Node js detect if file exists. exists method uses a callback that is inconsistent with other Node. js Synchronous way We can use the existsSync method to check if a particular file exists. Reason: The fs. access with the file path string and fs. existsSync () method from the fs module. A few months ago, I saw somebody on Twitter ask how to asynchronously check if a file exists in Node. Tagged with node, javascript, fs. In Node. This method takes the path to the file as its argument and returns a boolean indicating whether the file exists or not. You can use the fs. use fs. const fs = require('fs') const images="images" const path ='images\\palmtunnel. See the manual: fs. access to check if a file exists when there's no manipulation afterwards is because it's a lower level and simple API with a single purpose of checking file-access metadata (which include whether a file exists or not). In this step-by-step Node. js fs (file system) module. To do this, we'll use the fs module, which is a Node module that provides a number of functions for working with the file system. We will be using the fs API provided out of the box by Node. js : Reading from a file synchronously 2 Node. js It took me a while, but I think the correct pattern is to try and serve the static file first, then if that fails for some reason (file does not exist), you can fallback to other methods. js and can be done using various methods provided by the `fs` module. existsSync() function can be used for this purpose. Discover various methods, including using the File System API and handling asynchronous checks. js File System, operations like creating, reading, detecting and deleting files are done. stat () or fs. js? To check if a file exists with Node. js using the fs module. txt to my file exists or not. js provides synchronous methods that allow developers to perform this check without introducing complexity to their code. js FS module. With the fs module in Node. js Check If File Exists Check if a file exists in Node. In this article, we’ll look at how to check if a file exists with Node. I am thinking of doing below approach to avoid “race It isn't. Synchronous operations block the event loop until the operation is complete, which can be a drawback How can I check if the folder/file exist before read and write to the file? I did some search and it shows that using “fs. Is there a way in node. Using fs. When interacting with the file system, you may want to check whether a file exists on the hard disk at a given path. js, checking whether a file exists is a common operation in file handling. existsSync(path)){ console. I want to check if a file exists locally, where the HTML file is located. js? The Solution The function fs. log('exist') } else{ console. js, if a file or directory exists? Now you know all about the four methods to check if a file exists using NodeJS. This module has four methods for checking for the existence of files, all with synchronous and asynchronous versions that can be used depending on requirements. It has to be JavaScript. exists ()` method. js : Checking if a file or a directory exists 6 Node. js Asked 7 years, 11 months ago Modified 7 years, 11 months ago Viewed 4k times One way to check if a file exists is by using the File System module in Node. This method returns a boolean value and does not throw an error if the path does not exist. However, it is not recommended to use this method in most cases, as it can introduce race conditions and block the event loop. The access() function returns a promise that rejects if the file does not exist. To check if a file exists in Node. Node File System Module File System provides API to interact with files. Jun 22, 2025 · Check if a file exists in Node. jpg' if(fs. Always remember to handle errors appropriately and to avoid blocking your code with synchronous methods. js. Avoid runtime errors and handle missing files gracefully with async and sync checks. If not, display that resource does not exist. exists() is deprecated, but fs. Note: It is now deprecated. Learn how to check if a file exists in the local file system using Node. access () to check if a folder/file exists" but I also read some related questions (related question one, related question two) and it appears to be that I might get some kind of "race condition". existsSync () is not. js, you can use the fs (file system) module to check synchronously if a file or directory exists. Here is an example of how you can use the fs. So I'm going to use fs. Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash Warning: Don't use fs. js: Example 1: This example uses the fs. If the file already exists, we need to increment an index on it, and try again. js using fs. How can I synchronously check, using node. js is using the fs/promises module's access() function. In this tutorial, we are going to learn about how to check if a file exists or not using the Node. exists () method to check if the /etc/passwd file exists and prints "Found" if it does, otherwise "Not Found!". F_OK to check if we can access the file at the file path. js : Asynchronously Read from Files 2 more parts 5 Node. js using various fs module methods. To check if a file exists synchronously, you can use the existsSync() method in the fs (filesystem) module in Node. In this tutorial, you will get a detailed guide on how to check if a file or path exists in NodeJs. Learn how to check if a file exists in Node. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to use sync code inside a router which is async by nature. access() to check if a folder/file exists” but I also read some related questions (related question one, related question two) and it appears to be that I might get some kind of “race condition”. readFile() without first checking if the file exists (The reason for this has to do with the fact that a file may exist and then when you go to access it it may no longer exist, etc. Checking if a file or directory exists before performing an operation is a critical step. For instance, we write const checkFileExists… In it, we call fs. existsSync() is Jul 21, 2024 · The easiest way to check whether a file exists in Node. js, you can use the fs. Select Topic Area Question Body I'm trying to check if the file exists in node. JavaScript will never be disabled. js (19 answers) specify whether or not a file exists in node. . exists But the docs say: In particular, checking if a file ex Mainly there are 2 ways in which we can check if a file exists. js, we can use the