# Command line options

<!--introduced_in=v5.9.1-->
<!--type=misc-->

Node.js comes with a variety of CLI options. These options expose built-in
debugging, multiple ways to execute scripts, and other helpful runtime options.

To view this documentation as a manual page in a terminal, run `man node`.

## Synopsis

`node [options] [V8 options] [script.js | -e "script" | -] [--] [arguments]`

`node inspect [script.js | -e "script" | <host>:<port>] …`

`node --v8-options`

Execute without arguments to start the [REPL][].

_For more info about `node inspect`, please see the [debugger][] documentation._

## Options
<!-- YAML
changes:
  - version: v10.12.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/23020
    description: Underscores instead of dashes are now allowed for
                 Node.js options as well, in addition to V8 options.
-->

All options, including V8 options, allow words to be separated by both
dashes (`-`) or underscores (`_`).

For example, `--pending-deprecation` is equivalent to `--pending_deprecation`.

If an option that takes a single value, for example `--max-http-header-size`,
is passed more than once, then the last passed value will be used. Options
from the command line take precedence over options passed through the
[`NODE_OPTIONS`][] environment variable.

### `-`
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added: v8.0.0
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Alias for stdin. Analogous to the use of `-` in other command line utilities,
meaning that the script will be read from stdin, and the rest of the options
are passed to that script.

### `--`
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added: v6.11.0
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Indicate the end of node options. Pass the rest of the arguments to the script.
If no script filename or eval/print script is supplied prior to this, then
the next argument will be used as a script filename.

### `--abort-on-uncaught-exception`
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added: v0.10.8
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Aborting instead of exiting causes a core file to be generated for post-mortem
analysis using a debugger (such as `lldb`, `gdb`, and `mdb`).

If this flag is passed, the behavior can still be set to not abort through
[`process.setUncaughtExceptionCaptureCallback()`][] (and through usage of the
`domain` module that uses it).

### `--completion-bash`
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added: v10.12.0
-->

Print source-able bash completion script for Node.js.

```console
$ node --completion-bash > node_bash_completion
$ source node_bash_completion
```

### `--conditions=condition`
<!-- YAML
added: v12.19.0
-->

> Stability: 1 - Experimental

Enable experimental support for custom conditional exports resolution
conditions.

Any number of custom string condition names are permitted.

The default Node.js conditions of `"node"`, `"default"`, `"import"`, and
`"require"` will always apply as defined.

### `--cpu-prof`
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added: v12.0.0
-->

> Stability: 1 - Experimental

Starts the V8 CPU profiler on start up, and writes the CPU profile to disk
before exit.

If `--cpu-prof-dir` is not specified, the generated profile will be placed
in the current working directory.

If `--cpu-prof-name` is not specified, the generated profile will be
named `CPU.${yyyymmdd}.${hhmmss}.${pid}.${tid}.${seq}.cpuprofile`.

```console
$ node --cpu-prof index.js
$ ls *.cpuprofile
CPU.20190409.202950.15293.0.0.cpuprofile
```

### `--cpu-prof-dir`
<!-- YAML
added: v12.0.0
-->

> Stability: 1 - Experimental

Specify the directory where the CPU profiles generated by `--cpu-prof` will
be placed.

The default value is controlled by the
[--diagnostic-dir](#cli_diagnostic_dir_directory) command line option.

### `--cpu-prof-interval`
<!-- YAML
added: v12.2.0
-->

> Stability: 1 - Experimental

Specify the sampling interval in microseconds for the CPU profiles generated
by `--cpu-prof`. The default is 1000 microseconds.

### `--cpu-prof-name`
<!-- YAML
added: v12.0.0
-->

> Stability: 1 - Experimental

Specify the file name of the CPU profile generated by `--cpu-prof`.

### `--diagnostic-dir=directory`

Set the directory to which all diagnostic output files will be written to.
Defaults to current working directory.

Affects the default output directory of:
* [--cpu-prof-dir](#cli_cpu_prof_dir)
* [--heap-prof-dir](#cli_heap_prof_dir)
* [--redirect-warnings](#cli_redirect_warnings_file)

### `--disable-proto=mode`
<!--YAML
added: v12.17.0
-->

Disable the `Object.prototype.__proto__` property. If `mode` is `delete`, the
property will be removed entirely. If `mode` is `throw`, accesses to the
property will throw an exception with the code `ERR_PROTO_ACCESS`.

### `--disallow-code-generation-from-strings`
<!-- YAML
added: v9.8.0
-->

Make built-in language features like `eval` and `new Function` that generate
code from strings throw an exception instead. This does not affect the Node.js
`vm` module.

### `--enable-fips`
<!-- YAML
added: v6.0.0
-->

Enable FIPS-compliant crypto at startup. (Requires Node.js to be built with
`./configure --openssl-fips`.)

### `--enable-source-maps`
<!-- YAML
added: v12.12.0
-->

> Stability: 1 - Experimental

Enable experimental Source Map v3 support for stack traces.

Currently, overriding `Error.prepareStackTrace` is ignored when the
`--enable-source-maps` flag is set.

