title: How do I build 32-bit binaries on a 64-bit system using npm?
body: <p>I'm developing an application that I plan to distribute using <a href="https://github.com/rogerwang/node-webkit" rel="noreferrer">node-webkit</a>, which only has 32-bit binaries on Windows. My OS is Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, so npm is building 64-bit binaries of <a href="https://www.npmjs.org/package/protobuf" rel="noreferrer">protobuf for node</a>, which is a prerequisite of one of the modules I am using.</p>
  
  <p>I have tried:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>npm install protobuf --arch=ia32</li>
  <li>npm install protobuf --target_arch=ia32</li>
  <li>npm set npm_config_arch ia32</li>
  <li>Installing the 32-bit version of node and npm and using it to install protobuf</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>And a few other things that I can't remember at the moment.</p>
  
  <p>How can I get npm to build 32-bit binaries? Would I have to build it on a 32-bit machine?</p>