pbjs

Protocol Buffers for JavaScript

This is a minimal implementation of Google Protocol Buffers for JavaScript and TypeScript. It generates completely self-contained code without any dependencies. Install it using npm:

npm install pbjs

Unlike other JavaScript implementations, this library doesn't write out default values. This makes it possible to tell if a field has been written at all or not, which allows for efficient encoding of maps. For example, it's possible to distinguish between a missing list and a list that is present but empty.

Command-Line Examples

• Generate ES5 JavaScript:

  pbjs wire-format.proto --es5 wire-format.js
  

  See test.proto.es5.js for an example of the generated code.

• Generate ES6 JavaScript:

  pbjs wire-format.proto --es6 wire-format.js
  

  See test.proto.es6.js for an example of the generated code.

• Generate TypeScript:

  pbjs wire-format.proto --ts wire-format.ts
  

  See test.proto.ts for an example of the generated code.

• Convert to JSON:

  pbjs wire-format.proto --decode MessageType < wire-format.bin > wire-format.json
  

• Convert to Binary:

  pbjs wire-format.proto --encode MessageType < wire-format.json > wire-format.bin
  

API Example

const pbjs = require('pbjs');
 
const schema = pbjs.parseSchema(`
  message Demo {
    optional int32 x = 1;
    optional float y = 2;
  }
`).compile();
 
const buffer = schema.encodeDemo({x: 1, y: 2});
console.log(buffer);
 
const message = schema.decodeDemo(buffer);
console.log(message);

Running the above code should output this:

<Buffer 08 01 15 00 00 00 40>
{ x: 1, y: 2 }