directory-tree

What is directory-tree?

The directory-tree npm package is a utility for generating a nested directory structure in JSON format. It is useful for visualizing and working with file system hierarchies in a programmatic way.

What are directory-tree's main functionalities?

Generate Directory Tree

This feature allows you to generate a JSON representation of a directory structure starting from a specified path. The code sample demonstrates how to use the package to create a directory tree and print it in a readable JSON format.

const dirTree = require('directory-tree');
const tree = dirTree('/some/path');
console.log(JSON.stringify(tree, null, 2));

Filter by File Extensions

This feature allows you to filter the files included in the directory tree by their extensions. The code sample shows how to generate a directory tree that only includes Markdown and JavaScript files.

const dirTree = require('directory-tree');
const tree = dirTree('/some/path', { extensions: /\.(md|js)$/ });
console.log(JSON.stringify(tree, null, 2));

Exclude Specific Paths

This feature allows you to exclude specific paths from the directory tree. The code sample demonstrates how to exclude the 'node_modules' directory from the generated tree.

const dirTree = require('directory-tree');
const tree = dirTree('/some/path', { exclude: /node_modules/ });
console.log(JSON.stringify(tree, null, 2));

Other packages similar to directory-tree

readdirp

Readdirp is a recursive version of fs.readdir with additional features like filtering and streaming. It provides more control over the file reading process compared to directory-tree, which is more focused on generating a static JSON structure.

klaw

Klaw is a file system walker that streams file paths as it traverses directories. It offers more flexibility and streaming capabilities compared to directory-tree, which is primarily used for generating a complete directory snapshot in JSON format.

fs-extra

Fs-extra extends the native Node.js fs module with additional methods, including recursive directory operations. While it doesn't directly generate directory trees, it provides utilities that can be used to build similar functionality with more manual control.

README

#directory-tree

Creates an object representing a directory tree.

From:

photos
├── summer
│   └── june
│       └── windsurf.jpg
└── winter
    └── january
        ├── ski.png
        └── snowboard.jpg

To:

{
  "path": "",
  "name": "photos",
  "type": "directory",
  "children": [
    {
      "path": "summer",
      "name": "summer",
      "type": "directory",
      "children": [
        {
          "path": "summer/june",
          "name": "june",
          "type": "directory",
          "children": [
            {
              "path": "summer/june/windsurf.jpg",
              "name": "windsurf.jpg",
              "type": "file"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "path": "winter",
      "name": "winter",
      "type": "directory",
      "children": [
        {
          "path": "winter/january",
          "name": "january",
          "type": "directory",
          "children": [
            {
              "path": "winter/january/ski.png",
              "name": "ski.png",
              "type": "file"
            },
            {
              "path": "winter/january/snowboard.jpg",
              "name": "snowboard.jpg",
              "type": "file"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

##Usage

var tree = directoryTree('/some/path');

And you can also filter by extensions:

var filteredTree = directoryTree('/some/path', ['.jpg', '.png']);