When set, Node.js will begin outputting [V8 JavaScript code coverage][] and [Source Map][] data to the directory provided as an argument (coverage information is written as JSON to files with a coverage prefix).

    NODE_V8_COVERAGE will automatically propagate to subprocesses, making it easier to instrument applications that call the child_process.spawn() family of functions. NODE_V8_COVERAGE can be set to an empty string, to prevent propagation.