'How do I move files in node.js?

How can I move files (like mv command shell) on node.js? Is there any method for that or should I read a file, write to a new file and remove older file?



Solution 1:[1]

According to seppo0010 comment, I used the rename function to do that.

http://nodejs.org/docs/latest/api/fs.html#fs_fs_rename_oldpath_newpath_callback

fs.rename(oldPath, newPath, callback)

Added in: v0.0.2

oldPath <String> | <Buffer>
newPath <String> | <Buffer>
callback <Function>

Asynchronous rename(2). No arguments other than a possible exception are given to the completion callback.

Solution 2:[2]

Using nodejs natively

var fs = require('fs')

var oldPath = 'old/path/file.txt'
var newPath = 'new/path/file.txt'

fs.rename(oldPath, newPath, function (err) {
  if (err) throw err
  console.log('Successfully renamed - AKA moved!')
})

(NOTE: "This will not work if you are crossing partitions or using a virtual filesystem not supporting moving files. [...]" – Flavien Volken Sep 2 '15 at 12:50")

Solution 3:[3]

This example taken from: Node.js in Action

A move() function that renames, if possible, or falls back to copying

var fs = require('fs');

module.exports = function move(oldPath, newPath, callback) {

    fs.rename(oldPath, newPath, function (err) {
        if (err) {
            if (err.code === 'EXDEV') {
                copy();
            } else {
                callback(err);
            }
            return;
        }
        callback();
    });

    function copy() {
        var readStream = fs.createReadStream(oldPath);
        var writeStream = fs.createWriteStream(newPath);

        readStream.on('error', callback);
        writeStream.on('error', callback);

        readStream.on('close', function () {
            fs.unlink(oldPath, callback);
        });

        readStream.pipe(writeStream);
    }
}

Solution 4:[4]

Use the mv node module which will first try to do an fs.rename and then fallback to copying and then unlinking.

Solution 5:[5]

util.pump is deprecated in node 0.10 and generates warning message

 util.pump() is deprecated. Use readableStream.pipe() instead

So the solution for copying files using streams is:

var source = fs.createReadStream('/path/to/source');
var dest = fs.createWriteStream('/path/to/dest');

source.pipe(dest);
source.on('end', function() { /* copied */ });
source.on('error', function(err) { /* error */ });

Solution 6:[6]

Using promises for Node versions greater than 8.0.0:

const {promisify} = require('util');
const fs = require('fs');
const {join} = require('path');
const mv = promisify(fs.rename);

const moveThem = async () => {
  // Move file ./bar/foo.js to ./baz/qux.js
  const original = join(__dirname, 'bar/foo.js');
  const target = join(__dirname, 'baz/qux.js'); 
  await mv(original, target);
}

moveThem();

Solution 7:[7]

The fs-extra module allows you to do this with it's move() method. I already implemented it and it works well if you want to completely move a file from one directory to another - ie. removing the file from the source directory. Should work for most basic cases.

var fs = require('fs-extra')

fs.move('/tmp/somefile', '/tmp/does/not/exist/yet/somefile', function (err) {
 if (err) return console.error(err)
 console.log("success!")
})

Solution 8:[8]

Using the rename function:

fs.rename(getFileName, __dirname + '/new_folder/' + getFileName); 

where

getFilename = file.extension (old path)
__dirname + '/new_folder/' + getFileName

assumming that you want to keep the file name unchanged.

Solution 9:[9]

Here's an example using util.pump, from >> How do I move file a to a different partition or device in Node.js?

var fs = require('fs'),
    util = require('util');

var is = fs.createReadStream('source_file')
var os = fs.createWriteStream('destination_file');

util.pump(is, os, function() {
    fs.unlinkSync('source_file');
});

Solution 10:[10]

Just my 2 cents as stated in the answer above : The copy() method shouldn't be used as-is for copying files without a slight adjustment:

function copy(callback) {
    var readStream = fs.createReadStream(oldPath);
    var writeStream = fs.createWriteStream(newPath);

    readStream.on('error', callback);
    writeStream.on('error', callback);

    // Do not callback() upon "close" event on the readStream
    // readStream.on('close', function () {
    // Do instead upon "close" on the writeStream
    writeStream.on('close', function () {
        callback();
    });

    readStream.pipe(writeStream);
}

The copy function wrapped in a Promise:

function copy(oldPath, newPath) {
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    const readStream = fs.createReadStream(oldPath);
    const writeStream = fs.createWriteStream(newPath);

    readStream.on('error', err => reject(err));
    writeStream.on('error', err => reject(err));

    writeStream.on('close', function() {
      resolve();
    });

    readStream.pipe(writeStream);
  })

However, keep in mind that the filesystem might crash if the target folder doesn't exist.

