Description
Node.js Version
v23.10.0
NPM Version
10.9.2
Operating System
Linux 41bf7579c099 6.8.0-54-generic #56-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Sat Feb 8 00:37:57 UTC 2025 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
Subsystem
Other
Description
I noticed that when we use the make install command to install the built Node.js artifacts, the Makefile script copies the header files into the installation directory, placing them in an include subdirectory.
For this reason, the pre-built package distributed by the official team for the Linux version also includes this include directory.
For example, in version v23.10.0, the structure inside the compressed package(node-v23.10.0-linux-x64.tar.gz) is as follows:
root@41bf7579c099:~# tree -L 2 node-v23.10.0-linux-x64
node-v23.10.0-linux-x64
├── CHANGELOG.md
├── LICENSE
├── README.md
├── bin
│ ├── corepack -> ../lib/node_modules/corepack/dist/corepack.js
│ ├── node
│ ├── npm -> ../lib/node_modules/npm/bin/npm-cli.js
│ └── npx -> ../lib/node_modules/npm/bin/npx-cli.js
├── include
│ └── node
├── lib
│ └── node_modules
└── share
├── doc
└── man
9 directories, 7 files
So far, I haven't found any scenarios where these header files are actually used.
I speculate that the compressed package(node-v23.10.0-headers.tar.gz) specifically provided by the official team for header files can already replace the function of the include directory in the installation package. When node-gyp compiles an addon, it downloads this compressed package instead of using the header files in the installation directory.
Can someone explain to me what these header files in the installation directory are for?
Are they for libnode? Or are they for some other special scenarios? Or are they actually redundant?
Minimal Reproduction
No response
Output
No response
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