### `--experimental-import-meta-resolve`
<!-- YAML
added: v12.16.2
-->

Enable experimental `import.meta.resolve()` support.

### `--experimental-json-modules`
<!-- YAML
added: v12.9.0
-->

Enable experimental JSON support for the ES Module loader.

### `--experimental-loader=module`
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-->

Specify the `module` of a custom [experimental ECMAScript Module loader][].
`module` may be either a path to a file, or an ECMAScript Module name.

### `--experimental-modules`
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added: v8.5.0
-->

Enable latest experimental modules features (deprecated).

### `--experimental-policy`
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-->

Use the specified file as a security policy.

### `--experimental-repl-await`
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added: v10.0.0
-->

Enable experimental top-level `await` keyword support in REPL.

### `--experimental-specifier-resolution=mode`
<!-- YAML
added: v12.16.0
-->

Sets the resolution algorithm for resolving ES module specifiers. Valid options
are `explicit` and `node`.

The default is `explicit`, which requires providing the full path to a
module. The `node` mode will enable support for optional file extensions and
the ability to import a directory that has an index file.

Please see [customizing ESM specifier resolution][] for example usage.

### `--experimental-vm-modules`
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added: v9.6.0
-->

Enable experimental ES Module support in the `vm` module.

### `--experimental-wasi-unstable-preview1`
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added: v12.16.0
-->

Enable experimental WebAssembly System Interface (WASI) support.

### `--experimental-wasm-modules`
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added: v12.3.0
-->

### `--force-context-aware`
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added: v12.12.0
-->

Disable loading native addons that are not [context-aware][].

Enable experimental WebAssembly module support.

### `--force-fips`
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added: v6.0.0
-->

Force FIPS-compliant crypto on startup. (Cannot be disabled from script code.)
(Same requirements as `--enable-fips`.)

### `--frozen-intrinsics`
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added: v11.12.0
-->

> Stability: 1 - Experimental

Enable experimental frozen intrinsics like `Array` and `Object`.

Support is currently only provided for the root context and no guarantees are
currently provided that `global.Array` is indeed the default intrinsic
reference. Code may break under this flag.

`--require` runs prior to freezing intrinsics in order to allow polyfills to
be added.

### `--heapsnapshot-signal=signal`
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added: v12.0.0
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Enables a signal handler that causes the Node.js process to write a heap dump
when the specified signal is received. `signal` must be a valid signal name.
Disabled by default.

```console
$ node --heapsnapshot-signal=SIGUSR2 index.js &
$ ps aux
USER       PID %CPU %MEM    VSZ   RSS TTY      STAT START   TIME COMMAND
node         1  5.5  6.1 787252 247004 ?       Ssl  16:43   0:02 node --heapsnapshot-signal=SIGUSR2 index.js
$ kill -USR2 1
$ ls
Heap.20190718.133405.15554.0.001.heapsnapshot
```

### `--heap-prof`
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added: v12.4.0
-->

> Stability: 1 - Experimental

Starts the V8 heap profiler on start up, and writes the heap profile to disk
before exit.

If `--heap-prof-dir` is not specified, the generated profile will be placed
in the current working directory.

If `--heap-prof-name` is not specified, the generated profile will be
named `Heap.${yyyymmdd}.${hhmmss}.${pid}.${tid}.${seq}.heapprofile`.

```console
$ node --heap-prof index.js
$ ls *.heapprofile
Heap.20190409.202950.15293.0.001.heapprofile
```

### `--heap-prof-dir`
<!-- YAML
added: v12.4.0
-->

> Stability: 1 - Experimental

Specify the directory where the heap profiles generated by `--heap-prof` will
be placed.

The default value is controlled by the
[--diagnostic-dir](#cli_diagnostic_dir_directory) command line option.

### `--heap-prof-interval`
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added: v12.4.0
-->

> Stability: 1 - Experimental

Specify the average sampling interval in bytes for the heap profiles generated
by `--heap-prof`. The default is 512 * 1024 bytes.

### `--heap-prof-name`
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added: v12.4.0
-->

> Stability: 1 - Experimental

Specify the file name of the heap profile generated by `--heap-prof`.

### `--http-parser=library`
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added: v11.4.0
-->

Chooses an HTTP parser library. Available values are:

* `llhttp` for <https://llhttp.org/>
* `legacy` for <https://github.com/nodejs/http-parser>

The default is `llhttp`, unless otherwise specified when building Node.js.

This flag exists to aid in experimentation with the internal implementation of
the Node.js http parser.
This flag is likely to become a no-op and removed at some point in the future.

### `--http-server-default-timeout=milliseconds`
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added: v12.4.0
-->

Overrides the default value of `http`, `https` and `http2` server socket
timeout. Setting the value to 0 disables server socket timeout. Unless
provided, http server sockets timeout after 120s (2 minutes). Programmatic
setting of the timeout takes precedence over the value set through this
flag.

### `--icu-data-dir=file`
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added: v0.11.15
-->

Specify ICU data load path. (Overrides `NODE_ICU_DATA`.)

### `--input-type=type`
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added: v12.0.0
-->

This configures Node.js to interpret string input as CommonJS or as an ES
module. String input is input via `--eval`, `--print`, or `STDIN`.

