Feature Request: Embedding Bun within other native applications (like a Rust program)

[alshdavid]

What is the problem this feature would solve?

Many native projects would like to be able to embed a JavaScript runtime that can leverage the Nodejs ecosystem and Nodejs standard library.

• AWS Lambda
• Supabase
• Bundlers (Parcel, Rspack, etc)
• Mongo
• Applications that want to use JavaScript for plugins (like Lapce)
• etc

What is the feature you are proposing to solve the problem?

Offer a dynamic C library (or a Rust crate) that allows Bun to be embedded within another native application

What alternatives have you considered?

• Nodejs Embedding API
  • Very difficult to use, many projects try to use this and drop it
• Deno
  • Embedding Deno is reasonably easy to get started with however using the Nodejs standard library is not easy.
  • Deno requires you to fork the Deno CLI to extract support for the Nodejs API.
    • UPDATE: Deno has release deno_lib which is a crate that exposes the deno cli as a library
  • due to differences between Deno and Nodejs, certain features (like workspaces support) do not work as expected.
  • Deno does not support workers with injected snapshot libs

[0xF6]

+1
from my side cases: adding bun as a scripting provider to game engines

[DoctorGester]

@0xF6 I was looking for that as well.

Basically what I think Bun could do there:

1. Offer an option to bun build --compile into a shared library instead of an exe, this shouldn't be too complicated.
2. Extend bun ffi to also work backwards, i.e. define exported C ABI functions from javascript.

[bayasdev]

+1

[paranoikcodit]

+1

[treesandflowers]

+1

[gornostay25]

+1

[JorgeO3]

+1

[jamroks]

+1

[chaoyangnz]

+1 tinybun

[mikehostetler]

+1

[jcubic]

I'm willing to donate some money if this is implemented. Anyone want to join?

[masegraye]

I'm willing to donate some money if this is implemented. Anyone want to join?

Yes. I would throw in a few thousand USD. Wish I could do more, but it would be a personal contribution.