c-libraw

Native Node.js addon (N-API) to convert camera RAW files (CR2/CR3/NEF/ARW/RW2, etc.) to 16-bit TIFF using LibRaw. Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Ships prebuild support; falls back to local build if needed.

Install

Use your preferred package manager:

# npm	npm install c-libraw
# pnpm	pnpm add c-libraw
# yarn	yarn add c-libraw

• On install, prebuilt binaries are downloaded when available.
• If no prebuild matches your platform, it will compile from source.

Quick start

const { convertCR2ToTIFF } = require('c-libraw');

// Converts any LibRaw-supported RAW (CR2/CR3/NEF/ARW/RW2, etc.) to a 16-bit TIFF
// Synchronous API: returns true on success, throws on failure
convertCR2ToTIFF('/path/input.CR2', '/path/output.tiff');

Notes:

• The API is synchronous. For heavy workloads, consider worker_threads or a job queue.
• Despite the name, convertCR2ToTIFF accepts any RAW format supported by LibRaw.

Runtime and build requirements

• Node.js >= 18
• When using prebuilds: no native toolchain required.
• When building from source (automatic fallback):
  • Linux
    • Build tools: Python 3, C++17 compiler (g++/clang), make
    • LibRaw development package
      • Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install libraw-dev
      • Fedora/RHEL: sudo dnf install LibRaw-devel
      • Arch: sudo pacman -S libraw
  • macOS
    • Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install)
    • LibRaw: brew install libraw
  • Windows
    • Visual Studio Build Tools (Desktop C++ workload) + Python 3
    • LibRaw via vcpkg: vcpkg install libraw:x64-windows
    • Environment variables recognized by the build:
      • VCPKG_ROOT (defaults to C:/vcpkg if not set)
      • VCPKG_TRIPLET (defaults to x64-windows)

How it loads

• Uses prebuild-install at install time to fetch prebuilt binaries.
• Uses node-gyp-build at runtime to load a prebuild or a locally built .node binary.

Troubleshooting

• Linker error on Linux/macOS (e.g., cannot find -lraw): install the LibRaw dev package (see above).
• Build errors on Windows: ensure VS Build Tools and vcpkg are installed; check VCPKG_ROOT and VCPKG_TRIPLET.
• ABI/runtime mismatch: force a rebuild from source

  npm install c-libraw --build-from-source
  # or
  pnpm rebuild c-libraw --config.node_gyp_rebuild=true

Maintainers (prebuilds)

To produce and bundle prebuilds (recommended before publishing):

pnpm run prebuild   # generates N-API prebuilds under libraw/prebuilds/

These will be picked up automatically by node-gyp-build when users install the package.

License

ISC