Node.js API

In addition to the CLI, pkg exposes a small programmatic API so you can drive builds from a Node.js script — useful for custom release pipelines, CI integration, or wrapping pkg inside a bigger build tool.

Install

npm install --save-dev @yao-pkg/pkg

Import

CommonJS

const { exec } = require('@yao-pkg/pkg');

ESM

import { exec } from '@yao-pkg/pkg';

exec(args)

exec(args) takes an array of command-line arguments and returns a Promise<void> that resolves when the build is complete, or rejects on failure.

const { exec } = require('@yao-pkg/pkg');

await exec(['index.js', '--target', 'host', '--output', 'dist/app']);

// do something with dist/app, upload, deploy, etc.

The array elements are exactly the strings you'd pass on the command line — see Getting started → CLI reference for the full option list.

Build a full release pipeline

const { exec } = require('@yao-pkg/pkg');
const { mkdir, rm } = require('node:fs/promises');
const path = require('node:path');

const DIST = 'dist';
const TARGETS = [
  'node22-linux-x64',
  'node22-linux-arm64',
  'node22-macos-arm64',
  'node22-win-x64',
];

async function build() {
  await rm(DIST, { recursive: true, force: true });
  await mkdir(DIST, { recursive: true });

  await exec([
    '.',
    '--targets',
    TARGETS.join(','),
    '--out-path',
    DIST,
    '--compress',
    'Brotli',
  ]);

  console.log(`✅ built ${TARGETS.length} binaries into ${path.resolve(DIST)}`);
}

build().catch((err) => {
  console.error(err);
  process.exit(1);
});

Error handling

exec rejects with an Error whose message contains the same diagnostic you'd see on the CLI. Wrap in try/catch (or chain .catch) if you need to react to specific failures:

try {
  await exec(['bad/input.js']);
} catch (err) {
  console.error('pkg build failed:', err.message);
  process.exitCode = 1;
}

See also

• CLI options
• Recipes: build in CI