Valid values are `"commonjs"` and `"module"`. The default is `"commonjs"`.

### `--inspect-brk[=[host:]port]`
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added: v7.6.0
-->

Activate inspector on `host:port` and break at start of user script.
Default `host:port` is `127.0.0.1:9229`.

### `--inspect-port=[host:]port`
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added: v7.6.0
-->

Set the `host:port` to be used when the inspector is activated.
Useful when activating the inspector by sending the `SIGUSR1` signal.

Default host is `127.0.0.1`.

See the [security warning](#inspector_security) below regarding the `host`
parameter usage.

### `--inspect[=[host:]port]`
<!-- YAML
added: v6.3.0
-->

Activate inspector on `host:port`. Default is `127.0.0.1:9229`.

V8 inspector integration allows tools such as Chrome DevTools and IDEs to debug
and profile Node.js instances. The tools attach to Node.js instances via a
tcp port and communicate using the [Chrome DevTools Protocol][].

<a id="inspector_security"></a>
#### Warning: binding inspector to a public IP:port combination is insecure

Binding the inspector to a public IP (including `0.0.0.0`) with an open port is
insecure, as it allows external hosts to connect to the inspector and perform
a [remote code execution][] attack.

If specifying a host, make sure that either:

* The host is not accessible from public networks.
* A firewall disallows unwanted connections on the port.

**More specifically, `--inspect=0.0.0.0` is insecure if the port (`9229` by
default) is not firewall-protected.**

See the [debugging security implications][] section for more information.

### `--inspect-publish-uid=stderr,http`

Specify ways of the inspector web socket url exposure.

By default inspector websocket url is available in stderr and under `/json/list`
endpoint on `http://host:port/json/list`.

### `--insecure-http-parser`
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added: v12.15.0
-->

Use an insecure HTTP parser that accepts invalid HTTP headers. This may allow
interoperability with non-conformant HTTP implementations. It may also allow
request smuggling and other HTTP attacks that rely on invalid headers being
accepted. Avoid using this option.

### `--jitless`
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added: v12.0.0
-->

Disable [runtime allocation of executable memory][jitless]. This may be
required on some platforms for security reasons. It can also reduce attack
surface on other platforms, but the performance impact may be severe.

This flag is inherited from V8 and is subject to change upstream. It may
disappear in a non-semver-major release.

### `--max-http-header-size=size`
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added: v11.6.0
-->

Specify the maximum size, in bytes, of HTTP headers. Defaults to 8KB.

### `--napi-modules`
<!-- YAML
added: v7.10.0
-->

This option is a no-op. It is kept for compatibility.

### `--no-deprecation`
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added: v0.8.0
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Silence deprecation warnings.

### `--no-force-async-hooks-checks`
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added: v9.0.0
-->

Disables runtime checks for `async_hooks`. These will still be enabled
dynamically when `async_hooks` is enabled.

### `--no-warnings`
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added: v6.0.0
-->

Silence all process warnings (including deprecations).

### `--openssl-config=file`
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added: v6.9.0
-->

Load an OpenSSL configuration file on startup. Among other uses, this can be
used to enable FIPS-compliant crypto if Node.js is built with
`./configure --openssl-fips`.

### `--pending-deprecation`
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added: v8.0.0
-->

Emit pending deprecation warnings.

Pending deprecations are generally identical to a runtime deprecation with the
notable exception that they are turned *off* by default and will not be emitted
unless either the `--pending-deprecation` command line flag, or the
`NODE_PENDING_DEPRECATION=1` environment variable, is set. Pending deprecations
are used to provide a kind of selective "early warning" mechanism that
developers may leverage to detect deprecated API usage.

### `--policy-integrity=sri`
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added: v12.7.0
-->

> Stability: 1 - Experimental

Instructs Node.js to error prior to running any code if the policy does not have
the specified integrity. It expects a [Subresource Integrity][] string as a
parameter.

### `--preserve-symlinks`
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added: v6.3.0
-->

Instructs the module loader to preserve symbolic links when resolving and
caching modules.

By default, when Node.js loads a module from a path that is symbolically linked
to a different on-disk location, Node.js will dereference the link and use the
actual on-disk "real path" of the module as both an identifier and as a root
path to locate other dependency modules. In most cases, this default behavior
is acceptable. However, when using symbolically linked peer dependencies, as
illustrated in the example below, the default behavior causes an exception to
be thrown if `moduleA` attempts to require `moduleB` as a peer dependency:

```text
{appDir}
 ├── app
 │   ├── index.js
 │   └── node_modules
 │       ├── moduleA -> {appDir}/moduleA
 │       └── moduleB
 │           ├── index.js
 │           └── package.json
 └── moduleA
     ├── index.js
     └── package.json
```

The `--preserve-symlinks` command line flag instructs Node.js to use the
symlink path for modules as opposed to the real path, allowing symbolically
linked peer dependencies to be found.

Note, however, that using `--preserve-symlinks` can have other side effects.
Specifically, symbolically linked *native* modules can fail to load if those
are linked from more than one location in the dependency tree (Node.js would
see those as two separate modules and would attempt to load the module multiple
times, causing an exception to be thrown).

