdiff, where I've used (or created) fully cross runtime libraries to make the program behave exactly the same regardless of environment.
Until recently, the only way to achieve cross-runtime compatibility was through bundling and transpilation. However, with the rise of Deno's Node.js compatibility layer and projects like jsr.io which highlights support for multiple environments, we can now write JavaScript code designed from the ground up to execute seamlessly in different environments.
Where To Start?
First of all, you'll need a runtime environment installed, any will do, but i do recommend Deno as the base, as it has build in support for formatting, linting, type checking and whatnot. Reducing the need for build tools to zero. Bun is also pretty good at this.
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Create a project directory:
/my-project. -
Add an entropoint for the code, lets call it
main.js:
import { writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
const fileContents = "Hello File!";
await writeFile("output.txt", fileContents);
- Run it in any environment:
- Deno:
deno run --allow-write main.ts - Bun:
bun tun main.ts - Node:
node main.ts
Great! Now we have a small program, working the same way across all runtimes thanks to the Node-compatibility of Deno and Bun. In the next article, we'll explore a full project layout, and some libraries which can simplify cross runtime development.