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Custom Node.js Build

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Motivation

VibeTunnel uses Node.js Single Executable Applications (SEA) to create a standalone terminal server. However, the standard Node.js binary is quite large:
  • Standard Node.js binary: ~110MB
  • Custom minimal Node.js: ~43MB (61% reduction)
  • Final executable size: ~45MB (down from ~105MB)
  • Final app size impact: Reduces app from ~130MB to ~88MB
We don’t need many Node.js features for VibeTunnel:
  • No internationalization (ICU) support needed
  • No npm package manager in the binary
  • No inspector/debugging protocol
  • No V8 snapshots or code cache
By building a custom Node.js without these features, we achieve a significantly smaller app bundle while maintaining full functionality.

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Build Behavior

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Debug Mode (Xcode)

  • Uses system Node.js for faster iteration
  • No custom Node.js compilation required
  • Build output shows: "Debug build - using system Node.js for faster builds"
  • If a custom Node.js was previously built, it will be reused for consistency

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Release Mode (Xcode)

  • Automatically builds custom minimal Node.js on first run
  • Compilation takes 10-20 minutes but is cached for future builds
  • Uses the custom Node.js to create a smaller executable
  • Build output shows version and size comparison

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Prerequisites

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Required Build Tools

For optimal build performance, the following tools are required:
  • Ninja: Build system for faster compilation (significantly faster than Make)
  • ccache: Compiler cache to speed up rebuilds

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Installation

  • macOS: brew install ninja ccache
  • Linux: apt-get install ninja-build ccache (or equivalent for your distribution)
The build script will automatically use these tools if available, falling back to Make if Ninja is not found.

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Build Automation

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Release Builds

The release script (mac/scripts/release.sh) automatically checks for and builds custom Node.js if needed. You don’t need to manually build it before releases.

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Manual Custom Node.js Build

To build the custom Node.js manually (outside of Xcode): 
cd web
node build-custom-node.js --latest
This will:
  1. Download the latest Node.js source
  2. Configure it without unnecessary features
  3. Build with optimizations (-Os, -flto, etc.)
  4. Cache the result in web/.node-builds/
To use the custom Node.js for building the executable: 
cd web
npm run build -- --custom-node
Or directly: 
node build-native.js --custom-node

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Build Process Details

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Automatic Detection

The build system automatically searches for custom Node.js builds in .node-builds/ when --custom-node is passed without a path. It finds the most recent build by checking directory modification times.

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Code Signing on macOS

When building the executable:
  1. The Node.js binary is injected with our JavaScript code (SEA process)
  2. The binary is stripped to remove debug symbols
  3. The executable is re-signed with an ad-hoc signature
Note: You may see a warning about “invalidating the code signature” during the strip process - this is expected and harmless since we re-sign immediately after.

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Technical Details

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Features Disabled

  • --without-intl - Removes internationalization support
  • --without-npm - Excludes npm from the binary
  • --without-corepack - Removes package manager wrapper
  • --without-inspector - Disables debugging protocol
  • --without-node-snapshot - Skips V8 snapshot (~2-3MB)
  • --without-node-code-cache - Skips code cache (~1-2MB)

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Optimization Flags

  • -Os - Optimize for size
  • -flto - Link-time optimization
  • -ffunction-sections / -fdata-sections - Enable dead code elimination
  • -Wl,-dead_strip - Remove unused code at link time

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Build Cache

Custom Node.js builds are stored in web/.node-builds/ and are excluded from git via .gitignore. The build system automatically detects and reuses existing builds.

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File Locations

  • Build script: web/build-custom-node.js
  • Native executable builder: web/build-native.js
  • Xcode integration: mac/scripts/build-web-frontend.sh
  • Build output: web/.node-builds/node-v*-minimal/
  • Final executable: web/native/vibetunnel

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Troubleshooting

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Custom Node.js not detected

  • Ensure the build completed successfully: check for .node-builds/node-v*-minimal/out/Release/node
  • In Debug mode, the system will use custom Node.js if already built
  • In Release mode, it will build custom Node.js automatically if not present

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Code signature warnings

The warning “changes being made to the file will invalidate the code signature” is expected and handled automatically. The build process re-signs the executable after all modifications.

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Known Limitations

  • The custom Node.js build process takes 10-20 minutes on first run
  • Cross-compilation is not supported - you must build on the target platform
  • The custom build excludes some features that may be needed by certain npm packages
  • Native module compatibility issues may occur when mixing Node.js versions
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