How do I get the path to the current script with Node.js?

In Node.js’s CommonJS module system, you can use the __filename and __dirname global variables:

1. __filename gives the absolute path of the current executing file (including the file name).
2. __dirname gives the absolute path of the directory**** containing the current file.

For example:

console.log('Current file path:', __filename);
console.log('Current directory path:', __dirname);

Example Output (depending on your system):

Current file path: /Users/yourname/projects/my-app/index.js
Current directory path: /Users/yourname/projects/my-app

Additional Tips

• Extracting File or Directory Names: If you need just the file name or parent directory name, you can use the Node.js path module:

  const path = require('path');
  
  console.log('File name:', path.basename(__filename)); 
  // e.g., "index.js"
  
  console.log('Directory name:', path.basename(__dirname)); 
  // e.g., "my-app"

• Using ES Modules: If you’re using ECMAScript modules ("type": "module" in package.json), __filename and __dirname are not defined by default. You can recreate them using import.meta.url:

  import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
  import { dirname } from 'path';
  
  const __filename = fileURLToPath(import.meta.url);
  const __dirname = dirname(__filename);

Recommended Resource

• Grokking JavaScript Fundamentals

With these variables, you can reliably access file paths and directories relative to the current script in a Node.js environment.