node-accelerate

High-performance Apple Accelerate framework bindings for Node.js. Get 283x faster matrix operations and 5-8x faster vector operations on Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4).

Why?

Node.js doesn't natively use Apple's Accelerate framework, which provides hardware-optimized routines for numerical computing. This addon exposes Accelerate's BLAS (matrix operations) and vDSP (vector/signal processing) to JavaScript, giving you direct access to:

• AMX (Apple Matrix coprocessor) - Hardware matrix acceleration
• NEON SIMD - Vector processing
• Optimized FFT - Fast Fourier Transform

Note: This package only works on macOS because it uses Apple's Accelerate framework. If you're on Linux ARM64 (Raspberry Pi, AWS Graviton, etc.), consider using OpenBLAS, Eigen, or BLIS instead.

Performance

Real benchmarks on Apple M4 Max:

Installation

npm install node-accelerate

Requirements:

• macOS (Apple Silicon: M1/M2/M3/M4 or Intel)
• Node.js >= 18.0.0
• Xcode Command Line Tools

First-time Setup

If you don't have Xcode Command Line Tools installed:

xcode-select --install

Platform Check

The package will automatically check your platform during installation. If you see errors:

"node-accelerate requires macOS"

• This package only works on macOS due to Apple's Accelerate framework
• Not supported on Linux or Windows

"Xcode Command Line Tools may not be installed"

• Run: xcode-select --install
• Follow the prompts to install

"Failed to load native module"

• Try rebuilding: npm rebuild node-accelerate
• Ensure Xcode Command Line Tools are installed

Verifying Installation

node -e "const a = require('node-accelerate'); console.log('✓ Works!')"

Quick Start

const accelerate = require('node-accelerate');

// Matrix multiplication: C = A × B
const M = 1000, K = 1000, N = 1000;
const A = new Float64Array(M * K);
const B = new Float64Array(K * N);
const C = new Float64Array(M * N);

// Fill with random data
for (let i = 0; i < A.length; i++) A[i] = Math.random();
for (let i = 0; i < B.length; i++) B[i] = Math.random();

// Hardware-accelerated matrix multiplication
accelerate.matmul(A, B, C, M, K, N);

// Vector operations
const vec1 = new Float64Array(1000000);
const vec2 = new Float64Array(1000000);
const result = new Float64Array(1000000);

for (let i = 0; i < vec1.length; i++) {
  vec1[i] = Math.random();
  vec2[i] = Math.random();
}

accelerate.vadd(vec1, vec2, result);  // result = vec1 + vec2
accelerate.vmul(vec1, vec2, result);  // result = vec1 * vec2

const dotProduct = accelerate.dot(vec1, vec2);
const sum = accelerate.sum(vec1);
const mean = accelerate.mean(vec1);

// FFT
const signal = new Float64Array(65536);
for (let i = 0; i < signal.length; i++) {
  signal[i] = Math.sin(2 * Math.PI * i / signal.length);
}
const spectrum = accelerate.fft(signal);
console.log(spectrum.real, spectrum.imag);

API Reference

Matrix Operations (BLAS)

matmul(A, B, C, M, K, N)

Matrix multiplication: C = A × B

• A: Float64Array - First matrix (M × K) in row-major order
• B: Float64Array - Second matrix (K × N) in row-major order
• C: Float64Array - Output matrix (M × N) in row-major order
• M: number - Rows in A and C
• K: number - Columns in A, rows in B
• N: number - Columns in B and C
• Returns: Float64Array (C)

Example:

const M = 100, K = 100, N = 100;
const A = new Float64Array(M * K);
const B = new Float64Array(K * N);
const C = new Float64Array(M * N);

// Fill A and B...
accelerate.matmul(A, B, C, M, K, N);

matvec(A, x, y, M, N)

Matrix-vector multiplication: y = A × x

• A: Float64Array - Matrix (M × N) in row-major order
• x: Float64Array - Input vector (N elements)
• y: Float64Array - Output vector (M elements)
• M: number - Rows in A
• N: number - Columns in A
• Returns: Float64Array (y)

