Write global object to file from node application

Question

I am trying to write the global object to file from a node application.

As a starting point I know that writing Function('return this') in the console outputs the global object with all members.

So I am trying the following:

var fs = require("fs");
fs.writeFile("/Users/myuser/Desktop/log.txt", Function('return this')());

But it just writes [object global] to the file

• Why is the output in the file different than the output in the console?
• How can I output the entire global object to file?

Answer 1

You must pass a string to the body of the file you write to. Use

JSON.stringify(myObj)

Assuming Function return an object, you can do this:

var body = JSON.stringify( Function('return this')() );

fs.writeFile("/Users/myuser/Desktop/log.txt", body);

You should put a failsafe check also.