The `--preserve-symlinks` flag does not apply to the main module, which allows
`node --preserve-symlinks node_module/.bin/<foo>` to work. To apply the same
behavior for the main module, also use `--preserve-symlinks-main`.

### `--preserve-symlinks-main`
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added: v10.2.0
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Instructs the module loader to preserve symbolic links when resolving and
caching the main module (`require.main`).

This flag exists so that the main module can be opted-in to the same behavior
that `--preserve-symlinks` gives to all other imports; they are separate flags,
however, for backward compatibility with older Node.js versions.

`--preserve-symlinks-main` does not imply `--preserve-symlinks`; it
is expected that `--preserve-symlinks-main` will be used in addition to
`--preserve-symlinks` when it is not desirable to follow symlinks before
resolving relative paths.

See `--preserve-symlinks` for more information.

### `--prof`
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added: v2.0.0
-->

Generate V8 profiler output.

### `--prof-process`
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added: v5.2.0
-->

Process V8 profiler output generated using the V8 option `--prof`.

### `--redirect-warnings=file`
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added: v8.0.0
-->

Write process warnings to the given file instead of printing to stderr. The
file will be created if it does not exist, and will be appended to if it does.
If an error occurs while attempting to write the warning to the file, the
warning will be written to stderr instead.

The `file` name may be an absolute path. If it is not, the default directory it
will be written to is controlled by the
[--diagnostic-dir](#cli_diagnostic_dir_directory) command line option.

### `--report-compact`
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added: v12.17.0
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Write reports in a compact format, single-line JSON, more easily consumable
by log processing systems than the default multi-line format designed for
human consumption.

### `--report-dir=directory`, `report-directory=directory`
<!-- YAML
added: v11.8.0
changes:
  - version: v12.17.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/32242
    description: This option is no longer experimental.
  - version: v12.0.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/27312
    description: Changed from `--diagnostic-report-directory` to
                 `--report-directory`
-->

Location at which the report will be generated.

### `--report-filename=filename`
<!-- YAML
added: v11.8.0
changes:
  - version: v12.17.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/32242
    description: This option is no longer experimental.
  - version: v12.0.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/27312
    description: changed from `--diagnostic-report-filename` to
                 `--report-filename`
-->

Name of the file to which the report will be written.

### `--report-on-fatalerror`
<!-- YAML
added: v11.8.0
changes:
  - version: v12.17.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/32496
    description: This option is no longer experimental.
  - version: v12.0.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/27312
    description: changed from `--diagnostic-report-on-fatalerror` to
                 `--report-on-fatalerror`
-->

Enables the report to be triggered on fatal errors (internal errors within
the Node.js runtime such as out of memory) that lead to termination of the
application. Useful to inspect various diagnostic data elements such as heap,
stack, event loop state, resource consumption etc. to reason about the fatal
error.

### `--report-on-signal`
<!-- YAML
added: v11.8.0
changes:
  - version: v12.17.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/32242
    description: This option is no longer experimental.
  - version: v12.0.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/27312
    description: changed from `--diagnostic-report-on-signal` to
                 `--report-on-signal`
-->

Enables report to be generated upon receiving the specified (or predefined)
signal to the running Node.js process. The signal to trigger the report is
specified through `--report-signal`.

### `--report-signal=signal`
<!-- YAML
added: v11.8.0
changes:
  - version: v12.17.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/32242
    description: This option is no longer experimental.
  - version: v12.0.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/27312
    description: changed from `--diagnostic-report-signal` to
                 `--report-signal`
-->

Sets or resets the signal for report generation (not supported on Windows).
Default signal is `SIGUSR2`.

### `--report-uncaught-exception`
<!-- YAML
added: v11.8.0
changes:
  - version: v12.17.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/32242
    description: This option is no longer experimental.
  - version: v12.0.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/27312
    description: changed from `--diagnostic-report-uncaught-exception` to
                 `--report-uncaught-exception`
-->

Enables report to be generated on uncaught exceptions. Useful when inspecting
the JavaScript stack in conjunction with native stack and other runtime
environment data.

### `--throw-deprecation`
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added: v0.11.14
-->

Throw errors for deprecations.

### `--title=title`
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added: v10.7.0
-->

Set `process.title` on startup.

### `--tls-cipher-list=list`
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added: v4.0.0
-->

Specify an alternative default TLS cipher list. Requires Node.js to be built
with crypto support (default).

### `--tls-keylog=file`
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added: v12.16.0
-->

Log TLS key material to a file. The key material is in NSS `SSLKEYLOGFILE`
format and can be used by software (such as Wireshark) to decrypt the TLS
traffic.

### `--tls-max-v1.2`
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added: v12.0.0
-->

Set [`tls.DEFAULT_MAX_VERSION`][] to 'TLSv1.2'. Use to disable support for
TLSv1.3.

### `--tls-max-v1.3`
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added: v12.0.0
-->

Set default [`tls.DEFAULT_MAX_VERSION`][] to 'TLSv1.3'. Use to enable support
for TLSv1.3.

