11st of 102 in Backends, databases and hosting
bun
JavaScript and TypeScript runtime with bundler, test runner and package manager
- Stars
- 96.7k
- License
- custom license
- Last commit
- Nov 2026
- Last release
- Oct 2026
- Language
- Rust
87,491 on 20 Apr 202696,679 on 9 Nov 2026
From GitHub's daily star counts.
Checked on GitHub.
Overview
Bun ships as a single `bun` executable that runs JS and TS (including JSX) on JavaScriptCore, as a drop-in Node.js replacement. The same binary provides a Node-compatible package manager, a bundler, a test runner and a single-file executable compiler. It also has built-in APIs for an HTTP server, WebSockets, SQLite, PostgreSQL, Redis and S3.
Who it is for: JS/TS developers replacing Node.js, npm and separate build or test tooling
Ranked among open-source alternatives to Firebase (#1 of 10).
Strengths
- One executable covers runtime, package manager, bundler and test runner
- Runs TypeScript and JSX directly without a separate build step
- Built-in clients for SQLite, PostgreSQL, Redis and S3 and a WebSocket-capable HTTP server
- Canary build published on every commit to main; `bun upgrade` self-updates
Weaknesses
- Node.js compatibility is a goal, so some Node APIs or native modules may differ
- x64 builds can fail with illegal instruction errors on CPUs lacking required features
- Linux kernel 5.6+ strongly recommended; minimum is 5.1
- Not a backend service: it is a runtime, so auth and storage are up to you
What it needs
- no GPU
What changed
From the release notes. No flag means the note does not say so, not that the upgrade is safe.
Quick answers
Is bun open source?
Its code is public on GitHub under its own license terms; read them before you use it at work.
Can you run bun with Docker?
Yes. Its repository has a Docker setup: a Dockerfile, a Compose file or a published image.
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