@stackline/dev-null

A maintained, zero-dependency writable sink with the established [email protected] behavior.

Docs and stream configurator | npm | GitHub | Migration | Security | Changelog

Current package version: 1.0.0

This package is an independent, maintained continuation of dev-null. It preserves the callable Node.js Writable sink, its asynchronous write boundary, and option forwarding while adding native ESM entry points, first-party TypeScript declarations, and reproducible release checks.

Install

npm install @stackline/dev-null

Preserve an existing require('dev-null') or import devNull from 'dev-null' without changing source code:

npm install dev-null@npm:@stackline/dev-null

Usage

CommonJS

const devNull = require('@stackline/dev-null');

source.pipe(devNull());

ESM

import devNull from '@stackline/dev-null';
import { pipeline } from 'node:stream/promises';

await pipeline(source, devNull());

Object mode and backpressure

import devNull from '@stackline/dev-null';

const sink = devNull({
  objectMode: true,
  highWaterMark: 16
});

sink.write({ id: 1 });
sink.end({ id: 2 });

All options are passed directly to Node's Writable constructor. Set objectMode: true before writing arbitrary JavaScript values.

API

devNull(options?)

Returns a Node.js Writable that accepts and discards every chunk. Calling the export with or without new is supported. _write completes asynchronously on the same timer boundary observed in [email protected], so standard backpressure, drain, finish, close, destroy, and error behavior remains owned by Node's stream implementation.

The package does not swallow upstream pipeline errors and does not convert invalid chunks. Byte mode rejects objects exactly as a normal Writable does.

When to use the native primitive

New code that does not need package compatibility can construct a sink directly:

import { Writable } from 'node:stream';

const sink = new Writable({
  write(_chunk, _encoding, callback) {
    callback();
  }
});

Use this package when a dependency already expects dev-null, when a shared factory keeps stream configuration consistent, or when first-party types and a tested Node-version contract are useful.

Compatibility

• CommonJS and native ESM
• First-party TypeScript declarations, including TypeScript 3.9 consumers
• Node.js 12 and newer
• Byte and object mode
• Zero runtime dependencies

See COMPATIBILITY_CONTRACT.md and MIGRATION.md for the exact boundary and alias migration.

Security

Report vulnerabilities privately as described in SECURITY.md. Do not disclose an unpatched vulnerability in a public issue.

Provenance

The upstream source and authorship history are documented in UPSTREAM_AUDIT.md and NOTICE. The Stackline fork is not affiliated with or endorsed by the original author.

License

MIT. The original copyright and permission notice is preserved in LICENSE.