### `--tls-min-v1.0`
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added: v12.0.0
-->

Set default [`tls.DEFAULT_MIN_VERSION`][] to 'TLSv1'. Use for compatibility with
old TLS clients or servers.

### `--tls-min-v1.1`
<!-- YAML
added: v12.0.0
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Set default [`tls.DEFAULT_MIN_VERSION`][] to 'TLSv1.1'. Use for compatibility
with old TLS clients or servers.

### `--tls-min-v1.2`
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added: v12.2.0
-->

Set default [`tls.DEFAULT_MIN_VERSION`][] to 'TLSv1.2'. This is the default for
12.x and later, but the option is supported for compatibility with older Node.js
versions.

### `--tls-min-v1.3`
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Set default [`tls.DEFAULT_MIN_VERSION`][] to 'TLSv1.3'. Use to disable support
for TLSv1.2, which is not as secure as TLSv1.3.

### `--trace-deprecation`
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added: v0.8.0
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Print stack traces for deprecations.

### `--trace-event-categories`
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added: v7.7.0
-->

A comma separated list of categories that should be traced when trace event
tracing is enabled using `--trace-events-enabled`.

### `--trace-event-file-pattern`
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added: v9.8.0
-->

Template string specifying the filepath for the trace event data, it
supports `${rotation}` and `${pid}`.

### `--trace-events-enabled`
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Enables the collection of trace event tracing information.

### `--trace-exit`
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Prints a stack trace whenever an environment is exited proactively,
i.e. invoking `process.exit()`.

### `--trace-sigint`
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Prints a stack trace on SIGINT.

### `--trace-sync-io`
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Prints a stack trace whenever synchronous I/O is detected after the first turn
of the event loop.

### `--trace-tls`
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-->

Prints TLS packet trace information to `stderr`. This can be used to debug TLS
connection problems.

### `--trace-uncaught`
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added: v12.16.0
-->

Print stack traces for uncaught exceptions; usually, the stack trace associated
with the creation of an `Error` is printed, whereas this makes Node.js also
print the stack trace associated with throwing the value (which does not need
to be an `Error` instance).

Enabling this option may affect garbage collection behavior negatively.

### `--trace-warnings`
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added: v6.0.0
-->

Print stack traces for process warnings (including deprecations).

### `--track-heap-objects`
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added: v2.4.0
-->

Track heap object allocations for heap snapshots.

### `--unhandled-rejections=mode`
<!-- YAML
added: v12.0.0
-->

By default all unhandled rejections trigger a warning plus a deprecation warning
for the very first unhandled rejection in case no [`unhandledRejection`][] hook
is used.

Using this flag allows to change what should happen when an unhandled rejection
occurs. One of three modes can be chosen:

* `strict`: Raise the unhandled rejection as an uncaught exception.
* `warn`: Always trigger a warning, no matter if the [`unhandledRejection`][]
  hook is set or not but do not print the deprecation warning.
* `none`: Silence all warnings.

### `--use-bundled-ca`, `--use-openssl-ca`
<!-- YAML
added: v6.11.0
-->

Use bundled Mozilla CA store as supplied by current Node.js version
or use OpenSSL's default CA store. The default store is selectable
at build-time.

The bundled CA store, as supplied by Node.js, is a snapshot of Mozilla CA store
that is fixed at release time. It is identical on all supported platforms.

Using OpenSSL store allows for external modifications of the store. For most
Linux and BSD distributions, this store is maintained by the distribution
maintainers and system administrators. OpenSSL CA store location is dependent on
configuration of the OpenSSL library but this can be altered at runtime using
environment variables.

See `SSL_CERT_DIR` and `SSL_CERT_FILE`.

### `--use-largepages=mode`
<!-- YAML
added: v12.17.0
-->

Re-map the Node.js static code to large memory pages at startup. If supported on
the target system, this will cause the Node.js static code to be moved onto 2
MiB pages instead of 4 KiB pages.

The following values are valid for `mode`:
* `off`: No mapping will be attempted. This is the default.
* `on`: If supported by the OS, mapping will be attempted. Failure to map will
  be ignored and a message will be printed to standard error.
* `silent`: If supported by the OS, mapping will be attempted. Failure to map
  will be ignored and will not be reported.

### `--v8-options`
<!-- YAML
added: v0.1.3
-->

Print V8 command line options.

### `--v8-pool-size=num`
<!-- YAML
added: v5.10.0
-->

Set V8's thread pool size which will be used to allocate background jobs.

If set to `0` then V8 will choose an appropriate size of the thread pool based
on the number of online processors.

If the value provided is larger than V8's maximum, then the largest value
will be chosen.

### `--zero-fill-buffers`
<!-- YAML
added: v6.0.0
-->

Automatically zero-fills all newly allocated [`Buffer`][] and [`SlowBuffer`][]
instances.

### `-c`, `--check`
<!-- YAML
added:
  - v5.0.0
  - v4.2.0
changes:
  - version: v10.0.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/19600
    description: The `--require` option is now supported when checking a file.
-->

Syntax check the script without executing.

