Zlib | Node.js v10.14.1 Documentation

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# Zlib#

Stability: 2 - Stable

The `zlib` module provides compression functionality implemented using Gzip and Deflate/Inflate. It can be accessed using:

    const zlib = require('zlib');

Compressing or decompressing a stream (such as a file) can be accomplished by piping the source stream data through a `zlib` stream into a destination stream:

    const gzip = zlib.createGzip();
    const fs = require('fs');
    const inp = fs.createReadStream('input.txt');
    const out = fs.createWriteStream('input.txt.gz');

    inp.pipe(gzip).pipe(out);

It is also possible to compress or decompress data in a single step:

    const input = '.................................';
    zlib.deflate(input, (err, buffer) => {
      if (!err) {
        console.log(buffer.toString('base64'));
      } else {
        // handle error
      }
    });

    const buffer = Buffer.from('eJzT0yMAAGTvBe8=', 'base64');
    zlib.unzip(buffer, (err, buffer) => {
      if (!err) {
        console.log(buffer.toString());
      } else {
        // handle error
      }
    });

## Threadpool Usage#

Note that all zlib APIs except those that are explicitly synchronous use libuv's threadpool. This can lead to surprising effects in some applications, such as subpar performance (which can be mitigated by adjusting the pool size) and/or unrecoverable and catastrophic memory fragmentation.

## Compressing HTTP requests and responses#

The `zlib` module can be used to implement support for the `gzip` and `deflate` content-encoding mechanisms defined by HTTP.

The HTTP `Accept-Encoding` header is used within an http request to identify the compression encodings accepted by the client. The `Content-Encoding` header is used to identify the compression encodings actually applied to a message.

The examples given below are drastically simplified to show the basic concept. Using `zlib` encoding can be expensive, and the results ought to be cached. See Memory Usage Tuning for more information on the speed/memory/compression tradeoffs involved in `zlib` usage.

    // client request example
    const zlib = require('zlib');
    const http = require('http');
    const fs = require('fs');
    const request = http.get({ host: 'example.com',
                               path: '/',
                               port: 80,
                               headers: { 'Accept-Encoding': 'gzip,deflate' } });
    request.on('response', (response) => {
      const output = fs.createWriteStream('example.com_index.html');

      switch (response.headers['content-encoding']) {
        // or, just use zlib.createUnzip() to handle both cases
        case 'gzip':
          response.pipe(zlib.createGunzip()).pipe(output);
          break;
        case 'deflate':
          response.pipe(zlib.createInflate()).pipe(output);
          break;
        default:
          response.pipe(output);
          break;
      }
    });

    // server example
    // Running a gzip operation on every request is quite expensive.
    // It would be much more efficient to cache the compressed buffer.
    const zlib = require('zlib');
    const http = require('http');
    const fs = require('fs');
    http.createServer((request, response) => {
      const raw = fs.createReadStream('index.html');
      let acceptEncoding = request.headers['accept-encoding'];
      if (!acceptEncoding) {
        acceptEncoding = '';
      }

      // Note: This is not a conformant accept-encoding parser.
      // See https://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec14.html#sec14.3
      if (/\bdeflate\b/.test(acceptEncoding)) {
        response.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Encoding': 'deflate' });
        raw.pipe(zlib.createDeflate()).pipe(response);
      } else if (/\bgzip\b/.test(acceptEncoding)) {
        response.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Encoding': 'gzip' });
        raw.pipe(zlib.createGzip()).pipe(response);
      } else {
        response.writeHead(200, {});
        raw.pipe(response);
      }
    }).listen(1337);

By default, the `zlib` methods will throw an error when decompressing truncated data. However, if it is known that the data is incomplete, or the desire is to inspect only the beginning of a compressed file, it is possible to suppress the default error handling by changing the flushing method that is used to decompress the last chunk of input data:

    // This is a truncated version of the buffer from the above examples
    const buffer = Buffer.from('eJzT0yMA', 'base64');

    zlib.unzip(
      buffer,
      { finishFlush: zlib.constants.Z_SYNC_FLUSH },
      (err, buffer) => {
        if (!err) {
          console.log(buffer.toString());
        } else {
          // handle error
        }
      });

This will not change the behavior in other error-throwing situations, e.g. when the input data has an invalid format. Using this method, it will not be possible to determine whether the input ended prematurely or lacks the integrity checks, making it necessary to manually check that the decompressed result is valid.

## Memory Usage Tuning#

From `zlib/zconf.h`, modified to Node.js's usage:

The memory requirements for deflate are (in bytes):

    (1 << (windowBits + 2)) + (1 << (memLevel + 9))

That is: 128K for `windowBits` = 15 + 128K for `memLevel` = 8 (default values) plus a few kilobytes for small objects.