Example:

const M = 100, N = 50;
const A = new Float64Array(M * N);
const x = new Float64Array(N);
const y = new Float64Array(M);

accelerate.matvec(A, x, y, M, N);

axpy(alpha, x, y)

AXPY operation: y = alpha*x + y

• alpha: number - Scalar multiplier
• x: Float64Array - Input vector
• y: Float64Array - Input/output vector
• Returns: Float64Array (y)

Example:

const x = new Float64Array([1, 2, 3]);
const y = new Float64Array([4, 5, 6]);
accelerate.axpy(2.0, x, y); // y = [6, 9, 12]

Vector Operations (vDSP)

dot(a, b)

Dot product: sum(a[i] * b[i])

• a: Float64Array - First vector
• b: Float64Array - Second vector (same length as a)
• Returns: number

Example:

const a = new Float64Array([1, 2, 3, 4]);
const b = new Float64Array([5, 6, 7, 8]);
const result = accelerate.dot(a, b); // 70

sum(vec)

Sum of all elements

• vec: Float64Array - Input vector
• Returns: number

Example:

const vec = new Float64Array([1, 2, 3, 4, 5]);
const result = accelerate.sum(vec); // 15

mean(vec)

Mean (average) of all elements

• vec: Float64Array - Input vector
• Returns: number

Example:

const vec = new Float64Array([1, 2, 3, 4, 5]);
const result = accelerate.mean(vec); // 3

vadd(a, b, out)

Element-wise addition: out[i] = a[i] + b[i]

• a: Float64Array - First vector
• b: Float64Array - Second vector
• out: Float64Array - Output vector
• Returns: Float64Array (out)

Example:

const a = new Float64Array([1, 2, 3]);
const b = new Float64Array([4, 5, 6]);
const out = new Float64Array(3);
accelerate.vadd(a, b, out); // out = [5, 7, 9]

vsub(a, b, out)

Element-wise subtraction: out[i] = a[i] - b[i]

• a: Float64Array - First vector
• b: Float64Array - Second vector
• out: Float64Array - Output vector
• Returns: Float64Array (out)

vmul(a, b, out)

Element-wise multiplication: out[i] = a[i] * b[i]

• a: Float64Array - First vector
• b: Float64Array - Second vector
• out: Float64Array - Output vector
• Returns: Float64Array (out)

vdiv(a, b, out)

Element-wise division: out[i] = a[i] / b[i]

• a: Float64Array - First vector
• b: Float64Array - Second vector
• out: Float64Array - Output vector
• Returns: Float64Array (out)

vabs(a, b)

Element-wise absolute value: b[i] = |a[i]|

• a: Float64Array - Input vector
• b: Float64Array - Output vector
• Returns: Float64Array (b)

Example:

const a = new Float64Array([-1, -2, 3, -4]);
const b = new Float64Array(4);
accelerate.vabs(a, b); // b = [1, 2, 3, 4]

vsquare(a, b)

Element-wise square: b[i] = a[i]^2

• a: Float64Array - Input vector
• b: Float64Array - Output vector
• Returns: Float64Array (b)

Example:

const a = new Float64Array([2, 3, 4]);
const b = new Float64Array(3);
accelerate.vsquare(a, b); // b = [4, 9, 16]

vsqrt(a, b)

Element-wise square root: b[i] = sqrt(a[i])

• a: Float64Array - Input vector
• b: Float64Array - Output vector
• Returns: Float64Array (b)

Example:

const a = new Float64Array([4, 9, 16]);
const b = new Float64Array(3);
accelerate.vsqrt(a, b); // b = [2, 3, 4]

normalize(a, b)

Normalize vector to unit length: b = a / ||a||

• a: Float64Array - Input vector
• b: Float64Array - Output vector (unit vector)
• Returns: Float64Array (b)

Example:

const a = new Float64Array([3, 4, 0]);
const b = new Float64Array(3);
accelerate.normalize(a, b); // b = [0.6, 0.8, 0]

Reductions

rms(vec)

Root Mean Square: sqrt(sum(vec[i]^2) / n)

• vec: Float64Array - Input vector
• Returns: number

Example:

const vec = new Float64Array([1, 2, 3, 4, 5]);
const result = accelerate.rms(vec); // 3.317

