diff --git a/.eslintrc.json b/.eslintrc.json
index 36b7885..75587e8 100644
--- a/.eslintrc.json
+++ b/.eslintrc.json
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 {
   "extends": "eslint:recommended",
+  "parser": "babel-eslint",
   "env": {
     "es6": true,
     "node": true
@@ -15,4 +16,4 @@
     "quotes": ["error", "single"],
     "semi": ["error", "always"]
   }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index c65ff82..ac0966e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -14,27 +14,27 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        node-version: [8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18]
+        node-version: [12, 14, 16, 18, 20]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
-        uses: actions/setup-node@v2
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
         with:
           node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
       - run: npm install
       - run: npm run fetch
       - run: npm test
       - run: npm run lint
-      - name: inspect tarball
-        run: npm pack
+      - name: Inspect tarball
+        run: npm pack --dry-run
   publish:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/') && github.event_name != 'pull_request'
     needs: test
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - name: Use Node.js 14
-        uses: actions/setup-node@v2
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
         with:
           node-version: 14
           registry-url: https://registry.npmjs.org/
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ jobs:
           NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{secrets.NPM_TOKEN}}
       - name: Output logs
         if: ${{ always() }}
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v2
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
         with:
           name: npm-logs
           path: /home/runner/.npm/_logs/**
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 107d7e8..dc0e3a3 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -40,3 +40,4 @@ temp/
 
 # not source code
 libheif/
+libheif-wasm/
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 004ac4a..97a3ef8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 > An Emscripten build of [`libheif`](https://github.com/strukturag/libheif) distributed as an npm module for Node.JS and the browser.
 
 [![github actions test][github-actions-test.svg]][github-actions-test.link]
+[![jsdelivr][jsdelivr.svg]][jsdelivr.link]
 [![npm-downloads][npm-downloads.svg]][npm.link]
 [![npm-version][npm-version.svg]][npm.link]
 
@@ -11,6 +12,8 @@
 [npm-downloads.svg]: https://img.shields.io/npm/dm/libheif-js.svg
 [npm.link]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/libheif-js
 [npm-version.svg]: https://img.shields.io/npm/v/libheif-js.svg
+[jsdelivr.svg]: https://img.shields.io/jsdelivr/npm/hm/libheif-js?color=bd33a4
+[jsdelivr.link]: https://www.jsdelivr.com/package/npm/libheif-js
 
 This module will respect the major and minor versions of the included `libheif`, with the patch version representing changes in this module itself. For the exact version of `libheif`, please see the [install script](scripts/install.js).
 
