Not Supported

Pure does not embed a JavaScript engine. Features that require dynamic code evaluation, runtime introspection of the JS engine, or direct V8/JavaScriptCore APIs do not work. This page lists specific unsupported features so you can plan accordingly.

Dynamic code evaluation

Feature	Status	Alternative
`eval(code)`	❌	Rewrite as a static function
`new Function(body)`	❌	Rewrite as a static function
`import(expr)` with a variable path	❌	Use static `import` or `require()`
`require(variable)`	❌	Use static `require('./path')`
`vm.runInContext`, `vm.Script`	❌	Not applicable

The compiler resolves all imports statically at compile time. Dynamic import paths (e.g. require(process.env.PLUGIN)) cannot be resolved and will cause a compile error.

Dynamic import() with a constant string literal works:

// ✅ This works — the path is a constant
const mod = await import('./plugins/default.js');

// ❌ This does not work — the path is a variable
const mod = await import(`./plugins/${name}.js`);

Node.js modules

Module	Status
`node:vm`	❌ Requires a JS engine
`node:inspector`	❌ V8-specific
`node:repl`	❌ Requires a JS engine
`node:wasi`	❌ Not implemented
`node:domain`	❌ Deprecated; not implemented
`node:sqlite`	❌ Use `better-sqlite3` instead

Native add-ons

Third-party native add-ons that use the Node-API (N-API / node-addon-api) may work if the binary interface is compatible with Pure’s runtime. Many popular add-ons (e.g. better-sqlite3, sharp) work without modification. Add-ons that use internal V8 headers or Node internals will not work. See npm packages → Native add-ons for details.

Bun-specific APIs

API	Notes
`Bun.serve()`	Use `node:http` or `node:net` instead
`Bun.file()`	Use `node:fs` instead
`Bun.build()`	Not applicable in Pure
`Bun.password.*`	Use `node:crypto` (`pbkdf2`, `scrypt`, `argon2` via npm package)
`Bun.sql`	Use `better-sqlite3` or another npm SQL client
`Bun.redis`	Use the `redis` npm package
`import.meta.dir`	Use `__dirname`
`import.meta.main`	Use `require.main === module`

`dirname` and `filename`

__dirname and __filename are set to the source file’s directory and path at compile time, not the directory of the running binary. This means:

// Returns the source directory, not where the binary lives at runtime
console.log(__dirname);

To get the directory of the running binary at runtime, use:

import { dirname } from 'node:path';
const binaryDir = dirname(process.execPath);

Source maps and stack traces

Stack traces in compiled binaries include source file names and line numbers from the original TypeScript/JavaScript source. The exact format differs from Node.js stack traces — libraries that parse stack trace strings (e.g. source-map-support) may not work correctly.

`process.versions`

process.versions.node is not set. Code that branches on process.versions.node may behave differently. Use process.versions.pure to detect a Pure runtime programmatically:

if (process.versions.pure) {
  // running in a Pure-compiled binary
}

TypeScript features that are limited

Feature	Status
`experimentalDecorators`	✅ Supported (reflect-metadata partially supported)
`emitDecoratorMetadata`	⚠️ Partial — metadata is available but type information is limited
`allowArbitraryExtensions`	✅ Supported