Distance Metrics

euclidean(a, b)

Euclidean distance: sqrt(sum((a[i] - b[i])^2))

• a: Float64Array - First vector
• b: Float64Array - Second vector
• Returns: number

Example:

const a = new Float64Array([0, 0, 0]);
const b = new Float64Array([3, 4, 0]);
const distance = accelerate.euclidean(a, b); // 5

Signal Processing

fft(signal)

Fast Fourier Transform

• signal: Float64Array - Input signal (length must be power of 2)
• Returns: Object with real and imag Float64Arrays

Example:

const signal = new Float64Array(1024);
for (let i = 0; i < signal.length; i++) {
  signal[i] = Math.sin(2 * Math.PI * i / signal.length);
}
const spectrum = accelerate.fft(signal);
console.log(spectrum.real.length); // 512
console.log(spectrum.imag.length); // 512

TypeScript Support

Full TypeScript definitions included:

import * as accelerate from 'node-accelerate';

const A = new Float64Array(100 * 100);
const B = new Float64Array(100 * 100);
const C = new Float64Array(100 * 100);

accelerate.matmul(A, B, C, 100, 100, 100);

Use Cases

Machine Learning Inference

// Matrix multiplication for neural network layers
function denseLayer(input, weights, bias) {
  const output = new Float64Array(weights.length / input.length);
  accelerate.matmul(
    input, weights, output,
    1, input.length, output.length
  );
  // Add bias...
  return output;
}

Signal Processing

// Analyze audio spectrum
function analyzeAudio(audioBuffer) {
  const spectrum = accelerate.fft(audioBuffer);
  const magnitudes = new Float64Array(spectrum.real.length);
  
  for (let i = 0; i < magnitudes.length; i++) {
    magnitudes[i] = Math.sqrt(
      spectrum.real[i] ** 2 + spectrum.imag[i] ** 2
    );
  }
  
  return magnitudes;
}

Scientific Computing

// Numerical integration using vector operations
function integrate(f, a, b, n) {
  const h = (b - a) / n;
  const x = new Float64Array(n);
  const y = new Float64Array(n);
  
  for (let i = 0; i < n; i++) {
    x[i] = a + i * h;
    y[i] = f(x[i]);
  }
  
  return h * accelerate.sum(y);
}

Benchmarking

Run the included benchmarks:

npm run benchmark

Run tests:

npm test

Performance Tips

1. Reuse buffers - Allocate Float64Arrays once and reuse them
2. Batch operations - Process large arrays instead of many small ones
3. Use appropriate sizes - Accelerate shines with larger data (1000+ elements)
4. Profile your code - Not all operations benefit equally

Limitations

• macOS only - Requires Apple's Accelerate framework
• Float64Array only - Currently supports double precision only
• Row-major order - Matrices must be in row-major format
• FFT size - Must be power of 2

Contributing

Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

License

MIT © Jessica Mulein

Acknowledgments

Built on Apple's Accelerate framework. Inspired by the need for high-performance numerical computing in Node.js on Apple Silicon.

Troubleshooting

"Cannot find module 'node-accelerate'"

Make sure you installed it:

npm install node-accelerate

"Error: Module did not self-register"

Rebuild the addon:

npm rebuild node-accelerate

"node-accelerate requires macOS"

This package only works on macOS because it uses Apple's Accelerate framework. It cannot run on Linux or Windows.

Build fails with "gyp: No Xcode or CLT version detected"

Install Xcode Command Line Tools:

xcode-select --install

"Unsupported architecture"

node-accelerate supports:

• ARM64 (Apple Silicon: M1/M2/M3/M4)
• x64 (Intel Macs)

If you're on an older Mac with a different architecture, this package won't work.

Performance seems slow

1. Make sure you're using large arrays (1000+ elements)
2. Reuse buffers instead of allocating new ones
3. Run npm run compare to see actual speedups on your machine
4. Check that you're not running in a VM or emulator

Related Projects

• Apple Accelerate Documentation
• BLAS Reference
• vDSP Reference

Support

• GitHub Issues
• npm Package

Made with ❤️ for Apple Silicon