Read all file names in a directory

Reading All File Names in a Directory Using Node.js

In certain scenarios, you may want to retrieve all file names from a directory for processing or simply to list them. This can easily be done using Node.js.

Prerequisite: Node.js Installation

Ensure you have Node.js installed on your system. You can check the version using:

$ node -v

If Node.js is installed, you should see something like:

v14.17.0

Reading Files from a Directory

You can use Node.js' built-in fs module to read the content of a directory. The readdirSync() method returns an array containing all file names in the specified directory.

console.log(fs.readdirSync('./folder-path'));

Example:

Here's how you can use Node.js to list files inside a folder:

# Ensure Node.js is installed
$ node -v
v14.17.0

# Open Node.js REPL
$ node

# Inside Node.js REPL, execute the following
> const fs = require('fs');
> console.log(fs.readdirSync('./folder'));
[
  '.DS_Store',
  'authors',
  'blog',
  'headerNavLinks.js',
  'logo.svg',
  'projectsData.js',
  'siteMetadata.js',
  'snippets'
]

Using a Script

If you want to automate this process using a script, you can create a listFiles.js script and run it:

const fs = require('fs')

// Specify your directory
const directoryPath = './folder'

// Read and display file names
fs.readdir(directoryPath, (err, files) => {
  if (err) {
    return console.log('Unable to scan directory: ' + err)
  }
  console.log('Files in directory:', files)
})

Save the above code in a file named listFiles.js, and execute it using the following command:

$ node listFiles.js

Practical Applications

• File management: You can use this approach to automate tasks such as renaming, processing, or archiving files in a directory.
• Dynamic imports: In a web or Node.js app, you might want to dynamically import or process files without hardcoding file names.

Conclusion

With Node.js, reading file names in a directory is simple and efficient. This method can be extended for various purposes, such as file manipulation, generating lists of assets, or automating tasks in a development workflow.