For example, to reduce the default memory requirements from 256K to 128K, the options should be set to:

    const options = { windowBits: 14, memLevel: 7 };

This will, however, generally degrade compression.

The memory requirements for inflate are (in bytes) `1 << windowBits`. That is, 32K for `windowBits` = 15 (default value) plus a few kilobytes for small objects.

This is in addition to a single internal output slab buffer of size `chunkSize`, which defaults to 16K.

The speed of `zlib` compression is affected most dramatically by the `level` setting. A higher level will result in better compression, but will take longer to complete. A lower level will result in less compression, but will be much faster.

In general, greater memory usage options will mean that Node.js has to make fewer calls to `zlib` because it will be able to process more data on each `write` operation. So, this is another factor that affects the speed, at the cost of memory usage.

## Flushing#

Calling `.flush()` on a compression stream will make `zlib` return as much output as currently possible. This may come at the cost of degraded compression quality, but can be useful when data needs to be available as soon as possible.

In the following example, `flush()` is used to write a compressed partial HTTP response to the client:

    const zlib = require('zlib');
    const http = require('http');

    http.createServer((request, response) => {
      // For the sake of simplicity, the Accept-Encoding checks are omitted.
      response.writeHead(200, { 'content-encoding': 'gzip' });
      const output = zlib.createGzip();
      output.pipe(response);

      setInterval(() => {
        output.write(`The current time is ${Date()}\n`, () => {
          // The data has been passed to zlib, but the compression algorithm may
          // have decided to buffer the data for more efficient compression.
          // Calling .flush() will make the data available as soon as the client
          // is ready to receive it.
          output.flush();
        });
      }, 1000);
    }).listen(1337);

## Constants#

Added in: v0.5.8

All of the constants defined in `zlib.h` are also defined on `require('zlib').constants`. In the normal course of operations, it will not be necessary to use these constants. They are documented so that their presence is not surprising. This section is taken almost directly from the zlib documentation. See https://zlib.net/manual.html#Constants for more details.

Previously, the constants were available directly from `require('zlib')`, for instance `zlib.Z_NO_FLUSH`. Accessing the constants directly from the module is currently still possible but is deprecated.

Allowed flush values.

- `zlib.constants.Z_NO_FLUSH`
- `zlib.constants.Z_PARTIAL_FLUSH`
- `zlib.constants.Z_SYNC_FLUSH`
- `zlib.constants.Z_FULL_FLUSH`
- `zlib.constants.Z_FINISH`
- `zlib.constants.Z_BLOCK`
- `zlib.constants.Z_TREES`

Return codes for the compression/decompression functions. Negative values are errors, positive values are used for special but normal events.

- `zlib.constants.Z_OK`
- `zlib.constants.Z_STREAM_END`
- `zlib.constants.Z_NEED_DICT`
- `zlib.constants.Z_ERRNO`
- `zlib.constants.Z_STREAM_ERROR`
- `zlib.constants.Z_DATA_ERROR`
- `zlib.constants.Z_MEM_ERROR`
- `zlib.constants.Z_BUF_ERROR`
- `zlib.constants.Z_VERSION_ERROR`

Compression levels.

- `zlib.constants.Z_NO_COMPRESSION`
- `zlib.constants.Z_BEST_SPEED`
- `zlib.constants.Z_BEST_COMPRESSION`
- `zlib.constants.Z_DEFAULT_COMPRESSION`

Compression strategy.

- `zlib.constants.Z_FILTERED`
- `zlib.constants.Z_HUFFMAN_ONLY`
- `zlib.constants.Z_RLE`
- `zlib.constants.Z_FIXED`
- `zlib.constants.Z_DEFAULT_STRATEGY`

## Class: Options#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v9.4.0 | The `dictionary` option can be an `ArrayBuffer`.
v8.0.0 | The `dictionary` option can be an `Uint8Array` now.
v5.11.0 | The `finishFlush` option is supported now.
v0.11.1 | Added in: v0.11.1

Each class takes an `options` object. All options are optional.

Note that some options are only relevant when compressing, and are ignored by the decompression classes.

- `flush` <integer> Default: `zlib.constants.Z_NO_FLUSH`
- `finishFlush` <integer> Default: `zlib.constants.Z_FINISH`
- `chunkSize` <integer> Default: `16 * 1024`
- `windowBits` <integer>
- `level` <integer> (compression only)
- `memLevel` <integer> (compression only)
- `strategy` <integer> (compression only)
- `dictionary` <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <ArrayBuffer> (deflate/inflate only, empty dictionary by default)
- `info` <boolean> (If `true`, returns an object with `buffer` and `engine`.)

See the description of `deflateInit2` and `inflateInit2` at https://zlib.net/manual.html#Advanced for more information on these.

## Class: zlib.Deflate[src]#

Added in: v0.5.8

Compress data using deflate.

