Web Workers enable multi-threaded JavaScript. Here's how to use them for heavy computation without blocking the UI.
Basic Web Worker#
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TypeScript Web Worker#
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Transferable Objects#
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Worker Pool#
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Shared Worker#
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Comlink for Easy Workers#
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OffscreenCanvas#
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Best Practices#
When to Use:
✓ Heavy computations (sorting, parsing)
✓ Image/video processing
✓ Data transformation
✓ Complex calculations
When NOT to Use:
✗ Simple operations
✗ DOM manipulation (not allowed)
✗ Small data sets
✗ Frequent small messages
Performance:
✓ Use transferable objects
✓ Minimize message passing
✓ Pool workers for many tasks
✓ Terminate unused workers
Communication:
✓ Structure messages clearly
✓ Handle errors properly
✓ Consider using Comlink
✓ Batch small messages
Conclusion#
Web Workers enable parallel processing in JavaScript without blocking the main thread. Use them for CPU-intensive tasks, leverage transferable objects for large data, and consider worker pools for concurrent processing. Libraries like Comlink simplify the communication API significantly.