Got to this post trying to get a correct set-up for node-gyp, after upgrading Node.js from v5.X to v12.X by overriding previous installation, and upgrading node-gyp.
It seems fairly easy to miss some step when you already have a Visual Studio environment and one or more versions of Python installed.
I will try to synthesise here the steps that worked for me.
CONTEXT
Below the details as per configuration:
+-------+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------------+
| | Component | Name | Version |
+-------+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------------+
| (1) | Platform | Windows 10 | NT 10.0.18362 |
| (2) | Target run-time environment | Node.js | v12.16.1 |
| (3) | Packet Manager | npm | v6.13.4 |
| (4) | CLI Toolchain for compiling | node-gyp | v6.0.1 |
| (4.a) | Compiler Language | Python | v2.7.0 |
| (4.b) | Project Builder | MSBuild.exe | Microsoft (R) Build Engine for .NET |
| | | | version 16.2.32702+c4012a063 |
| | | | 16.200.19.32702 |
+-------+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------------------------+
Guideline
You might have already walked through some of the steps outlined here. If you incurred in some issues, you may be able to identify at which stage something went wrong by reviewing the steps in detail:
References
node-gyp on GitHub: README.md (Generate Your Projects)- A Comprehensive Guide to Fixing Node-Gyp Issues on Windows (by Joe Bustamante; March 27, 2019)
- Setting up None.js on Windows 10 (by Ferenc Hámori; May 17, 2016)
- Using Python on Windows (official documentation)
(1) Node.js
This guideline assumes that git is already installed in your machine (you will find the installer for Windows here anyways).
- Install
Node.js: download the last LTS version for your platform (Windows Installer .msi should work)
To verify it is correctly installed, in a test folder, add a file test.js with this javascript code: console.log("Node is installed!");, and in a terminal run: node test.js. You should be prompted with Node is installed!.
(2) npm
- upgrade
npm to the latest stable version using the npm-windows-upgrade package
Run as Administrator a PowerShell terminal:
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> npm-windows-upgrade
You will be prompted to choose a version. The greatest available version among the options should be fine.
If you miss this package you might want to follow the instructions to install it by following the steps outlined in the GitHub repository, which basically are to type the following in a PowerShell console running as Administrator:
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope CurrentUser -Force
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> npm install --global --production npm-windows-upgrade
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> npm-windows-upgrade
(3) Visual Studio
If you have Visual Studio already installed, you might skip this step, unless you wanted to also upgrade to the newest version.
In some posts, you might have read that you can achieve this step by simply using the following command line, after installing node-gyp:
npm install --global --production windows-build-tools --vs2015
However, you could opt to achieve this by other means:
- you may have already an installation of
Visual Studio and just want to configure node-gyp to use it
- you may prefer to do a separated installation of
Visual Studio and later on configure node-gyp to use it
This is really up to you. At a later stage, in this guideline, we will walk through the steps to configure the node-gyp to use a specific Visual Studio version.
(4) Python
In the installation guideline for node-gyp (GitHub official repo) specifies which versions of Python are currently compatible with the latest node-gyp version on Unix and macOS. However it does not explain for Windows platforms (as at 1st of March 2020).
Although lack of documentation on this point, by having a look at other users' issues with this, it is fair to assume that on Windows platforms, node-gyp is only supported for Python v2.7.X (reference).
- download Python 2.7.X here: you can choose the bugfix release noted with an available link at the beginning.
- do a normal installation, and take note of the folder (preferably in a common folder where you will have all the python versions)
(5) node-gyp
Now it is the moment to correctly set up your node-gyp configuration.
If you haven not installed it as yet:
npm install --global node-gyp
(5.1) Set the Python version
According the documentation:
If the NODE_GYP_FORCE_PYTHON environment variable is set to the path of a Python executable, it will be used instead of any of the other configured or builtin Python search paths. If it's not a compatible version, no further searching will be done.
- identify the full path to the
C:\full_path\Python2.7.X\python.exe file (by full path we mean all: the folder path + the target file python.exe)
- go to Control Panel -> System and open Advanced System Settings, tab Advanced
- at the bottom, click the button
Environmental Variables...
