File System

The File System module provides a comprehensive set of APIs for file and directory operations. It follows a singleton pattern and is accessible through the fs instance.

Overview

The File System module offers a unified interface for:

• File and directory management
• File content operations
• Compression and decompression
• File system event monitoring

Features

• File and directory management (create, delete, rename, move, copy)
• File content operations (read, write, append)
• Compression and decompression (zip, tar)
• File system event monitoring
• Cross-platform path handling
• Asynchronous operations with Promise support

Examples

Listing Files and Directories

// List all items in a directory
const items = await fs.ls('/path/to/directory');

// List only directories
const directories = await fs.ls('/path/to/directory', true);

File and Directory Management

// Check if a path exists
const exists = await fs.exists('/path/to/file');

// Check if a path is a directory
const isDir = await fs.isDirectory('/path/to/directory');

// Check if a path is a file
const isFile = await fs.isFile('/path/to/file');

// Create a directory
await fs.mkdir('/path/to/new/directory', true); // true for creating parent directories

// Remove a file
await fs.rm('/path/to/file');

// Remove a directory
await fs.rmdir('/path/to/directory', true); // true for recursive removal

// Rename a file or directory
await fs.ren('/path/to/old', 'new-name');

File Content Operations

// Read file content
const content = await fs.read('/path/to/file');

// Write content to a file
await fs.write('/path/to/file', 'content', 'truncate'); // truncate, create, or append

// Create an empty file
await fs.touch('/path/to/file');

File Copy and Move

// Copy a file or directory
await fs.cp('/path/to/source', '/path/to/target');

// Move a file or directory
await fs.mv('/path/to/source', '/path/to/target');

Compression and Decompression

// Compress files to ZIP
await fs.zip(['/path/to/file1', '/path/to/file2'], '/path/to/archive.zip');

// Extract ZIP archive
await fs.unzip('/path/to/archive.zip', '/path/to/extract/to');

// Create TAR archive
await fs.tar(['/path/to/file1', '/path/to/file2'], '/path/to/archive.tar', 'gzip');

// Extract TAR archive
await fs.untar('/path/to/archive.tar', '/path/to/extract/to', 'gzip');

Best Practices

1. Path Handling

   • Use absolute paths when possible
   • Handle path separators correctly for cross-platform compatibility
   • Validate paths before operations

2. Resource Management

   • Clean up temporary files
   • Use appropriate write modes for file operations
   • Handle large files with care

3. Error Handling

   • Implement proper error handling for all file operations
   • Check file existence before operations
   • Handle permission errors appropriately
   • Use try-catch blocks for error handling:

   try {
       await fs.write('/path/to/file', 'content');
   } catch (error) {
       console.error('Error writing file:', error);
   }

4. Performance

   • Use streaming for large files transfer
   • Implement proper caching mechanisms
   • Batch operations when possible
   • Choose appropriate compression modes for archives