### `-e`, `--eval "script"`
<!-- YAML
added: v0.5.2
changes:
  - version: v5.11.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/5348
    description: Built-in libraries are now available as predefined variables.
-->

Evaluate the following argument as JavaScript. The modules which are
predefined in the REPL can also be used in `script`.

On Windows, using `cmd.exe` a single quote will not work correctly because it
only recognizes double `"` for quoting. In Powershell or Git bash, both `'`
and `"` are usable.

### `-h`, `--help`
<!-- YAML
added: v0.1.3
-->

Print node command line options.
The output of this option is less detailed than this document.

### `-i`, `--interactive`
<!-- YAML
added: v0.7.7
-->

Opens the REPL even if stdin does not appear to be a terminal.

### `-p`, `--print "script"`
<!-- YAML
added: v0.6.4
changes:
  - version: v5.11.0
    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/5348
    description: Built-in libraries are now available as predefined variables.
-->

Identical to `-e` but prints the result.

### `-r`, `--require module`
<!-- YAML
added: v1.6.0
-->

Preload the specified module at startup.

Follows `require()`'s module resolution
rules. `module` may be either a path to a file, or a node module name.

### `-v`, `--version`
<!-- YAML
added: v0.1.3
-->

Print node's version.

## Environment variables

### `NODE_DEBUG=module[,…]`
<!-- YAML
added: v0.1.32
-->

`','`-separated list of core modules that should print debug information.

### `NODE_DEBUG_NATIVE=module[,…]`

`','`-separated list of core C++ modules that should print debug information.

### `NODE_DISABLE_COLORS=1`
<!-- YAML
added: v0.3.0
-->

When set, colors will not be used in the REPL.

### `NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS=file`
<!-- YAML
added: v7.3.0
-->

When set, the well known "root" CAs (like VeriSign) will be extended with the
extra certificates in `file`. The file should consist of one or more trusted
certificates in PEM format. A message will be emitted (once) with
[`process.emitWarning()`][emit_warning] if the file is missing or
malformed, but any errors are otherwise ignored.

Neither the well known nor extra certificates are used when the `ca`
options property is explicitly specified for a TLS or HTTPS client or server.

This environment variable is ignored when `node` runs as setuid root or
has Linux file capabilities set.

### `NODE_ICU_DATA=file`
<!-- YAML
added: v0.11.15
-->

Data path for ICU (`Intl` object) data. Will extend linked-in data when compiled
with small-icu support.

### `NODE_NO_WARNINGS=1`
<!-- YAML
added: v6.11.0
-->

When set to `1`, process warnings are silenced.

### `NODE_OPTIONS=options...`
<!-- YAML
added: v8.0.0
-->

A space-separated list of command line options. `options...` are interpreted
before command line options, so command line options will override or
compound after anything in `options...`. Node.js will exit with an error if
an option that is not allowed in the environment is used, such as `-p` or a
script file.

In case an option value happens to contain a space (for example a path listed
in `--require`), it must be escaped using double quotes. For example:

```bash
NODE_OPTIONS='--require "./my path/file.js"'
```

A singleton flag passed as a command line option will override the same flag
passed into `NODE_OPTIONS`:

```bash
# The inspector will be available on port 5555
NODE_OPTIONS='--inspect=localhost:4444' node --inspect=localhost:5555
```

A flag that can be passed multiple times will be treated as if its
`NODE_OPTIONS` instances were passed first, and then its command line
instances afterwards:

```bash
NODE_OPTIONS='--require "./a.js"' node --require "./b.js"
# is equivalent to:
node --require "./a.js" --require "./b.js"
```

Node.js options that are allowed are:
<!-- node-options-node start -->
* `--conditions`
* `--diagnostic-dir`
* `--disable-proto`
* `--enable-fips`
* `--enable-source-maps`
* `--experimental-import-meta-resolve`
* `--experimental-json-modules`
* `--experimental-loader`
* `--experimental-modules`
* `--experimental-policy`
* `--experimental-repl-await`
* `--experimental-specifier-resolution`
* `--experimental-vm-modules`
* `--experimental-wasi-unstable-preview1`
* `--experimental-wasm-modules`
* `--force-context-aware`
* `--force-fips`
* `--frozen-intrinsics`
* `--heapsnapshot-signal`
* `--http-parser`
* `--http-server-default-timeout`
* `--icu-data-dir`
* `--input-type`
* `--insecure-http-parser`
* `--inspect-brk`
* `--inspect-port`, `--debug-port`
* `--inspect-publish-uid`
* `--inspect`
* `--max-http-header-size`
* `--napi-modules`
* `--no-deprecation`
* `--no-force-async-hooks-checks`
* `--no-warnings`
* `--openssl-config`
* `--pending-deprecation`
* `--policy-integrity`
* `--preserve-symlinks-main`
* `--preserve-symlinks`
* `--prof-process`
* `--redirect-warnings`
* `--report-compact`
* `--report-dir`, `--report-directory`
* `--report-filename`
* `--report-on-fatalerror`
* `--report-on-signal`
* `--report-signal`
* `--report-uncaught-exception`
* `--require`, `-r`
* `--throw-deprecation`
* `--title`
* `--tls-cipher-list`
* `--tls-keylog`
* `--tls-max-v1.2`
* `--tls-max-v1.3`
* `--tls-min-v1.0`
* `--tls-min-v1.1`
* `--tls-min-v1.2`
* `--tls-min-v1.3`
* `--trace-deprecation`
* `--trace-event-categories`
* `--trace-event-file-pattern`
* `--trace-events-enabled`
* `--trace-exit`
* `--trace-sigint`
* `--trace-sync-io`
* `--trace-tls`
* `--trace-uncaught`
* `--trace-warnings`
* `--track-heap-objects`
* `--unhandled-rejections`
* `--use-bundled-ca`
* `--use-largepages`
* `--use-openssl-ca`
* `--v8-pool-size`
* `--zero-fill-buffers`
<!-- node-options-node end -->

