wasmbiber

Source · Releases · Issues

Run Biber locally in a browser Worker or Node worker thread. The actual Biber 2.22 Perl implementation produces .bbl output from a biblatex .bcf and local bibliography files. This is an independent library: it has no CorTeX, wasmtex or server dependency.

import { createBiber } from 'wasmbiber'
const biber = createBiber({ assetBaseUrl, manifest })
try {
  const result = await biber.run({ bcf, bibFiles: { 'references.bib': bibliography } })
  // Pass result.bbl to the next TeX pass.
} finally {
  await biber.dispose()
}

assetBaseUrl points to a complete, matching runtime release. manifest comes from that release's assets/manifest.json; the host must ship/cache it alongside the SDK. See integration for complete browser/Node examples and wasmtex/macOS integration boundaries.

The SDK verifies every runtime file against SHA-256, uses a bounded job queue, supports cancellation/timeouts, and isolates every job in a fresh Worker. Browser runtime caching is optional and reports verified offline readiness. No remote bibliography fetching, implicit server fallback or arbitrary Perl/CLI execution is exposed. BCF version 3.11 is required.

Develop and qualify

mise install
bun install --frozen-lockfile
bash engine/container-build.sh
bun run verify
bun run test:browser
bun run benchmark
bun run package

Native builds run in the locked Linux amd64 Docker toolchain. On Apple Silicon, use an amd64 build host as described in building. Runtime artifacts are generated, not checked into Git. assets/ contains a complete local build after the build command finishes. Registry publishing is intentionally off. Downloadable GitHub release bundles are prepared with bun run release:prepare; see public releases.

Contributors should read AGENTS.md.

Start with the documentation index, API, compatibility, testing, performance, and distribution.

The TypeScript SDK is MIT-licensed. Runtime components and build support retain their own licenses, including Artistic, GPL/AGPL and Unicode terms. See third-party notices; runtime bundles include a matching corresponding-source archive.

For contributions, see CONTRIBUTING.md. For security reporting, see SECURITY.md. Release changes are in CHANGELOG.md.