# b4a > Bridging the gap between buffers and typed arrays Latest version **1.9.0** (published 2026-09-13) · Apache-2.0 license · 0 weekly downloads ## Install ```sh npm install b4a pnpm add b4a yarn add b4a bun add b4a ``` ## Health **Score 75/100 (B)** — status: active. Positive: has types; esm support; no vulnerabilities; has provenance; recently updated; high maintenance score; high quality score. Warnings: low downloads. ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Version | 1.9.0 | | Published | 2026-09-13 | | First published | 2021-10-20 | | Weekly downloads | 0 | | License | Apache-2.0 | | TypeScript types | separate (@types/b4a) | | Module format | ESM + CommonJS | | Dependencies | 0 | | Unpacked size | 45.6 KB | | Known vulnerabilities | 0 | | Install scripts | no | | Provenance | attested (GitHub Actions) | | GitHub stars | 48 | | Author | Holepunch | | Maintainers | mafintosh | ## Links - npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/b4a - Repository: https://github.com/holepunchto/b4a - Homepage: https://github.com/holepunchto/b4a#readme - Issues: https://github.com/holepunchto/b4a/issues - npm.io page: https://npm.io/package/b4a ## Recent versions - 1.9.0 (latest) — 2026-09-13 - 1.8.1 — 2026-04-30 - 1.8.0 — 2026-02-19 - 1.7.5 — 2026-02-17 - 1.7.4 — 2026-02-13 - 1.7.3 — 2025-09-26 - 1.7.2 — 2025-09-23 - 1.7.1 — 2025-09-11 - 1.7.0 — 2025-09-10 - 1.6.7 — 2024-09-25 - 1.6.6 — 2024-02-06 - 1.6.5 — 2024-02-06 - 1.6.4 — 2023-05-05 - 1.6.3 — 2023-03-17 - 1.6.2 — 2023-03-09 - … 18 more at https://npm.io/package/b4a/versions ## README # Buffer for Array Buffer for Array (B4A) provides a set of functions for bridging the gap between the Node.js `Buffer` class and the `Uint8Array` class. A browser compatibility layer is also included, making it possible to use B4A in both Node.js and browsers without having to worry about whether you're dealing with buffers or typed arrays. ## Installation ```sh npm i b4a ``` ### React Native When imported from React Native `b4a` will make use of `react-native-b4a` for optimised buffer operations when available. All you need to do is install it: ```sh npm i react-native-b4a ``` ## API #### `b4a.isBuffer(value)` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferisbufferobj This will also return `true` when passed a `Uint8Array`. #### `b4a.isEncoding(encoding)` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferisencodingencoding #### `b4a.alloc(size[, fill[, encoding]])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferallocsize-fill-encoding #### `b4a.allocUnsafe(size)` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferallocunsafesize #### `b4a.allocUnsafeSlow(size)` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferallocunsafeslowsize #### `b4a.byteLength(string)` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferbytelengthstring-encoding #### `b4a.compare(buf1, buf2)` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-buffercomparebuf1-buf2 #### `b4a.concat(buffers[, totalLength])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferconcatlist-totallength #### `b4a.copy(source, target[, targetStart[, sourceStart[, sourceEnd]]])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufcopytarget-targetstart-sourcestart-sourceend #### `b4a.equals(buf1, buf2)` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufequalsotherbuffer #### `b4a.fill(buffer, value[, offset[, end]][, encoding])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#buffillvalue-offset-end-encoding #### `b4a.from(array)` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferfromarray #### `b4a.from(arrayBuffer[, byteOffset[, length]])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferfromarraybuffer-byteoffset-length #### `b4a.from(buffer)` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferfrombuffer #### `b4a.from(string[, encoding])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#static-method-bufferfromstring-encoding #### `b4a.includes(buffer, value[, byteOffset][, encoding])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufincludesvalue-byteoffset-encoding #### `b4a.indexOf(buffer, value[, byteOffset][, encoding])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufindexofvalue-byteoffset-encoding #### `b4a.lastIndexOf(buffer, value[, byteOffset][, encoding])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#buflastindexofvalue-byteoffset-encoding #### `b4a.swap16(buffer)` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufswap16 #### `b4a.swap32(buffer)` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufswap32 #### `b4a.swap64(buffer)` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufswap64 #### `b4a.toBuffer(buffer)` Convert a buffer to its canonical representation. In Node.js, the canonical representation is a `Buffer`. In the browser, the canonical representation is a `Uint8Array`. #### `b4a.toString(buffer, [encoding[, start[, end]]])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#buftostringencoding-start-end #### `b4a.write(buffer, string[, offset[, length]][, encoding])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufwritestring-offset-length-encoding #### `b4a.writeDoubleLE(buffer, value[, offset])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufwritedoublelevalue-offset #### `b4a.writeFloatLE(buffer, value[, offset])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufwritefloatlevalue-offset #### `b4a.writeUInt32LE(buffer, value[, offset])` https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufwriteuint32levalue-offset #### `b4a.writeInt32LE(buffer, value[, offset])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufwriteint32levalue-offset #### `b4a.readDoubleLE(buffer[, offset])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufreaddoubleleoffset #### `b4a.readFloatLE(buffer[, offset])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufreadfloatleoffset #### `b4a.readUInt32LE(buffer[, offset])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufreaduint32leoffset #### `b4a.readInt32LE(buffer[, offset])` See https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#bufreadint32leoffset ## License Apache 2.0 --- _Source: https://npm.io/package/b4a · Machine-readable twin of the npm.io package page. Health data is recomputed on every publish._