V8 options that are allowed are:
<!-- node-options-v8 start -->
* `--abort-on-uncaught-exception`
* `--disallow-code-generation-from-strings`
* `--huge-max-old-generation-size`
* `--interpreted-frames-native-stack`
* `--jitless`
* `--max-old-space-size`
* `--perf-basic-prof-only-functions`
* `--perf-basic-prof`
* `--perf-prof-unwinding-info`
* `--perf-prof`
* `--stack-trace-limit`
<!-- node-options-v8 end -->

`--perf-basic-prof-only-functions`, `--perf-basic-prof`,
`--perf-prof-unwinding-info`, and `--perf-prof` are only available on Linux.

### `NODE_PATH=path[:…]`
<!-- YAML
added: v0.1.32
-->

`':'`-separated list of directories prefixed to the module search path.

On Windows, this is a `';'`-separated list instead.

### `NODE_PENDING_DEPRECATION=1`
<!-- YAML
added: v8.0.0
-->

When set to `1`, emit pending deprecation warnings.

Pending deprecations are generally identical to a runtime deprecation with the
notable exception that they are turned *off* by default and will not be emitted
unless either the `--pending-deprecation` command line flag, or the
`NODE_PENDING_DEPRECATION=1` environment variable, is set. Pending deprecations
are used to provide a kind of selective "early warning" mechanism that
developers may leverage to detect deprecated API usage.

### `NODE_PENDING_PIPE_INSTANCES=instances`

Set the number of pending pipe instance handles when the pipe server is waiting
for connections. This setting applies to Windows only.

### `NODE_PRESERVE_SYMLINKS=1`
<!-- YAML
added: v7.1.0
-->

When set to `1`, instructs the module loader to preserve symbolic links when
resolving and caching modules.

### `NODE_REDIRECT_WARNINGS=file`
<!-- YAML
added: v8.0.0
-->

When set, process warnings will be emitted to the given file instead of
printing to stderr. The file will be created if it does not exist, and will be
appended to if it does. If an error occurs while attempting to write the
warning to the file, the warning will be written to stderr instead. This is
equivalent to using the `--redirect-warnings=file` command-line flag.

### `NODE_REPL_HISTORY=file`
<!-- YAML
added: v3.0.0
-->

Path to the file used to store the persistent REPL history. The default path is
`~/.node_repl_history`, which is overridden by this variable. Setting the value
to an empty string (`''` or `' '`) disables persistent REPL history.

### `NODE_REPL_EXTERNAL_MODULE=file`
<!-- YAML
added: v12.16.0
-->

Path to a Node.js module which will be loaded in place of the built-in REPL.
Overriding this value to an empty string (`''`) will use the built-in REPL.

### `NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=value`

If `value` equals `'0'`, certificate validation is disabled for TLS connections.
This makes TLS, and HTTPS by extension, insecure. The use of this environment
variable is strongly discouraged.

### `NODE_V8_COVERAGE=dir`

When set, Node.js will begin outputting [V8 JavaScript code coverage][] and
[Source Map][] data to the directory provided as an argument (coverage
information is written as JSON to files with a `coverage` prefix).

`NODE_V8_COVERAGE` will automatically propagate to subprocesses, making it
easier to instrument applications that call the `child_process.spawn()` family
of functions. `NODE_V8_COVERAGE` can be set to an empty string, to prevent
propagation.

#### Coverage output

Coverage is output as an array of [ScriptCoverage][] objects on the top-level
key `result`:

```json
{
  "result": [
    {
      "scriptId": "67",
      "url": "internal/tty.js",
      "functions": []
    }
  ]
}
```

#### Source map cache

> Stability: 1 - Experimental

If found, source map data is appended to the top-level key `source-map-cache`
on the JSON coverage object.

