bun-pty


A cross-platform pseudo-terminal (PTY) implementation for Bun, powered by Rust's portable-pty library and Bun's FFI capabilities.

🚀 Features

- Cross-platform - Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows
- Simple API - Clean Promise-based API similar to node-pty
- Type-safe - Complete TypeScript definitions included
- Efficient - Rust backend with proper error handling and multithreading
- Zero dependencies - No external JavaScript dependencies required
- Modern - Built specifically for Bun using its FFI capabilities

📦 Installation

``bash
bun add bun-pty
`

⚙️ Requirements

- Bun 1.0.0 or higher
- Rust is only needed if you're building from source (the npm package includes pre-built binaries)

📋 Platform Support

| Platform | Status | Notes |
|----------|--------|-------|
| macOS | ✅ | Fully supported |
| Linux | ✅ | Fully supported |
| Windows | ✅ | Fully supported |

🚦 Usage

$3

`typescript
import { spawn } from "bun-pty";

// Create a new terminal
const terminal = spawn("bash", [], {
name: "xterm-256color",
cols: 80,
rows: 24
});

// Handle data from the terminal
terminal.onData((data) => {
console.log("Received:", data);
});

// Handle terminal exit
terminal.onExit(({ exitCode, signal }) => {
console.log(Process exited with code ${exitCode} and signal ${signal});
});

// Write to the terminal
terminal.write("echo Hello from Bun PTY\n");

// Resize the terminal
terminal.resize(100, 40);

// Kill the process when done
setTimeout(() => {
terminal.kill();
}, 5000);
`

$3

The library includes complete TypeScript definitions. Here's how to use it with full type safety:

`typescript
import { spawn } from "bun-pty";
import type { IPty, IExitEvent, IPtyForkOptions } from "bun-pty";

// Create typed options
const options: IPtyForkOptions = {
name: "xterm-256color",
cols: 100,
rows: 30,
cwd: process.cwd()
};

// Create a terminal with proper typing
const terminal: IPty = spawn("bash", [], options);

// Typed event handlers
const dataHandler = terminal.onData((data: string) => {
process.stdout.write(data);
});

const exitHandler = terminal.onExit((event: IExitEvent) => {
console.log(Process exited with code: ${event.exitCode});
});

// Clean up when done
dataHandler.dispose();
exitHandler.dispose();
`

$3

`typescript
import { spawn } from "bun-pty";
import { createInterface } from "node:readline";

// Create a PTY running bash
const pty = spawn("bash", [], {
name: "xterm-256color",
cwd: process.cwd()
});

// Forward PTY output to stdout
pty.onData((data) => {
process.stdout.write(data);
});

// Send user input to the PTY
process.stdin.on("data", (data) => {
pty.write(data.toString());
});

// Handle PTY exit
pty.onExit(() => {
console.log("Terminal session ended");
process.exit(0);
});

// Handle SIGINT (Ctrl+C)
process.on("SIGINT", () => {
pty.kill();
});
`

📖 API Reference

$3

Creates and spawns a new pseudoterminal.

- file: The executable to launch
- args: Arguments to pass to the executable
- options: Configuration options
- name: Terminal name (e.g., "xterm-256color")
- cols: Number of columns (default: 80)
- rows: Number of rows (default: 24)
- cwd: Working directory (default: process.cwd())
- env: Environment variables

Returns an IPty instance.

$3

`typescript
interface IPty {
// Properties
readonly pid: number; // Process ID
readonly cols: number; // Current columns
readonly rows: number; // Current rows
readonly process: string; // Process name

// Events
onData: (listener: (data: string) => void) => IDisposable;
onExit: (listener: (event: IExitEvent) => void) => IDisposable;

// Methods
write(data: string): void; // Write data to terminal
resize(cols: number, rows: number): void; // Resize terminal
kill(signal?: string): void; // Kill the process
}
`

$3

`typescript
interface IExitEvent {
exitCode: number;
signal?: number | string;
}

interface IDisposable {
dispose(): void;
}
`

🔧 Building from Source

If you want to build the package from source:

`bash


Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/sursaone/bun-pty.git
cd bun-pty

Install dependencies

bun install

Build Rust library and TypeScript

bun run build

Run tests

bun test
`

❓ Troubleshooting

$3

The npm package includes prebuilt binaries for macOS, Linux, and Windows. If you encounter issues with the prebuilt binaries, you can build from source:

`bash


In your project directory


bun add bun-pty
cd node_modules/bun-pty
bun run build
``

$3

- Error: Unable to load shared library: Make sure you have the necessary system libraries installed.
- Process spawn fails: Check if you have the required permissions and paths.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

🙏 Credits

- Built specifically for Bun
- Uses portable-pty from WezTerm for cross-platform PTY support
- Inspired by node-pty for the API design