How to create a node.js Native Image with GraalVM

I am trying to create a native image from a simple node.js example.js application.

When running the application with:

 node --native -i --native example.js

then the application is starting and working as expected.

Now I would like to create a native image. I tried the following command:

 native-image --language:js example.js

however it is not working, because of the error:

Build on Server(pid: 77626, port: 64052)
[example.js:77626]    classlist:   3,964.04 ms
error: Main entry point class 'example.js' not found.
Error: Processing image build request failed

As a resolution I created a main entry point in example.js such as:

function main(args) {
  console.log("Main app started")
}

however this doesn't work.

Is there a way usually native images are create for js/node.js applications?

Solution

No. Currently, as of Dec 2018, creating GraalVM native images for node.js applications is not possible. The native image utility takes Java bytecode and compiles it ahead of time. GraalVM JavaScript engine is a Java program and can be compiled as a native image. This is what you actually run when you execute $GRAALVM_HOME/bin/js. It still loads JavaScript at runtime, interprets it and compiles it just-in-time to machine code.

GraalVM's node implementation is a normal node, a native application, with the JavaScript engine replaced by the GraalVM's one.

The GraalVM team is experimenting with possible ways to save precompiled parts of the JavaScript programs, maybe a standard library, or parts of your application, but when this can become available and in which form is unclear.