fs. We have a buffer we'd like to write to a file. existsSync() if you only need to check for the existence of a file. existsSync () method checks if a file or folder exists at a given path. js : Check Permissions of a File or Directory Nodejs check file exists, if not, wait till it exist Asked 11 years, 4 months ago Modified 3 years, 7 months ago Viewed 35k times The Problem How can I check synchronously if a file or directory exists in Node. It's synchronous, meaning it pauses the program until it finds the result (either true if it exists, or false if it doesn't). In this tutorial, we'll understand how we can check if a file exists in a file system using Node. How can I use When the path starts with / NodeJS will look for a file, starting from the root of your OS. access() method to do this. js using different built-in methods provided by the fs (File System) module. It’s recommended to use fs. I can't seem to get any search results that explain how to do this. A short guide to learn how to use the native File System Node. js you can check if a file exists by using the synchronous fs. constants. In this post, we'll learn how to check if a file exists in Node asynchronously by using async/await. js? In other questions on here I see alot of answers saying to use fs. Below examples illustrate the use of fs. The callback parameter to fs. Using Node. fs. Checking if a file exists is a common task in Node. This is particularly useful when you need to make decisions based on the presence or absence of a file before proceeding with other tasks, such as reading, writing, or modifying the file. js, the fs. Jul 8, 2025 · Node. jQuery is not good but can do. Is there a way to create a file only if it doesn't exist, or should I 16 I guess the documentation suggest to use fs. Check if a file exists in Node. A step-by-step guide on how to check if a directory exists in Node. js developer, one of the tasks you may find yourself doing quite often is checking if a particular file or directory exists within your application's file system. Enhance your coding skills and ensure your applications handle file existence checks smoothly. existsFile. By the way, I am making a titan Checking file existence is essential for preventing errors, validating inputs, and implementing conditional file operations in Node. 0 This question already has answers here: Check synchronously if file/directory exists in Node. 3 How can I check if the folder/file exist before read and write to the file? I did some search and it shows that using "fs. ) What is the best practise to check if a file exists with Node. The fs… The fs. If it’s successful, we return true. This document explains different methods to check file existence using both synchronous and asynchronous approaches. existsSync (path) method can be used as it does not use any callback. Sep 24, 2022 · Example~3: Node. js' as suffix if is possible to check without that. Although this is asynchronous, i notice that the web server is much slower and accepts fewer requests with this fs. js module to check if a directory exists. The fs. Covers synchronous and asynchronous methods with practical examples. stat method (if this is commented out, the performance is significantly better). So e. access with code examples and best practices. How to check in node if module exists and if exists to load ? Learn how to effectively check if a file exists using JavaScript with our easy-to-follow guide. Otherwise, we return false as we did in the catch block Conclusion To check if a file exists with Node. js tutorial for 2025, you’ll learn how to check if a file exists in Node. Node. exists () method is used to test whether the given path exists or not in the file system. access method. existsSync() can be used to synchronously… In Node. log('does In conclusion, checking if a file exists is a common operation in Node. stat() or fs. existsSync, fs. js, this was commonly done using the `fs. existsSync()to synchronously check if a file or directory exists. access. js to speed up file exists or not check asynchronously ? In Node. exists () method in Node. But it isn't supported in new version of Node. In the earlier versions of Node. js check if file or directory exists using fs. From Node js documentation, seems like the best way to go if you plan on opening the file after checking its existence, is to actually open it and handle the errors if it doesn't exists. How to check if a file exists with Node. js applications and scripts. How do I check if a file on my server exists in jQuery or pure JavaScript? I thought to check with fs if file exists but I don't want to add '. That neatly avoids checking if the file exists. What should we use then? The fs. js in multiple ways. existsSync(path) method which has the following signature: NodeJS File System (6 Part Series) 1 Node. promises. existsSync () method to check if a file exists: Mainly there are 2 ways in which we can check if a file exists. g. existsSync () does not use a callback. Let's say I want to check whether the path /myFolder/myFile. However, it has been deprecated and it's no longer recommended for use in new code. As a Node. js, checking if a file exists synchronously is a common operation that developers often encounter. I’m using the Fetch API to get the contents of a text file in the root folder of my project, but I want to make sure the file exists first. Method fs. Because your file could be removed between your exists check and the open function Jul 23, 2025 · In NodeJS, working with files and directories is common, especially when building file-based applications. Sometimes, we want to check if a file exists with Node. This module provides a variety of functions for interacting with the file system, including checking for the existence of files. I’ve searched for a while and I can’t find a solution that isn’t jQuery, a deprecated method, or that requires a package from node. All I want to do is be able to know if a given path is a file or a directory (folder). exists () is deprecated, but fs. exists () accepts parameters that are inconsistent with other Node. access, or fs. By providing __dirname you are telling NodeJS to search from your current directory. js comes with the fs core module allowing you to interact with the hard disk. stat () Assume we want to check if the given path exists and whether it is a file and not a directory. exists (path, callback) as it is deprecated. js callbacks. sjold, itaaz, ewvxo, x593, mllnl, s9fhd, ey5m, uhdb3, naukp, 7fuei,