# Bun Read from stdin

> Read from stdin

- Skill: `jarle/bun-read-from-stdin` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add jarle/bun-read-from-stdin`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/jarle/bun-read-from-stdin/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: jarle (https://skillmd.com/u/jarle)
- Updated: 2026-09-21
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/jarle/bun-read-from-stdin

---


# Read from stdin

For CLI tools, it's often useful to read from `stdin`. In Bun, the `console` object is an `AsyncIterable` that yields lines from `stdin`.

```ts index.ts icon="https://mintcdn.com/bun-1dd33a4e/nIz6GtMH5K-dfXeV/icons/typescript.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=nIz6GtMH5K-dfXeV&q=85&s=5d73d76daf7eb7b158469d8c30d349b0" theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"dracula"}}
const prompt = "Type something: ";
process.stdout.write(prompt);
for await (const line of console) {
  console.log(`You typed: ${line}`);
  process.stdout.write(prompt);
}
```

***

Running this file results in a never-ending interactive prompt that echoes whatever the user types.

```sh terminal icon="terminal" theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"dracula"}}
bun run index.ts
```

```txt  theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"dracula"}}
Type something: hello
You typed: hello
Type something: hello again
You typed: hello again
```

***

Bun also exposes stdin as a `BunFile` via `Bun.stdin`. This is useful for incrementally reading large inputs that are piped into the `bun` process.

There is no guarantee that the chunks will be split line-by-line.

```ts stdin.ts icon="https://mintcdn.com/bun-1dd33a4e/nIz6GtMH5K-dfXeV/icons/typescript.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=nIz6GtMH5K-dfXeV&q=85&s=5d73d76daf7eb7b158469d8c30d349b0" theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"dracula"}}
for await (const chunk of Bun.stdin.stream()) {
  // chunk is Uint8Array
  // this converts it to text (assumes ASCII encoding)
  const chunkText = Buffer.from(chunk).toString();
  console.log(`Chunk: ${chunkText}`);
}
```

***

This will print the input that is piped into the `bun` process.

```sh terminal icon="terminal" theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"dracula"}}
echo "hello" | bun run stdin.ts
```

```txt  theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"dracula"}}
Chunk: hello
```

***

See [Docs > API > Utils](/runtime/utils) for more useful utilities.