`source-map-cache` is an object with keys representing the files source maps
were extracted from, and values which include the raw source-map URL
(in the key `url`), the parsed Source Map v3 information (in the key `data`),
and the line lengths of the source file (in the key `lineLengths`).

```json
{
  "result": [
    {
      "scriptId": "68",
      "url": "file:///absolute/path/to/source.js",
      "functions": []
    }
  ],
  "source-map-cache": {
    "file:///absolute/path/to/source.js": {
      "url": "./path-to-map.json",
      "data": {
        "version": 3,
        "sources": [
          "file:///absolute/path/to/original.js"
        ],
        "names": [
          "Foo",
          "console",
          "info"
        ],
        "mappings": "MAAMA,IACJC,YAAaC",
        "sourceRoot": "./"
      },
      "lineLengths": [
        13,
        62,
        38,
        27
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### `OPENSSL_CONF=file`
<!-- YAML
added: v6.11.0
-->

Load an OpenSSL configuration file on startup. Among other uses, this can be
used to enable FIPS-compliant crypto if Node.js is built with `./configure
--openssl-fips`.

If the [`--openssl-config`][] command line option is used, the environment
variable is ignored.

### `SSL_CERT_DIR=dir`
<!-- YAML
added: v7.7.0
-->

If `--use-openssl-ca` is enabled, this overrides and sets OpenSSL's directory
containing trusted certificates.

Be aware that unless the child environment is explicitly set, this environment
variable will be inherited by any child processes, and if they use OpenSSL, it
may cause them to trust the same CAs as node.

### `SSL_CERT_FILE=file`
<!-- YAML
added: v7.7.0
-->

If `--use-openssl-ca` is enabled, this overrides and sets OpenSSL's file
containing trusted certificates.

Be aware that unless the child environment is explicitly set, this environment
variable will be inherited by any child processes, and if they use OpenSSL, it
may cause them to trust the same CAs as node.

### `UV_THREADPOOL_SIZE=size`

Set the number of threads used in libuv's threadpool to `size` threads.

Asynchronous system APIs are used by Node.js whenever possible, but where they
do not exist, libuv's threadpool is used to create asynchronous node APIs based
on synchronous system APIs. Node.js APIs that use the threadpool are:

* all `fs` APIs, other than the file watcher APIs and those that are explicitly
  synchronous
* asynchronous crypto APIs such as `crypto.pbkdf2()`, `crypto.scrypt()`,
  `crypto.randomBytes()`, `crypto.randomFill()`, `crypto.generateKeyPair()`
* `dns.lookup()`
* all `zlib` APIs, other than those that are explicitly synchronous

Because libuv's threadpool has a fixed size, it means that if for whatever
reason any of these APIs takes a long time, other (seemingly unrelated) APIs
that run in libuv's threadpool will experience degraded performance. In order to
mitigate this issue, one potential solution is to increase the size of libuv's
threadpool by setting the `'UV_THREADPOOL_SIZE'` environment variable to a value
greater than `4` (its current default value). For more information, see the
[libuv threadpool documentation][].

## Useful V8 options

V8 has its own set of CLI options. Any V8 CLI option that is provided to `node`
will be passed on to V8 to handle. V8's options have _no stability guarantee_.
The V8 team themselves don't consider them to be part of their formal API,
and reserve the right to change them at any time. Likewise, they are not
covered by the Node.js stability guarantees. Many of the V8
options are of interest only to V8 developers. Despite this, there is a small
set of V8 options that are widely applicable to Node.js, and they are
documented here:

### `--max-old-space-size=SIZE` (in megabytes)

Sets the max memory size of V8's old memory section. As memory
consumption approaches the limit, V8 will spend more time on
garbage collection in an effort to free unused memory.

On a machine with 2GB of memory, consider setting this to
1536 (1.5GB) to leave some memory for other uses and avoid swapping.

```console
$ node --max-old-space-size=1536 index.js
```

[`--openssl-config`]: #cli_openssl_config_file
[`Buffer`]: buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer
[`SlowBuffer`]: buffer.html#buffer_class_slowbuffer
[`NODE_OPTIONS`]: #cli_node_options_options
[`process.setUncaughtExceptionCaptureCallback()`]: process.html#process_process_setuncaughtexceptioncapturecallback_fn
[`tls.DEFAULT_MAX_VERSION`]: tls.html#tls_tls_default_max_version
[`tls.DEFAULT_MIN_VERSION`]: tls.html#tls_tls_default_min_version
[`unhandledRejection`]: process.html#process_event_unhandledrejection
[Chrome DevTools Protocol]: https://chromedevtools.github.io/devtools-protocol/
[REPL]: repl.html
[ScriptCoverage]: https://chromedevtools.github.io/devtools-protocol/tot/Profiler#type-ScriptCoverage
[Source Map]: https://sourcemaps.info/spec.html
[Subresource Integrity]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Security/Subresource_Integrity
[V8 JavaScript code coverage]: https://v8project.blogspot.com/2017/12/javascript-code-coverage.html
[context-aware]: addons.html#addons_context_aware_addons
[customizing ESM specifier resolution]: esm.html#esm_customizing_esm_specifier_resolution_algorithm
[debugger]: debugger.html
[debugging security implications]: https://nodejs.org/en/docs/guides/debugging-getting-started/#security-implications
[emit_warning]: process.html#process_process_emitwarning_warning_type_code_ctor
[experimental ECMAScript Module loader]: esm.html#esm_experimental_loaders
[jitless]: https://v8.dev/blog/jitless
[libuv threadpool documentation]: https://docs.libuv.org/en/latest/threadpool.html
[remote code execution]: https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Code_Injection