- a new panel pops up with two big sections: User Variables (only for the process owner), and System Variables (applicable to all the processes)
- on the System Variables, create a
New entry
- name it
NODE_GYP_FORCE_PYTHON, and as value use the full path to the python.exe file version 2.7.X, and click OK and you are done
- for the variable to be available in the environment of your PowerShell terminal, you will need to close it and reopen a new terminal
- you have just fixed the
python version to be used for node-gyp in your system
Alternatively you can use the command line below:
npm config set python /path/to/executable/python
(5.2) Set the Visual Studio Build Tools version
This step should be fairly easy:
- identify the
year of your Visual Studio edition (i.e. 2015, 2017, 2019)
- use it in the year part of the command line below:
npm config set msvs_version year
For example, if you want it to use the MSBuild of 2019, use the command below:
npm config set msvs_version 2019
That must have done it.
(6) Testing node-gyp by creating a simple add-on in C++
References
- Mastering Node.js: Build robust and scalable real-time server-side web (by Sandro Pasquali & Kevin Faaborg, 2017, Packt Publishing): adapted example from here
- C++ Addons (official documentation)
- V8 Embed (explanation on how
V8 is embedded in C++)
- V8::FunctinonCallbackInfo Class Template reference for
Node.js v12.0
Hands on work
In a test folder, create test\hello_module subfolder with the following empty files:
hello_module\hello.cc (our source C++ native code)hello_module\binding.gyp (instruction file for node-gyp)hello_module\index.js (the wrapper)
In a terminal initialise the package by npm ini. You can choose the offered default value by just pressing Enter in all of them:
test\hello_module> npm ini
Now fill the files in with the contents specified below. Please, leave the index.js for the end, since we will be compiling before using it.
The hello.cc file content:
#include <node.h>
namespace hello_module {
using v8::FunctionCallbackInfo;
using v8::Isolate;
using v8::Local;
using v8::Object;
using v8::String;
using v8::Value;
void sayHello(const FunctionCallbackInfo<Value>& args) {
Isolate* isolate = args.GetIsolate();
args.GetReturnValue().Set(String::NewFromUtf8(isolate, "Hello World!"));
}
// the initialization function for hello_module
void init(Local<Object> exports) {
NODE_SET_METHOD(exports, "sayHello", sayHello);
}
// node.h C++ macro to export the initialization function
// (macros should not end by semicolon)
NODE_MODULE(NODE_GYP_MODULE_NAME, init)
}
- UPDATE (
2022-06-16): at a suggestion of @Victor (see comments), to compile with Node.js 14 and MSVC 2017 at line 13, a call to ToLocalChecked() should be performed as well:
args.GetReturnValue().Set(String::NewFromUtf8(isolate, "Hello World!").ToLocalChecked())
The binding.gyp file content:
{
"targets": [
{
"target_name": "hello",
"sources": [ "hello.cc" ]
}
]
}
You can leave the index.js file for the end.
Now, let's build the project:
test\hello_module> node-gyp configure
gyp info it worked if it ends with ok
gyp info using node-gyp@6.1.0
gyp info using node@12.16.1 | win32 | x64
gyp info find Python using Python version 2.7.0 found at "C:\python\2.7.0\python.exe"
gyp info find VS using VS2019 (16.2.29123.88) found at:
gyp info find VS "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Community"
# .. omited .. #
gyp info ok
The test\hello_module\build folder should have been created with the basic project files to compile a C++ solution (this is what node-gyp basically aims to: that you can use any C++ compiler without having to use the GUI; in this case Visual Studio).
Now, let's build the addon:
test\hello_module> node-gyp build
At the end of both commands you should read gyp info ok to know that everything was okay (you might not see it on a PowerShell terminal because of the blue background; if so, you can edit the Properties of the window and change Screen Background to black).
This command should have created the test\hello_module\build\Release folder with the hello.node file.
Notes:
- If everything went
ok, you are done in verifying your node-gyp installation: it works!
- once you got this simple add-on to work, if you are still having issues with some package(s), that might be related to that package alone, or some of its dependencies, but your
node or node-gyp configuration are okay
- if you encountered problems during the build, you might use the documentation to troubleshoot the source of the problem, or open a new post specifying which the errors you encountered are, and someone might be able to help
(7) Wrap and use the add-on in C++
This is an extra step. As you might have got here, why leaving it like this?
Now let's write the wrapper hello_module\index.js file:
const helloAddon = require('./build/Release/hello.node');
module.exports = helloAddon;
And in the test folder, create the test\hello_world.js file that uses our addon:
const {sayHello} = require('./hello_module');
console.log(sayHello())
And in the terminal:
test> node hello_world.js
You should see Hello World! prompted on the screen.
Hope this helps anyone having issues to identify where exactly the configuration of node-gyp failed to meet requirements.