Solution 11:[11]

I would separate all involved functions (i.e. rename, copy, unlink) from each other to gain flexibility and promisify everything, of course:

const renameFile = (path, newPath) => 
  new Promise((res, rej) => {
    fs.rename(path, newPath, (err, data) =>
      err
        ? rej(err)
        : res(data));
  });

const copyFile = (path, newPath, flags) =>
  new Promise((res, rej) => {
    const readStream = fs.createReadStream(path),
      writeStream = fs.createWriteStream(newPath, {flags});

    readStream.on("error", rej);
    writeStream.on("error", rej);
    writeStream.on("finish", res);
    readStream.pipe(writeStream);
  });

const unlinkFile = path => 
  new Promise((res, rej) => {
    fs.unlink(path, (err, data) =>
      err
        ? rej(err)
        : res(data));
  });

const moveFile = (path, newPath, flags) =>
  renameFile(path, newPath)
    .catch(e => {
      if (e.code !== "EXDEV")
        throw new e;

      else
        return copyFile(path, newPath, flags)
          .then(() => unlinkFile(path));
    });

moveFile is just a convenience function and we can apply the functions separately, when, for example, we need finer grained exception handling.

Solution 12:[12]

Shelljs is a very handy solution.

command: mv([options ,] source, destination)

Available options:

-f: force (default behaviour)

-n: to prevent overwriting

const shell = require('shelljs');
const status = shell.mv('README.md', '/home/my-dir');
if(status.stderr)  console.log(status.stderr);
else console.log('File moved!');

Solution 13:[13]

this is a rehash of teoman shipahi's answer with a slightly less ambiguous name, and following the design priciple of defining code before you attempt to call it. (Whilst node allows you to do otherwise, it's not good a practice to put the cart before the horse.)

function rename_or_copy_and_delete (oldPath, newPath, callback) {

    function copy_and_delete () {
        var readStream = fs.createReadStream(oldPath);
        var writeStream = fs.createWriteStream(newPath);

        readStream.on('error', callback);
        writeStream.on('error', callback);
        readStream.on('close', 
              function () {
                fs.unlink(oldPath, callback);
              }
        );

        readStream.pipe(writeStream);
    }

    fs.rename(oldPath, newPath, 
        function (err) {
          if (err) {
              if (err.code === 'EXDEV') {
                  copy_and_delete();
              } else {
                  callback(err);
              }
              return;// << both cases (err/copy_and_delete)
          }
          callback();
        }
    );
}

Solution 14:[14]

With the help of below URL, you can either copy or move your file CURRENT Source to Destination Source

https://coursesweb.net/nodejs/move-copy-file

/*********Moves the $file to $dir2 Start *********/
var moveFile = (file, dir2)=>{
  //include the fs, path modules
  var fs = require('fs');
  var path = require('path');

  //gets file name and adds it to dir2
  var f = path.basename(file);
  var dest = path.resolve(dir2, f);

  fs.rename(file, dest, (err)=>{
    if(err) throw err;
    else console.log('Successfully moved');
  });
};

//move file1.htm from 'test/' to 'test/dir_1/'
moveFile('./test/file1.htm', './test/dir_1/');
/*********Moves the $file to $dir2 END *********/

/*********copy the $file to $dir2 Start *********/
var copyFile = (file, dir2)=>{
  //include the fs, path modules
  var fs = require('fs');
  var path = require('path');

  //gets file name and adds it to dir2
  var f = path.basename(file);
  var source = fs.createReadStream(file);
  var dest = fs.createWriteStream(path.resolve(dir2, f));

  source.pipe(dest);
  source.on('end', function() { console.log('Succesfully copied'); });
  source.on('error', function(err) { console.log(err); });
};

//example, copy file1.htm from 'test/dir_1/' to 'test/'
copyFile('./test/dir_1/file1.htm', './test/');
/*********copy the $file to $dir2 END *********/

Solution 15:[15]

If you are trying to move or rename a node.js source file, try this https://github.com/viruschidai/node-mv. It will update the references to that file in all other files.

Solution 16:[16]

fs.rename is also available in the sync version:

fs.renameSync(oldPath, newPath)