Runtime Compatibility

otplib is designed to work across multiple JavaScript runtimes. This guide covers compatibility with Node.js, Bun, and Deno.

Compatibility Matrix

Package	Node.js	Bun / Deno	Browser
Core packages	Universal	Universal	Universal
@otplib/plugin-crypto-node	Recommended	Alternative	Not Supported
@otplib/plugin-crypto-noble	Alternative	Recommended	Recommended
@otplib/plugin-crypto-web	Alternative	Alternative	Recommended

Core packages include: otplib, @otplib/core, @otplib/hotp, @otplib/totp, @otplib/uri, @otplib/plugin-base32-scure

Recommended Plugins by Runtime

Node.js

Recommended: @otplib/plugin-crypto-node - Best performance using native node:crypto

import { generate, verify, generateSecret } from "otplib";
import { NodeCryptoPlugin } from "@otplib/plugin-crypto-node";
import { ScureBase32Plugin } from "@otplib/plugin-base32-scure";

const crypto = new NodeCryptoPlugin();
const base32 = new ScureBase32Plugin();

const secret = generateSecret({ crypto, base32 });
const token = await generate({ secret, crypto, base32 });

Alternatives:

• plugin-crypto-noble - Pure JS, good for environments without native crypto
• plugin-crypto-web - Works in Node.js 15+, uses Web Crypto API

Bun / Deno

Recommended: @otplib/plugin-crypto-noble - Pure JS, consistent cross-runtime behavior

import { generate, verify, generateSecret } from "otplib";
import { NobleCryptoPlugin } from "@otplib/plugin-crypto-noble";
import { ScureBase32Plugin } from "@otplib/plugin-base32-scure";

const crypto = new NobleCryptoPlugin();
const base32 = new ScureBase32Plugin();

const secret = generateSecret({ crypto, base32 });
const token = await generate({ secret, crypto, base32 });

Alternatives:

• plugin-crypto-node - Works via Node.js compatibility layer
• plugin-crypto-web - Uses native Web Crypto API (Deno) or compatibility (Bun)

Browser

Recommended: @otplib/plugin-crypto-web - Uses native Web Crypto API

import { generate, verify, generateSecret } from "otplib";
import { WebCryptoPlugin } from "@otplib/plugin-crypto-web";
import { ScureBase32Plugin } from "@otplib/plugin-base32-scure";

const crypto = new WebCryptoPlugin();
const base32 = new ScureBase32Plugin();

const secret = generateSecret({ crypto, base32 });
const token = await generate({ secret, crypto, base32 });

Alternatives:

• plugin-crypto-noble - Pure JS implementation, works everywhere

WARNING

The Web Crypto API requires a secure context (HTTPS) in browsers. Token generation will fail on non-secure origins.

Universal Code

For code that needs to run across all runtimes, use the pure JavaScript plugins:

import { generate, verify, generateSecret } from "otplib";
import { NobleCryptoPlugin } from "@otplib/plugin-crypto-noble";
import { ScureBase32Plugin } from "@otplib/plugin-base32-scure";

// Works in Node.js, Bun, Deno, and browsers
const crypto = new NobleCryptoPlugin();
const base32 = new ScureBase32Plugin();

async function generateOTP(secret: string): Promise<string> {
  return generate({ secret, crypto, base32 });
}

async function verifyOTP(secret: string, token: string): Promise<boolean> {
  const result = await verify({ secret, token, crypto, base32 });
  return result.valid;
}

TIP

The main otplib package uses @otplib/plugin-crypto-noble by default, making it work across all runtimes out of the box.

Sync API Compatibility

The generateSync and verifySync methods (available in both Class and Functional APIs) only work with plugins that support synchronous operations, such as:

• @otplib/plugin-crypto-node
• @otplib/plugin-crypto-noble (default)

They will throw an error if used with async-only plugins like:

• @otplib/plugin-crypto-web (Web Crypto API is async only)

Runtime-Specific Notes

Bun

Bun provides excellent compatibility with npm packages. Install and use otplib as you would in Node.js:

bun add otplib

Deno

For Deno, you can import from npm using the npm: specifier:

import { generate, generateSecret } from "npm:otplib";

const secret = generateSecret();
const token = await generate({ secret, strategy: "totp" });

Or use an import map in deno.json:

{
  "imports": {
    "otplib": "npm:otplib"
  }
}

Then import normally:

import { generate, generateSecret } from "otplib";

Performance Considerations

Plugin	Performance	Use Case
plugin-crypto-node	Fastest	Node.js production servers
plugin-crypto-noble	Good	Cross-runtime, security-audited
plugin-crypto-web	Good	Browsers, Web Workers

For high-throughput applications on Node.js, plugin-crypto-node offers the best performance as it uses the native crypto module. For universal code or security-critical applications, plugin-crypto-noble uses the audited @noble/hashes library.

Testing Across Runtimes

otplib is tested across all three major runtimes to ensure compatibility:

# Node.js (Vitest)
pnpm test

# Bun
pnpm test:bun

# Deno
pnpm test:deno

All core functionality including HOTP and TOTP are verified against RFC 4226 and RFC 6238 test vectors on each runtime.

Edge Runtimes

otplib works in edge computing environments like Cloudflare Workers, Vercel Edge Functions, and Deno Deploy:

// Cloudflare Workers / Vercel Edge
import { generate } from "otplib";
import { WebCryptoPlugin } from "@otplib/plugin-crypto-web";
import { ScureBase32Plugin } from "@otplib/plugin-base32-scure";

const crypto = new WebCryptoPlugin();
const base32 = new ScureBase32Plugin();

export default {
  async fetch(request: Request): Promise<Response> {
    const token = await generate({
      secret: "JBSWY3DPEHPK3PXP",
      crypto,
      base32,
    });
    return new Response(token);
  },
};

Troubleshooting

"crypto is not defined" in Deno

Ensure you're using a plugin that's compatible with Deno:

// Use noble plugin for universal compatibility
import { NobleCryptoPlugin } from "@otplib/plugin-crypto-noble";
const crypto = new NobleCryptoPlugin();

Module resolution issues in Bun

If you encounter module resolution issues, ensure your package.json has the correct type:

{
  "type": "module"
}

Web Crypto not available

The Web Crypto API requires a secure context. For local development:

# Use HTTPS locally
npx serve -s build --ssl-cert cert.pem --ssl-key key.pem

Or use the noble plugin which doesn't require Web Crypto:

import { NobleCryptoPlugin } from "@otplib/plugin-crypto-noble";