How can I get type from fs.Dirent?

Question

I can call

fs.readdirSync("C:\\", { withFileTypes: true })

and get array of fs.Dirent, but they look like

> fs.readdirSync("C:\\", { withFileTypes: true })[32]
Dirent { name: 'Windows', [Symbol(type)]: 2 }
> fs.readdirSync("C:\\", { withFileTypes: true })[21]
Dirent { name: 'pagefile.sys', [Symbol(type)]: 1 }
> fs.readdirSync("C:\\", { withFileTypes: true })[10]
Dirent { name: 'Documents and Settings', [Symbol(type)]: 3 }

So there is a name and and type, but the type is hidden under Symbol(type) and I can't find any information how to get it from there.

Of course I can use a hack like

> x = fs.readdirSync("C:\\", { withFileTypes: true })[10]
Dirent { name: 'DoYourData iCloud Backup', [Symbol(type)]: 3 }
> x[Object.getOwnPropertySymbols(x)[0]]
3

But that seems strange.

If it's hidden for purpose, and there is nothing public except name, then I don't understand why do we have a special flag in option to get an object instead of simple string.

score 17 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 14 '19 at 20:18

17

There are methods for checking object for special purposes. In documentation they are listed right after Dirent class.

Here is an example of using them:

var methods = ['isBlockDevice', 'isCharacterDevice', 'isDirectory', 'isFIFO', 'isFile', 'isSocket', 'isSymbolicLink'];

var res = fs.readdirSync("C:\\", { withFileTypes: true }).map(d => {
  var cur = { name: d.name }
  for (var method of methods) cur[method] = d[method]()
  return cur
})

console.table(res)

answered Oct 14 '19 at 20:18

Qwertiy

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what exactly is a "dirent"? `fs.readdirSync` returns either a string, buffer, or dirent... – oldboy Oct 30 '19 at 04:34
@PrimitiveNom, sorry, I don't understand your question. – Qwertiy Oct 30 '19 at 07:44
what is a dirent? just an object? – oldboy Oct 30 '19 at 21:28
1

@PrimitiveNom, it's https://nodejs.org/api/fs.html#fs_class_fs_dirent – Qwertiy Oct 30 '19 at 21:29
7

Upvoted just for showing the use of `console.table` ;-p – Geek Stocks Apr 14 '20 at 07:12
You just opened a window to a vast amount of how node works. Thank you! – dewd May 16 '23 at 17:14

score 7 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 22 '20 at 21:04

It's returning a Dirent (https://nodejs.org/api/fs.html#fs_class_fs_dirent)

The Dirent allows you to do stuff like this:

const results = fs.readdirSync("c:\\temp", { withFileTypes: true });
results.forEach(function(result) {
   console.log(result.name);
   console.log(` - isFile: ${result.isFile()}`);
   console.log(` - isDirectory: ${result.isDirectory()}`);
});

How can I get type from fs.Dirent?

2 Answers2