Worker Threads Guide

A guide to using Node.js worker threads for parallel execution of CPU-intensive tasks without blocking the event loop.

Usage

Ask about worker threads, parallel processing, shared memory, or CPU-intensive task offloading.

Examples

• "Offload image processing to a worker thread"
• "How do I share data between threads with SharedArrayBuffer?"
• "Create a worker thread pool for parallel tasks"

Guidelines

• Use worker threads for CPU-intensive tasks, not I/O
• Create a thread pool to reuse workers instead of spawning new ones
• Use MessageChannel for structured communication
• Use SharedArrayBuffer for zero-copy data sharing
• Keep the main thread free for handling requests