How Do You Get a List of the Names of All Files Present in a Directory in Node.Js?

How do you get a list of the names of all files present in a directory in Node.js?

When working with Node.js, there may be times when you need to retrieve a list of all the file names present in a directory. This can be useful for various purposes, such as iterating through files for processing, organizing files, or simply displaying a list of files to the user. In this blog post, we will explore two different approaches to achieve this.

1. Using the fs module

The fs module in Node.js provides a set of file system-related methods, including the ability to read the contents of a directory. We can use the readdirSync method from this module to retrieve a list of all file names in a directory synchronously.

const fs = require('fs');

const directoryPath = '/path/to/directory';

const fileNames = fs.readdirSync(directoryPath);
console.log(fileNames);

The code snippet above demonstrates how to use the readdirSync method to get a list of file names in the specified directory. Replace /path/to/directory with the actual path to the directory you want to retrieve the file names from.

2. Using the fs module with asynchronous approach

If you prefer an asynchronous approach, you can use the readdir method from the fs module. This method takes a callback function as an argument, which will be called with the list of file names once the operation is complete.

const fs = require('fs');

const directoryPath = '/path/to/directory';

fs.readdir(directoryPath, (err, fileNames) => {
  if (err) {
    console.error(err);
    return;
  }

  console.log(fileNames);
});

The code snippet above demonstrates how to use the readdir method to get a list of file names in the specified directory asynchronously. Replace /path/to/directory with the actual path to the directory you want to retrieve the file names from.

Both approaches discussed above will provide you with an array of file names present in the specified directory. You can then further process this list according to your requirements.

That’s it! You now know how to retrieve a list of file names in a directory using Node.js. Whether you prefer a synchronous or asynchronous approach, the fs module has got you covered.

Happy coding!