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Some drops of JavaScript

Getting the Current Working Directory

Getting the current working directory with process.cwd()

The process.cwd() method returns the current working directory of the process.

Syntax

process.cwd()

Parameters

This method doesn’t take any parameters.

Return Value

Returns a string representing the current working directory of the process.

Use Cases

1. Accessing Files Relative to the Current Directory

const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');


const currentDir = process.cwd();
const filePath = path.join(currentDir, 'example.txt');


fs.readFile(filePath, 'utf8', (err, data) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(data);
});

2. Logging the Current Working Directory

console.log(`The current working directory is: ${process.cwd()}`);

Common Pitfalls

  1. Assuming it’s the Script’s Directory: process.cwd() returns the directory from which the JavaScript process was launched, not necessarily the directory of the script being executed.
  2. Not Accounting for Symbolic Links: If your application is run from a symbolic link, process.cwd() will return the real path, not the path of the symbolic link.

Additional Resources