Check synchronously if file/directory exists in Node.js

Question

How can I synchronously check, using node.js, if a file or directory exists?

Answer 1

Here is a simple wrapper solution for this:

var fs = require('fs')
function getFileRealPath(s){
    try {return fs.realpathSync(s);} catch(e){return false;}
}

Usage:

• Works for both directories and files
• If item exists, it returns the path to the file or directory
• If item does not exist, it returns false

Example:

var realPath,pathToCheck=''
if( (realPath=getFileRealPath(pathToCheck)) === false){
    console.log('file/dir not found: '+pathToCheck);
} else {
    console.log('file/dir exists: '+realPath);
}

Make sure you use === operator to test if return equals false. There is no logical reason that fs.realpathSync() would return false under proper working conditions so I think this should work 100%.

I would prefer to see a solution that does not does not generate an Error and resulting performance hit. From an API perspective, fs.exists() seems like the most elegant solution.