bytes

What is bytes?

The 'bytes' npm package is a utility for parsing and formatting byte sizes. It allows users to easily convert between different units of bytes and parse strings with byte size information into numbers. It is useful for displaying file sizes in a human-readable format or for parsing user input into byte quantities.

What are bytes's main functionalities?

Parse byte size strings

This feature allows you to parse a string representing a byte size into an integer number of bytes. For example, passing '1000KB' will return 1000000.

"1000KB" // returns 1000000

Format bytes into strings

This feature allows you to format an integer number of bytes into a string with a unit. For example, passing 1024 will return '1KB'.

1024 // returns '1KB'

Specify the number of decimal places

This feature allows you to specify the number of decimal places when formatting bytes into a string. For example, passing an object with 1000 bytes and 1 decimal place will return '1.0KB'.

{ bytes: 1000, decimalPlaces: 1 } // returns '1.0KB'

Specify the unit of bytes

This feature allows you to specify the unit when formatting bytes. For example, passing an object with 1024 bytes and 'kB' as the unit will return '1kB'.

{ bytes: 1024, unit: 'kB' } // returns '1kB'

Other packages similar to bytes

filesize

The 'filesize' package provides similar functionality to 'bytes' by allowing users to convert byte amounts into human-readable strings. It offers more options for customization, such as setting the base, standard (SI or IEC), rounding method, and partials.

pretty-bytes

The 'pretty-bytes' package is another alternative to 'bytes' that converts byte values into a human-readable format. It supports negative numbers, localization, and can automatically choose the appropriate unit.

README

Bytes utility

Utility to parse a string bytes (ex: 1TB) to bytes (1099511627776) and vice-versa.

Installation

This is a Node.js module available through the npm registry. Installation is done using the npm install command:

$ npm install bytes

Usage

var bytes = require('bytes');

bytes(number｜string value, [options]): number｜string｜null

Default export function. Delegates to either bytes.format or bytes.parse based on the type of value.

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
value	number｜string	Number value to format or string value to parse
options	Object	Conversion options for format

Returns

Name	Type	Description
results	string｜number｜null	Return null upon error. Numeric value in bytes, or string value otherwise.

Example

bytes(1024);
// output: '1KB'

bytes('1KB');
// output: 1024

bytes.format(number value, [options]): string｜null

Format the given value in bytes into a string. If the value is negative, it is kept as such. If it is a float, it is rounded.

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
value	number	Value in bytes
options	Object	Conversion options

Options

Property	Type	Description
decimalPlaces	number｜null	Maximum number of decimal places to include in output. Default value to 2.
fixedDecimals	boolean｜null	Whether to always display the maximum number of decimal places. Default value to false
thousandsSeparator	string｜null	Example of values: ' ', ',' and '.'... Default value to ''.
unit	string｜null	The unit in which the result will be returned (B/KB/MB/GB/TB). Default value to '' (which means auto detect).
unitSeparator	string｜null	Separator to use between number and unit. Default value to ''.

Returns

Name	Type	Description
results	string｜null	Return null upon error. String value otherwise.

Example

bytes.format(1024);
// output: '1KB'

bytes.format(1000);
// output: '1000B'

bytes.format(1000, {thousandsSeparator: ' '});
// output: '1 000B'

bytes.format(1024 * 1.7, {decimalPlaces: 0});
// output: '2KB'

bytes.format(1024, {unitSeparator: ' '});
// output: '1 KB'

bytes.parse(string｜number value): number｜null

Parse the string value into an integer in bytes. If no unit is given, or value is a number, it is assumed the value is in bytes.

Supported units and abbreviations are as follows and are case-insensitive:

• b for bytes
• kb for kilobytes
• mb for megabytes
• gb for gigabytes
• tb for terabytes
• pb for petabytes

The units are in powers of two, not ten. This means 1kb = 1024b according to this parser.

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
value	string｜number	String to parse, or number in bytes.

Returns

Name	Type	Description
results	number｜null	Return null upon error. Value in bytes otherwise.

Example

bytes.parse('1KB');
// output: 1024

bytes.parse('1024');
// output: 1024

bytes.parse(1024);
// output: 1024

License

MIT