Bun Runtime

Overview

Bun is a fast, all-in-one JavaScript toolkit: runtime, package manager, bundler, and test runner. It is Node.js-compatible and dramatically faster at startup, installs, and test runs. Use Bun to speed up existing Node.js projects or build new apps from scratch.

Installation

# macOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

# Windows (via Scoop)
scoop install bun

# Verify
bun --version

Package Manager

Bun's package manager is a drop-in replacement for npm and pnpm:

bun install              # Install all dependencies (reads package.json)
bun add express          # Add a package
bun add -d typescript    # Add dev dependency
bun remove lodash        # Remove a package
bun update               # Update all packages
bun run dev              # Run a package.json script

Lockfile: bun.lockb (binary, faster than package-lock.json).

Runtime

Bun runs .js, .ts, .jsx, .tsx files natively — no compilation step needed:

bun run index.ts         # Run TypeScript directly
bun index.ts             # Shorthand
bun --hot index.ts       # Hot reload on file change
bun --watch index.ts     # Restart on file change

Node.js built-ins (fs, path, http, crypto, etc.) are fully supported. Native fetch, WebSocket, and ReadableStream are built in.

HTTP Server with Bun.serve

const server = Bun.serve({
  port: 3000,
  async fetch(req) {
    const url = new URL(req.url);

    if (url.pathname === "/") {
      return new Response("Hello from Bun!", {
        headers: { "Content-Type": "text/plain" },
      });
    }

    if (url.pathname === "/json") {
      return Response.json({ message: "fast", runtime: "bun" });
    }

    return new Response("Not Found", { status: 404 });
  },
  error(err) {
    return new Response(`Error: ${err.message}`, { status: 500 });
  },
});

console.log(`Listening on http://localhost:${server.port}`);

File I/O with Bun.file

// Read file
const file = Bun.file("data.json");
const text = await file.text();
const json = await file.json();
const buffer = await file.arrayBuffer();

// Write file
await Bun.write("output.txt", "Hello, Bun!");
await Bun.write("data.json", JSON.stringify({ key: "value" }, null, 2));

// Stream large files
const stream = file.stream();

SQLite with Bun.sqlite

Built-in SQLite — no native bindings needed:

import { Database } from "bun:sqlite";

const db = new Database("mydb.sqlite");

// Create table
db.run(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users (
  id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
  name TEXT NOT NULL,
  email TEXT UNIQUE NOT NULL
)`);

// Prepared statements
const insert = db.prepare("INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES (?, ?)");
insert.run("Alice", "alice@example.com");

// Query
const getAll = db.prepare("SELECT * FROM users");
const users = getAll.all();
console.log(users);

// Single row
const getOne = db.prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ?");
const user = getOne.get(1);

db.close();

Bundler

# Bundle a TypeScript app for the browser
bun build src/index.ts --outdir dist --target browser

# Bundle for Node.js with minification
bun build src/index.ts --outdir dist --target node --minify

# Bundle as a single executable
bun build src/cli.ts --compile --outfile mycli

Programmatic bundling:

const result = await Bun.build({
  entrypoints: ["./src/index.ts"],
  outdir: "./dist",
  target: "browser",
  minify: true,
  sourcemap: "external",
  define: {
    "process.env.NODE_ENV": JSON.stringify("production"),
  },
});

if (!result.success) {
  console.error("Build failed:", result.logs);
  process.exit(1);
}

Test Runner

Bun's test runner is Jest-compatible:

// math.test.ts
import { describe, expect, test, beforeEach } from "bun:test";
import { add, multiply } from "./math";

describe("math", () => {
  test("adds two numbers", () => {
    expect(add(2, 3)).toBe(5);
  });

  test("multiplies two numbers", () => {
    expect(multiply(4, 5)).toBe(20);
  });
});

bun test                     # Run all tests
bun test --watch             # Watch mode
bun test math.test.ts        # Run specific file
bun test --coverage          # With coverage report
bun test --timeout 10000     # Custom timeout (ms)

Environment Variables

// Bun reads .env automatically — no dotenv needed
const apiKey = process.env.API_KEY;
const port = Bun.env.PORT ?? "3000";

WebSocket Server

const server = Bun.serve({
  port: 3001,
  fetch(req, server) {
    if (server.upgrade(req)) {
      return; // Upgraded to WebSocket
    }
    return new Response("Use WebSocket", { status: 426 });
  },
  websocket: {
    open(ws) {
      console.log("Client connected");
      ws.subscribe("chat");
    },
    message(ws, message) {
      server.publish("chat", message); // Broadcast
    },
    close(ws) {
      console.log("Client disconnected");
    },
  },
});

Migrating from Node.js

Most Node.js code runs without changes. Key differences:

Feature	Node.js	Bun
Package manager	npm install	bun install
Run TypeScript	Needs ts-node or build	bun run index.ts
.env loading	Needs dotenv	Built-in
fetch	Needs node-fetch (old)	Built-in
SQLite	Needs better-sqlite3	bun:sqlite built-in
Test runner	jest	bun test

package.json Setup

{
  "name": "my-bun-app",
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "bun --hot src/index.ts",
    "build": "bun build src/index.ts --outdir dist --target node",
    "test": "bun test",
    "start": "bun dist/index.js"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@types/bun": "latest"
  }
}

Guidelines

• Prefer bun install over npm install in all Bun projects — it is 10–25x faster.
• Use bun:sqlite instead of better-sqlite3 for zero-dependency SQLite.
• Use Bun.file and Bun.write instead of fs for simpler file I/O.
• Run TypeScript directly with bun run — no build step needed in development.
• Use bun --hot for hot reload during development (preserves module state).
• Use bun --compile to produce a single self-contained executable binary.
• Bun reads .env files automatically — remove dotenv from your dependencies.
• The bun:test module is Jest-compatible; most Jest tests work with zero changes.