Provides a safer drop-in replacement for Node.js `Buffer` with a “safer” Buffer API (`Buffer.from`, `Buffer.alloc`, `Buffer.allocUnsafe`, `Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow`). Useful for creating and converting buffers explicitly and avoiding the potentially unsafe behavior of older `Buffer` usage, while using Node’s built-in implementation when available.
Project status
- This GitHub source (feross/safe-buffer) appears inactive, last upstream push was 2023-06-03, and the most recent tagged update shown is v5.2.1 from 2020-05-10, so it is likely in maintenance mode or effectively dormant as of 2026-08-12.
- Update cadence appears long and irregular, with updates in 2018, 2019, and 2020, then no tagged updates shown after 2020, and no evidence of recent development activity in the provided data.
AI summary generated
Recent updates
v5.2.1
This release updates the package metadata and small ancillary documentation files, with no code changes to the safe-buffer API itself. The only technical change in the diff is a devDependency bump for the test runner (tape).
v5.2.0
Release v5.2.0 (safe-buffer) makes a small internal change to how SafeBuffer sets its prototype, and includes several packaging and documentation tweaks. There are no release notes provided, so the only observable changes come directly from the code diff.
v5.1.2
Release v5.1.2 was published on 2018-04-25, but the publisher did not provide any release notes. As a result, the specific changes, fixes, or upgrade impacts are not documented in the provided data.
v5.1.1
Release v5.1.1 appears to be a small internal change to safe-buffer focused on how static properties are copied in the fallback path (for older environments). The release notes provided are empty, so most behavioral implications must be inferred from the code diff.
v5.1.0
Release v5.1.0 includes minimal runtime code changes, primarily small refactors and test/lint adjustments. Most visible changes are documentation updates, addition of package-lock.json, and changes to the package's browser bundling configuration.
Breakingv5.0.1
v5.0.1 contains a small behavioral fix around SafeBuffer.from argument validation and adds corresponding unit test coverage. The release notes provided by the publisher are empty, so the behavioral change is not documented.
Breakingv5.0.0
Release v5.0.0 contains a small amount of code churn, but it changes how the module exports its Buffer API. The diff indicates a shift toward exporting Node's built-in Buffer implementation when available, and otherwise exporting an object that requires consumers to use a `.Buffer` property.
Featuresv4.0.0
Release v4.0.0 appears to upgrade safe-buffer to align with newer Node.js Buffer APIs and polyfill them on older Node versions. The code introduces Buffer.from/alloc/allocUnsafe/allocUnsafeSlow behaviors and updates tests and README accordingly.
BreakingFeaturesv3.0.0
v3.0.0 updates safe-buffer’s exported API to introduce separate zero-filled and raw (uninitialized) buffer allocation methods. Release notes were not provided, so the change should be treated as potentially breaking based on the code and test updates.
v2.0.0
Release v2.0.0 was published on 2016-01-17, but the publisher did not provide any release notes. No specific changes, breaking updates, bug fixes, or security items are described in the available data, so developer impact cannot be determined from these notes alone.