## Class: zlib.DeflateRaw[src]#

Added in: v0.5.8

Compress data using deflate, and do not append a `zlib` header.

## Class: zlib.Gunzip[src]#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v6.0.0 | Trailing garbage at the end of the input stream will now result in an `'error'` event.
v5.9.0 | Multiple concatenated gzip file members are supported now.
v5.0.0 | A truncated input stream will now result in an `'error'` event.
v0.5.8 | Added in: v0.5.8

Decompress a gzip stream.

## Class: zlib.Gzip[src]#

Added in: v0.5.8

Compress data using gzip.

## Class: zlib.Inflate[src]#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v5.0.0 | A truncated input stream will now result in an `'error'` event.
v0.5.8 | Added in: v0.5.8

Decompress a deflate stream.

## Class: zlib.InflateRaw[src]#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v6.8.0 | Custom dictionaries are now supported by `InflateRaw`.
v5.0.0 | A truncated input stream will now result in an `'error'` event.
v0.5.8 | Added in: v0.5.8

Decompress a raw deflate stream.

## Class: zlib.Unzip[src]#

Added in: v0.5.8

Decompress either a Gzip- or Deflate-compressed stream by auto-detecting the header.

## Class: zlib.Zlib#

Added in: v0.5.8

Not exported by the `zlib` module. It is documented here because it is the base class of the compressor/decompressor classes.

This class inherits from `stream.Transform`, allowing `zlib` objects to be used in pipes and similar stream operations.

### zlib.bytesRead#

Added in: v8.1.0Deprecated since: v10.0.0

Stability: 0 - Deprecated: Use `zlib.bytesWritten` instead.

- <number>

Deprecated alias for `zlib.bytesWritten`. This original name was chosen because it also made sense to interpret the value as the number of bytes read by the engine, but is inconsistent with other streams in Node.js that expose values under these names.

### zlib.bytesWritten#

Added in: v10.0.0

- <number>

The `zlib.bytesWritten` property specifies the number of bytes written to the engine, before the bytes are processed (compressed or decompressed, as appropriate for the derived class).

### zlib.close([callback])#

Added in: v0.9.4

- `callback` <Function>

Close the underlying handle.

### zlib.flush([kind, ]callback)#

Added in: v0.5.8

- `kind` Default: `zlib.constants.Z_FULL_FLUSH`
- `callback` <Function>

Flush pending data. Don't call this frivolously, premature flushes negatively impact the effectiveness of the compression algorithm.

Calling this only flushes data from the internal `zlib` state, and does not perform flushing of any kind on the streams level. Rather, it behaves like a normal call to `.write()`, i.e. it will be queued up behind other pending writes and will only produce output when data is being read from the stream.

### zlib.params(level, strategy, callback)#

Added in: v0.11.4

- `level` <integer>
- `strategy` <integer>
- `callback` <Function>

Dynamically update the compression level and compression strategy. Only applicable to deflate algorithm.

### zlib.reset()#

Added in: v0.7.0

Reset the compressor/decompressor to factory defaults. Only applicable to the inflate and deflate algorithms.

## zlib.constants#

Added in: v7.0.0

Provides an object enumerating Zlib-related constants.

## zlib.createDeflate([options])#

Added in: v0.5.8

- `options` <Object>

Creates and returns a new `Deflate` object.

## zlib.createDeflateRaw([options])#

Added in: v0.5.8

- `options` <Object>

Creates and returns a new `DeflateRaw` object.

An upgrade of zlib from 1.2.8 to 1.2.11 changed behavior when `windowBits` is set to 8 for raw deflate streams. zlib would automatically set `windowBits` to 9 if was initially set to 8. Newer versions of zlib will throw an exception, so Node.js restored the original behavior of upgrading a value of 8 to 9, since passing `windowBits = 9` to zlib actually results in a compressed stream that effectively uses an 8-bit window only.

## zlib.createGunzip([options])#

Added in: v0.5.8

- `options` <Object>

Creates and returns a new `Gunzip` object.

## zlib.createGzip([options])#

Added in: v0.5.8

- `options` <Object>

Creates and returns a new `Gzip` object.

## zlib.createInflate([options])#

Added in: v0.5.8

- `options` <Object>

Creates and returns a new `Inflate` object.

## zlib.createInflateRaw([options])#

Added in: v0.5.8

- `options` <Object>

Creates and returns a new `InflateRaw` object.

## zlib.createUnzip([options])#

Added in: v0.5.8

- `options` <Object>

Creates and returns a new `Unzip` object.

## Convenience Methods#

All of these take a `Buffer`, `TypedArray`, `DataView`, `ArrayBuffer` or string as the first argument, an optional second argument to supply options to the `zlib` classes and will call the supplied callback with `callback(error, result)`.

