The Node.js fs core module provides many handy methods you can use to work with folders.
Check if a folder exists
Use fs.access() (and its promise-based fsPromises.access() counterpart) to check if the folder exists and Node.js can access it with its permissions.
Create a new folder
Use fs.mkdir(), fs.mkdirSync(), or fsPromises.mkdir() to create a new folder.
import fs from 'node:fs';
const folderName = '/Users/joe/test';
try {
if (!fs.existsSync(folderName)) {
fs.mkdirSync(folderName);
}
} catch (err) {
console.error(err);
}
const fs = require('node:fs');
const folderName = '/Users/joe/test';
try {
if (!fs.existsSync(folderName)) {
fs.mkdirSync(folderName);
}
} catch (err) {
console.error(err);
}
Read the content of a directory
Use fs.readdir(), fs.readdirSync(), or fsPromises.readdir() to read the contents of a directory.
This piece of code reads the content of a folder, both files and subfolders, and returns their relative path:
import fs from 'node:fs';
const folderPath = '/Users/joe';
fs.readdirSync(folderPath);
const fs = require('node:fs');
const folderPath = '/Users/joe';
fs.readdirSync(folderPath);
fs.readdirSync(folderPath).map(fileName => {
return path.join(folderPath, fileName);
});
import fs from 'node:fs';
const isFile = fileName => {
return fs.lstatSync(fileName).isFile();
};
fs.readdirSync(folderPath)
.map(fileName => {
return path.join(folderPath, fileName);
})
.filter(isFile);
const fs = require('node:fs');
const isFile = fileName => {
return fs.lstatSync(fileName).isFile();
};
fs.readdirSync(folderPath)
.map(fileName => {
return path.join(folderPath, fileName);
})
.filter(isFile);
Rename a folder
Use fs.rename(), fs.renameSync(), or fsPromises.rename() to rename a folder. The first parameter is the current path, the second is the new path:
import fs from 'node:fs';
fs.rename('/Users/joe', '/Users/roger', err => {
if (err) {
console.error(err);
}
// done
});
const fs = require('node:fs');
fs.rename('/Users/joe', '/Users/roger', err => {
if (err) {
console.error(err);
}
// done
});
fs.renameSync() is the synchronous version:
import fs from 'node:fs';
try {
fs.renameSync('/Users/joe', '/Users/roger');
} catch (err) {
console.error(err);
}
const fs = require('node:fs');
try {
fs.renameSync('/Users/joe', '/Users/roger');
} catch (err) {
console.error(err);
}
fsPromises.rename() is the promise-based version:
import fs from 'node:fs/promises';
try {
await fs.rename('/Users/joe', '/Users/roger');
} catch (err) {
console.log(err);
}
const fs = require('node:fs/promises');
async function example() {
try {
await fs.rename('/Users/joe', '/Users/roger');
} catch (err) {
console.log(err);
}
}
example();
Remove a folder
Use fs.rmdir(), fs.rmdirSync(), or fsPromises.rmdir() to remove a folder.
import fs from 'node:fs';
fs.rmdir(dir, err => {
if (err) {
throw err;
}
console.log(`${dir} is deleted!`);
});
const fs = require('node:fs');
fs.rmdir(dir, err => {
if (err) {
throw err;
}
console.log(`${dir} is deleted!`);
});
fs.rm() with the option { recursive: true } to recursively remove the contents.
{ recursive: true, force: true } makes it so that exceptions will be ignored if the folder does not exist.
import fs from 'node:fs';
fs.rm(dir, { recursive: true, force: true }, err => {
if (err) {
throw err;
}
console.log(`${dir} is deleted!`);
});
const fs = require('node:fs');
fs.rm(dir, { recursive: true, force: true }, err => {
if (err) {
throw err;
}
console.log(`${dir} is deleted!`);
});