What is fs-tree-diff?
The fs-tree-diff npm package is used to efficiently compare and manage differences between two file system trees. It is particularly useful for tasks that involve synchronizing directories, detecting changes, and applying updates based on those changes.
What are fs-tree-diff's main functionalities?
Compare two directories
This feature allows you to compare two directories and generate a patch that represents the differences between them. The code sample demonstrates how to create two file system trees and calculate the patch.
const FSTree = require('fs-tree-diff');
const entriesA = FSTree.fromEntries([{ relativePath: 'file1.txt', mode: 0o100644, size: 123, mtime: new Date() }]);
const entriesB = FSTree.fromEntries([{ relativePath: 'file2.txt', mode: 0o100644, size: 456, mtime: new Date() }]);
const treeA = new FSTree({ entries: entriesA });
const treeB = new FSTree({ entries: entriesB });
const patch = treeA.calculatePatch(treeB);
console.log(patch);
Apply a patch to a directory
This feature allows you to apply a patch to a directory, effectively synchronizing it with another directory. The code sample demonstrates how to calculate a patch and then apply it to a file system tree.
const FSTree = require('fs-tree-diff');
const entriesA = FSTree.fromEntries([{ relativePath: 'file1.txt', mode: 0o100644, size: 123, mtime: new Date() }]);
const entriesB = FSTree.fromEntries([{ relativePath: 'file2.txt', mode: 0o100644, size: 456, mtime: new Date() }]);
const treeA = new FSTree({ entries: entriesA });
const treeB = new FSTree({ entries: entriesB });
const patch = treeA.calculatePatch(treeB);
FSTree.applyPatch(treeA, patch);
console.log(treeA.entries);
Generate entries from a directory
This feature allows you to generate entries from a directory, which can then be used to create a file system tree. The code sample demonstrates how to read a directory and generate entries for each file.
const FSTree = require('fs-tree-diff');
const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');
function generateEntries(dir) {
const entries = [];
fs.readdirSync(dir).forEach(file => {
const filePath = path.join(dir, file);
const stats = fs.statSync(filePath);
entries.push({ relativePath: file, mode: stats.mode, size: stats.size, mtime: stats.mtime });
});
return entries;
}
const entries = generateEntries('./my-directory');
console.log(entries);
Other packages similar to fs-tree-diff
diff
The 'diff' package provides a way to compare text differences between two strings or files. While it focuses on text comparison, fs-tree-diff is more specialized in comparing file system trees and managing directory synchronization.
rsync
The 'rsync' package is a utility for efficiently transferring and synchronizing files across computer systems. It is more comprehensive and includes network transfer capabilities, whereas fs-tree-diff is focused on local file system tree comparisons.
chokidar
The 'chokidar' package is a file watcher that tracks changes in the file system and triggers events. While it can detect changes, it does not provide the same level of detailed comparison and patching capabilities as fs-tree-diff.