Update: Node.Js >= 10
We can use the new fs.promises API
const fs = require('fs').promises;
(async() => {
const stat = await fs.lstat('test.txt');
console.log(stat.isFile());
})().catch(console.error)
Any Node.Js version
Here's how you would detect if a path is a file or a directory asynchronously, which is the recommended approach in node.
using fs.lstat
const fs = require("fs");
let path = "/path/to/something";
fs.lstat(path, (err, stats) => {
if(err)
return console.log(err); //Handle error
console.log(`Is file: ${stats.isFile()}`);
console.log(`Is directory: ${stats.isDirectory()}`);
console.log(`Is symbolic link: ${stats.isSymbolicLink()}`);
console.log(`Is FIFO: ${stats.isFIFO()}`);
console.log(`Is socket: ${stats.isSocket()}`);
console.log(`Is character device: ${stats.isCharacterDevice()}`);
console.log(`Is block device: ${stats.isBlockDevice()}`);
});
Note when using the synchronous API:
When using the synchronous form any exceptions are immediately thrown.
You can use try/catch to handle exceptions or allow them to bubble up.
try{
fs.lstatSync("/some/path").isDirectory()
}catch(e){
// Handle error
if(e.code == 'ENOENT'){
//no such file or directory
//do something
}else {
//do something else
}
}