@@ -20,6 +23,103 @@ This module will respect the major and minor versions of the included `libheif`,
 npm install libheif-js
 ```
 
+## Usage
+
+Starting with version 1.17, there are multiple variants of `libheif` that you can use:
+
+* The default is still the classic pure-javascript implementation (for backwards compatibility, of course). You can still bundle this into your project with your bundler of choice.
+  ```js
+  const libheif = require('libheif-js');
+  ```
+* There is a `wasm` version available for use in NodeJS. This version will dymanically load the `.wasm` binary at runtime. While you may try to run this through a bundler, you are on your own for making it work.
+  ```js
+  const libheif = require('libheif-js/wasm');
+  ```
+* There is also a `wasm` version that is pre-bundled for you, which includes the `.wasm` binary inside the `.js` bundle. You will have a much easier time using this in your browser bundle project.
+  ```js
+  const libheif = require('libheif-js/wasm-bundle');
+  ```
+
+If you'd like to include this module directly into an `html` page using a `<script>` tag, you have the following options:
+
+_Note: in the examples below, make sure to set the latest version when you use it. Always make sure to set a version, to make sure your website does not break unexpectedly when an update is released._
+
+* Use the pure-javascript implementation, exposing a `libheif` global:
+  ```html
+  <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/libheif-js@1.17.1/libheif/libheif.js"></script>
+  ```
+* Use the wasm bundle, exposing a `libheif` global:
+  ```html
+  <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/libheif-js@1.17.1/libheif-wasm/libheif-bundle.js"></script>
+  ```
+* Use the ES Module version, which now works in all major browsers and you should try it:
+  ```html
+  <script type="module">
+    import libheif from 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/libheif-js@1.17.1/libheif-wasm/libheif-bundle.mjs';
+  </script>
+  ```
+
+In all cases, you can use this sample code to decode an image:
+
+```js
+const file = fs.readFileSync('./temp/0002.heic');
+
+const decoder = new libheif.HeifDecoder();
+const data = decoder.decode(file);
+// data in an array holding all images inside the heic file
+
+const image = data[0];
+const width = image.get_width();
+const height = image.get_height();
+```
+
+In NodeJS, you might use this decoded data with other libraries, such as `pngjs`:
+
+```js
+const { PNG } = require('pngjs');
+
+const arrayBuffer = await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+  image.display({ data: new Uint8ClampedArray(width*height*4), width, height }, (displayData) => {
+    if (!displayData) {
+      return reject(new Error('HEIF processing error'));
+    }
+
+    resolve(displayData.data.buffer);
+  });
+});
+
+const imageData = { width, height, data: arrayBuffer };
+
+const png = new PNG({ width: imageData.width, height: imageData.height });
+png.data = Buffer.from(imageData.data);
+
+const pngBuffer = PNG.sync.write(png);
+```
+
+In the browser, you might use this decoded data with `canvas` to display or convert the image:
+
+```js
+const canvas = document.createElement('canvas');
+
+canvas.width = width;
+canvas.height = height;
+
+const context = canvas.getContext('2d');
+const imageData = context.createImageData(width, height);
+
+await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+  image.display(imageData, (displayData) => {
+    if (!displayData) {
+      return reject(new Error('HEIF processing error'));
+    }
+
+    resolve();
+  });
+});
+
+context.putImageData(imageData, 0, 0);
+```
+
 ## Related
 
 This module contains the low-level `libheif` implementation. For more user-friendly functionality, check out these projects:
diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3381a4c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/index.js
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+module.exports = require('./libheif/libheif.js')();
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index cbb5bf6..b790790 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 {
   "name": "libheif-js",
-  "version": "1.15.1",
+  "version": "1.17.1",
   "description": "Emscripten distribution of libheif for Node.JS and the browser",
-  "main": "libheif/libheif.js",
+  "main": "index.js",
   "scripts": {
     "pretest": "npm run -s images",
-    "test": "mocha test/**/*.test.js",
+    "test": "mocha test/**/*.test.js --timeout 4000",
     "fetch": "node scripts/install.js",
     "images": "node scripts/images.js",
     "inspect": "node scripts/convert.js < temp/0002.heic > out.png",
@@ -16,7 +16,11 @@
     "url": "git+https://github.com/catdad-experiments/libheif-js.git"
   },
   "files": [
-    "libheif"
+    "index.js",
+    "wasm.js",
+    "wasm-bundle.js",
+    "libheif",
+    "libheif-wasm"
   ],
   "author": "Kiril Vatev <vatev.1@gmail.com>",
   "license": "LGPL-3.0",
@@ -25,14 +29,18 @@
   },
   "homepage": "https://github.com/catdad-experiments/libheif-js#readme",
   "devDependencies": {
+    "babel-eslint": "^10.1.0",
     "chai": "^4.2.0",
+    "esbuild": "^0.19.5",
     "eslint": "^5.16.0",
     "fs-extra": "^8.1.0",
+    "gunzip-maybe": "^1.4.2",
     "mocha": "^7.0.0",
     "node-fetch": "^2.6.0",
     "pixelmatch": "^5.2.1",
     "pngjs": "^3.4.0",
-    "rootrequire": "^1.0.0"
+    "rootrequire": "^1.0.0",
+    "tar-stream": "^3.1.6"
   },
   "engines": {
     "node": ">=8.0.0"
@@ -44,6 +52,7 @@
     "decoder",
     "node",
     "browser",
-    "emscripten"
+    "emscripten",
+    "wasm"
   ]
 }
diff --git a/scripts/bundle.js b/scripts/bundle.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cc56c21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/bundle.js
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+import libheif from '../libheif-wasm/libheif.js';
+import wasmBinary from '../libheif-wasm/libheif.wasm';
+
+export default (opts = {}) => libheif({ ...opts, wasmBinary });
diff --git a/scripts/install.js b/scripts/install.js
index f7773a7..408e9cb 100644
--- a/scripts/install.js
+++ b/scripts/install.js
@@ -3,30 +3,89 @@ const path = require('path');
 const fs = require('fs-extra');