Every method has a `*Sync` counterpart, which accept the same arguments, but without a callback.

### zlib.deflate(buffer[, options], callback)#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v9.4.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `ArrayBuffer`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be any `TypedArray` or `DataView`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `Uint8Array` now.
v0.6.0 | Added in: v0.6.0

- `buffer` <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <ArrayBuffer> | <string>
- `options` <Object>
- `callback` <Function>

### zlib.deflateSync(buffer[, options])#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v9.4.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `ArrayBuffer`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be any `TypedArray` or `DataView`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `Uint8Array` now.
v0.11.12 | Added in: v0.11.12

- `buffer` <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <ArrayBuffer> | <string>
- `options` <Object>

Compress a chunk of data with `Deflate`.

### zlib.deflateRaw(buffer[, options], callback)#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be any `TypedArray` or `DataView`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `Uint8Array` now.
v0.6.0 | Added in: v0.6.0

- `buffer` <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <ArrayBuffer> | <string>
- `options` <Object>
- `callback` <Function>

### zlib.deflateRawSync(buffer[, options])#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v9.4.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `ArrayBuffer`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be any `TypedArray` or `DataView`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `Uint8Array` now.
v0.11.12 | Added in: v0.11.12

- `buffer` <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <ArrayBuffer> | <string>
- `options` <Object>

Compress a chunk of data with `DeflateRaw`.

### zlib.gunzip(buffer[, options], callback)#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v9.4.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `ArrayBuffer`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be any `TypedArray` or `DataView`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `Uint8Array` now.
v0.6.0 | Added in: v0.6.0

- `buffer` <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <ArrayBuffer> | <string>
- `options` <Object>
- `callback` <Function>

### zlib.gunzipSync(buffer[, options])#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v9.4.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `ArrayBuffer`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be any `TypedArray` or `DataView`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `Uint8Array` now.
v0.11.12 | Added in: v0.11.12

- `buffer` <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <ArrayBuffer> | <string>
- `options` <Object>

Decompress a chunk of data with `Gunzip`.

### zlib.gzip(buffer[, options], callback)#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v9.4.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `ArrayBuffer`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be any `TypedArray` or `DataView`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `Uint8Array` now.
v0.6.0 | Added in: v0.6.0

- `buffer` <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <ArrayBuffer> | <string>
- `options` <Object>
- `callback` <Function>

### zlib.gzipSync(buffer[, options])#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v9.4.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `ArrayBuffer`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be any `TypedArray` or `DataView`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `Uint8Array` now.
v0.11.12 | Added in: v0.11.12

- `buffer` <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <ArrayBuffer> | <string>
- `options` <Object>

Compress a chunk of data with `Gzip`.

### zlib.inflate(buffer[, options], callback)#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v9.4.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `ArrayBuffer`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be any `TypedArray` or `DataView`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `Uint8Array` now.
v0.6.0 | Added in: v0.6.0

- `buffer` <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <ArrayBuffer> | <string>
- `options` <Object>
- `callback` <Function>

### zlib.inflateSync(buffer[, options])#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v9.4.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `ArrayBuffer`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be any `TypedArray` or `DataView`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `Uint8Array` now.
v0.11.12 | Added in: v0.11.12

- `buffer` <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <ArrayBuffer> | <string>
- `options` <Object>

Decompress a chunk of data with `Inflate`.

### zlib.inflateRaw(buffer[, options], callback)#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v9.4.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `ArrayBuffer`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be any `TypedArray` or `DataView`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `Uint8Array` now.
v0.6.0 | Added in: v0.6.0

- `buffer` <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <ArrayBuffer> | <string>
- `options` <Object>
- `callback` <Function>

### zlib.inflateRawSync(buffer[, options])#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v9.4.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `ArrayBuffer`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be any `TypedArray` or `DataView`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `Uint8Array` now.
v0.11.12 | Added in: v0.11.12

- `buffer` <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <ArrayBuffer> | <string>
- `options` <Object>

Decompress a chunk of data with `InflateRaw`.

### zlib.unzip(buffer[, options], callback)#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v9.4.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `ArrayBuffer`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be any `TypedArray` or `DataView`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `Uint8Array` now.
v0.6.0 | Added in: v0.6.0

- `buffer` <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <ArrayBuffer> | <string>
- `options` <Object>
- `callback` <Function>

### zlib.unzipSync(buffer[, options])#

History

Version | Changes
--- | ---
v9.4.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `ArrayBuffer`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be any `TypedArray` or `DataView`.
v8.0.0 | The `buffer` parameter can be an `Uint8Array` now.
v0.11.12 | Added in: v0.11.12

- `buffer` <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <ArrayBuffer> | <string>
- `options` <Object>

Decompress a chunk of data with `Unzip`.