---
title: StringDecoder · Cloudflare Workers docs
description: "The node:string_decoder is a legacy utility module that predates
  the WHATWG standard TextEncoder and TextDecoder API. In most cases, you should
  use TextEncoder and TextDecoder instead. StringDecoder is available in the
  Workers runtime primarily for compatibility with existing npm packages that
  rely on it. StringDecoder can be accessed using:"
lastUpdated: 2025-08-20T18:47:44.000Z
chatbotDeprioritize: false
source_url:
  html: https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/runtime-apis/nodejs/string-decoder/
  md: https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/runtime-apis/nodejs/string-decoder/index.md
---

Note

To enable built-in Node.js APIs and polyfills, add the nodejs\_compat compatibility flag to your [Wrangler configuration file](https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/wrangler/configuration/). This also enables nodejs\_compat\_v2 as long as your compatibility date is 2024-09-23 or later. [Learn more about the Node.js compatibility flag and v2](https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/configuration/compatibility-flags/#nodejs-compatibility-flag).

The [`node:string_decoder`](https://nodejs.org/api/string_decoder.html) is a legacy utility module that predates the WHATWG standard [TextEncoder](https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/runtime-apis/encoding/#textencoder) and [TextDecoder](https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/runtime-apis/encoding/#textdecoder) API. In most cases, you should use `TextEncoder` and `TextDecoder` instead. `StringDecoder` is available in the Workers runtime primarily for compatibility with existing npm packages that rely on it. `StringDecoder` can be accessed using:

```js
const { StringDecoder } = require("node:string_decoder");
const decoder = new StringDecoder("utf8");


const cent = Buffer.from([0xc2, 0xa2]);
console.log(decoder.write(cent));


const euro = Buffer.from([0xe2, 0x82, 0xac]);
console.log(decoder.write(euro));
```

Refer to the [Node.js documentation for `string_decoder`](https://nodejs.org/dist/latest-v20.x/docs/api/string_decoder.html) for more information.