 const fetch = require('node-fetch');
 const root = require('rootrequire');
+const tar = require('tar-stream');
+const gunzip = require('gunzip-maybe');
 
-const libheifDir = path.resolve(root, 'libheif');
-const libheif = path.resolve(libheifDir, 'libheif.js');
-const libheifLicense = path.resolve(libheifDir, 'LICENSE');
+const esbuild = require('esbuild');
 
-const version = 'v1.15.1';
+const version = 'v1.17.1';
 
 const base = `https://github.com/catdad-experiments/libheif-emscripten/releases/download/${version}`;
-const lib = `${base}/libheif.js`;
-const license = `${base}/LICENSE`;
+const tarball = `${base}/libheif.tar.gz`;
 
-const response = async url => {
+const getStream = async url => {
   const res = await fetch(url);
 
   if (!res.ok) {
     throw new Error(`failed response: ${res.status} ${res.statusText}`);
   }
 
-  return await res.buffer();
+  return res.body;
+};
+
+const autoReadStream = async stream => {
+  let result = Buffer.from('');
+
+  for await (const data of stream) {
+    result = Buffer.concat([result, data]);
+  }
+
+  return result;
 };
 
 (async () => {
-  await fs.outputFile(libheif, await response(lib));
-  await fs.outputFile(libheifLicense, await response(license));
+  await fs.remove(path.resolve(root, 'libheif'));
+  await fs.remove(path.resolve(root, 'libheif-wasm'));
+
+  for await (const entry of (await getStream(tarball)).pipe(gunzip()).pipe(tar.extract())) {
+    const basedir = entry.header.name.split('/')[0];
+
+    if (entry.header.type === 'file' && ['libheif', 'libheif-wasm'].includes(basedir)) {
+      const outfile = path.resolve(root, entry.header.name);
+      console.log(`  writing "${outfile}"`);
+      await fs.outputFile(outfile, await autoReadStream(entry));
+    } else {
+      await autoReadStream(entry);
+    }
+  }
+
+  const buildOptions = {
+    entryPoints: [path.resolve(root, 'scripts/bundle.js')],
+    bundle: true,
+    minify: true,
+    external: ['fs', 'path', 'require'],
+    loader: {
+      '.wasm': 'binary'
+    },
+    platform: 'neutral'
+  };
+
+  await esbuild.build({
+    ...buildOptions,
+    outfile: path.resolve(root, 'libheif-wasm/libheif-bundle.js'),
+    format: 'iife',
+    globalName: 'libheif',
+    footer: {
+      // hack to support a single bundle as a node cjs module
+      // and a browser <script>, similar to the js version libheif
+      js: `
+libheif = libheif.default;
+if (typeof exports === 'object' && typeof module === 'object') {
+  module.exports = libheif;
+}`
+    }
+  });
+
+  await esbuild.build({
+    ...buildOptions,
+    outfile: path.resolve(root, 'libheif-wasm/libheif-bundle.mjs'),
+    format: 'esm',
+    banner: {
+      // hack to avoid the ENVIRONMENT_IS_NODE detection
+      // the binary is built in, so the environment doesn't matter
+      js: 'var process;'
+    }
+  });
 })().then(() => {
   console.log(`fetched libheif ${version}`);
 }).catch(err => {
diff --git a/test/libheif.test.js b/test/libheif.test.js
index 18c4b45..ae8e694 100644
--- a/test/libheif.test.js
+++ b/test/libheif.test.js
@@ -8,9 +8,66 @@ const { PNG } = require('pngjs');
 const pixelmatch = require('pixelmatch');
 
 const pkg = require('../package.json');
-const libheif = require('../');
 
-describe('libheif', () => {
+describe('libheif (JS)', () => {
+  const moduleFile = '../';
+
+  runTests(require(moduleFile));
+
+  it('resolves to index file', () => {
+    const expected = path.resolve(root, 'index.js');
+    const actual = require.resolve(moduleFile);
+
+    expect(actual).to.equal(expected);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('libheif (WASM)', () => {
+  const moduleFile = '../wasm';
+
+  runTests(require(moduleFile));
+
+  it('resolves to wasm file', () => {
+    const expected = path.resolve(root, 'wasm.js');
+    const actual = require.resolve(moduleFile);
+
+    expect(actual).to.equal(expected);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('libheif (WASM bundle)', () => {
+  const moduleFile = '../wasm-bundle';
+
+  runTests(require(moduleFile));
+
+  it('resolves to wasm file', () => {
+    const expected = path.resolve(root, 'wasm-bundle.js');
+    const actual = require.resolve(moduleFile);
+
+    expect(actual).to.equal(expected);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('libheif (WASM esm bundle)', () => {
+  let dynamicLibheif;
+  let proxyTarget = {};
+
+  const libheifProxy = new Proxy(proxyTarget, {
+    get(target, prop) {
+      return dynamicLibheif[prop];
+    }
+  });
+
+  before(async () => {
+    dynamicLibheif = (await import('../libheif-wasm/libheif-bundle.mjs')).default();
+    // allows `expect(libheif).to.have.property(...)` work
+    Object.assign(proxyTarget, dynamicLibheif);
+  });
+
+  runTests(libheifProxy);
+});
+
+function runTests(libheif) {
   const readControl = async name => {
     const buffer = await fs.readFile(path.resolve(root, `temp/${name}`));
     const { data, width, height } = PNG.sync.read(buffer);
@@ -30,7 +87,7 @@ describe('libheif', () => {
   it('is the correct version', () => {
     expect(libheif).to.have.property('heif_get_version')
       .and.to.be.a('function');
-    expect(libheif.heif_get_version()).to.equal('1.15.1')
+    expect(libheif.heif_get_version()).to.equal('1.17.1')
       .and.to.equal(pkg.version);
   });
 
@@ -85,4 +142,4 @@ describe('libheif', () => {
       compare(control.data, arrayBuffer, control.width, control.height);
     });
   });
-});
+}
diff --git a/wasm-bundle.js b/wasm-bundle.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3b3e6df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wasm-bundle.js
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+module.exports = require('./libheif-wasm/libheif-bundle.js')();
diff --git a/wasm.js b/wasm.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ac9483
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wasm.js
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+// I technically don't have to do this, but I am keeping it around
+// for demonstration purposes
+const fs = require('fs');
+const wasmBinary = fs.readFileSync('./libheif-wasm/libheif.wasm');
+
+module.exports = require('./libheif-wasm/libheif.js')({ wasmBinary });