{"id":10641,"library":"clone-buffer","title":"Node.js Buffer Cloning Utility","description":"clone-buffer is a lightweight utility designed to facilitate the creation of independent copies of Node.js `Buffer` objects. Its sole purpose is to take an existing `Buffer` instance and return a new `Buffer` that contains the same byte data but occupies a separate memory region, ensuring that modifications to the clone do not affect the original. The package is currently at its initial and only major release, v1.0.0, published in September 2016. Due to its single-release history and the deprecation of its original `new Buffer()` usage pattern, it should be considered a stable but unmaintained utility. Its key differentiator lies in its focused, single-function API, providing a clear and explicit way to clone buffers, contrasting with manual `Buffer.from(buffer)` or `Buffer.slice().copy()` approaches, offering a more direct and semantically clear way to achieve a deep copy for `Buffer` instances. It avoids common pitfalls of shallow copies, making it safer for operations where data integrity of the original buffer is paramount. The package has no active release cadence and appears to be abandoned, with no updates since its initial publication.","status":"abandoned","version":"1.0.0","language":"javascript","source_language":"en","source_url":"https://github.com/gulpjs/clone-buffer","tags":["javascript","buffer","clone","from","copy"],"install":[{"cmd":"npm install clone-buffer","lang":"bash","label":"npm"},{"cmd":"yarn add clone-buffer","lang":"bash","label":"yarn"},{"cmd":"pnpm add clone-buffer","lang":"bash","label":"pnpm"}],"dependencies":[],"imports":[{"note":"This package is a CommonJS module. Node.js allows default ESM imports for CJS modules.","wrong":"import { cloneBuffer } from 'clone-buffer';","symbol":"cloneBuffer","correct":"import cloneBuffer from 'clone-buffer';"},{"note":"Original and intended usage for CommonJS environments.","wrong":"const { cloneBuffer } = require('clone-buffer');","symbol":"cloneBuffer","correct":"const cloneBuffer = require('clone-buffer');"}],"quickstart":{"code":"import cloneBuffer from 'clone-buffer';\n\n// Create an original Buffer using the modern Buffer.from() API\nconst originalBuffer = Buffer.from('Hello, Node.js!', 'utf8');\nconsole.log('Original Buffer:', originalBuffer.toString());\n\n// Clone the buffer using the utility\nconst clonedBuffer = cloneBuffer(originalBuffer);\nconsole.log('Cloned Buffer:', clonedBuffer.toString());\n\n// Verify they are different objects but contain the same data\nconsole.log('Are they the same object?', originalBuffer === clonedBuffer); // Should be false\nconsole.log('Do they contain the same data?', originalBuffer.equals(clonedBuffer)); // Should be true\n\n// Demonstrate independence: modify the clone\nclonedBuffer[0] = 0x57; // Change 'H' to 'W' (ASCII for 'W')\nconsole.log('Modified Cloned Buffer:', clonedBuffer.toString());\nconsole.log('Original Buffer after clone modification:', originalBuffer.toString()); // Should remain 'Hello...' \n\n/* Expected output:\nOriginal Buffer: Hello, Node.js!\nCloned Buffer: Hello, Node.js!\nAre they the same object? false\nDo they contain the same data? true\nModified Cloned Buffer: Wello, Node.js!\nOriginal Buffer after clone modification: Hello, Node.js!\n*/","lang":"javascript","description":"Demonstrates how to import and use `cloneBuffer` to create an independent copy of a Node.js Buffer, verifying the clone's distinctness and data integrity."},"warnings":[{"fix":"Replace all instances of `new Buffer(data)` with `Buffer.from(data)`.","message":"The example code in the package's README uses the `new Buffer()` constructor, which is deprecated since Node.js 6.0.0 and will throw an error in newer Node.js versions. Always use `Buffer.from()`, `Buffer.alloc()`, or `Buffer.allocUnsafe()` instead.","severity":"breaking","affected_versions":">=1.0.0"},{"fix":"For ESM projects, use `import cloneBuffer from 'clone-buffer';`. For explicit CJS, use `const cloneBuffer = require('clone-buffer');`.","message":"This package is a CommonJS (CJS) module. While Node.js's ESM loader provides interoperability to import CJS modules using `import cloneBuffer from 'clone-buffer';`, direct named imports (`import { cloneBuffer } from 'clone-buffer';`) will fail.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":">=1.0.0"},{"fix":"Consider migrating to native `Buffer.from(buffer)` or other actively maintained alternatives if long-term support is crucial. However, for its specific, simple function, it likely remains stable.","message":"The `clone-buffer` package has not been updated since its initial v1.0.0 release in September 2016. It is considered unmaintained, which may pose compatibility or security risks with future Node.js versions or dependencies.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":">=1.0.0"},{"fix":"Create a `d.ts` declaration file (e.g., `declare module 'clone-buffer';`) or use `const cloneBuffer: (buffer: Buffer) => Buffer = require('clone-buffer');`.","message":"This package does not ship with official TypeScript type definitions. TypeScript users will need to manually declare the module or install `@types/node` for `Buffer` types and handle `clone-buffer` with type assertions if strict typing is desired.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":">=1.0.0"}],"env_vars":null,"last_verified":"2026-04-19T00:00:00.000Z","next_check":"2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z","problems":[{"fix":"Ensure the input passed to `cloneBuffer` is a valid Node.js `Buffer` instance.","cause":"Attempting to clone a non-Buffer object.","error":"TypeError: Argument must be a Buffer"},{"fix":"For ESM, use `import cloneBuffer from 'clone-buffer';`. For CommonJS, use `const cloneBuffer = require('clone-buffer');`.","cause":"Incorrect import statement (e.g., attempting a named import for a CommonJS default export in ESM).","error":"TypeError: cloneBuffer is not a function"}],"ecosystem":"npm"}