osenv

What is osenv?

The osenv npm package provides an easy way to access environment settings and paths that are specific to the operating system the code is running on. It abstracts away the differences between operating systems, allowing developers to write more portable code.

What are osenv's main functionalities?

Home Directory

Retrieve the home directory of the current user, which is useful for storing user-specific data or configuration files.

const osenv = require('osenv');
const home = osenv.home();
console.log('Home Directory:', home);

Temporary Directory

Get the path to the temporary directory where temporary files can be stored. This is useful for operations that require temporary file storage.

const osenv = require('osenv');
const tmp = osenv.tmpdir();
console.log('Temporary Directory:', tmp);

User's Shell

Access the shell environment used by the current user. This can be important for scripts that need to execute shell commands.

const osenv = require('osenv');
const shell = osenv.shell();
console.log('User Shell:', shell);

Other packages similar to osenv

os-homedir

This package provides functionality similar to osenv's home directory retrieval. Unlike osenv, os-homedir focuses solely on getting the user's home directory, making it a lighter alternative for projects that only need this specific functionality.

tmp

Similar to osenv's temporary directory feature, the tmp package offers enhanced capabilities for creating temporary files and directories. It provides more options for managing temporary files, such as automatic cleanup.

shelljs

While osenv provides access to the user's shell, shelljs goes further by offering a portable Unix shell commands for Node.js. This allows for executing shell commands, which is more extensive than merely retrieving the shell environment.

README

osenv

Look up environment settings specific to different operating systems.

Usage

var osenv = require('osenv')
var path = osenv.path()
var user = osenv.user()
// etc.

// Some things are not reliably in the env, and have a fallback command:
var h = osenv.hostname(function (er, hostname) {
  h = hostname
})
// This will still cause it to be memoized, so calling osenv.hostname()
// is now an immediate operation.

// You can always send a cb, which will get called in the nextTick
// if it's been memoized, or wait for the fallback data if it wasn't
// found in the environment.
osenv.hostname(function (er, hostname) {
  if (er) console.error('error looking up hostname')
  else console.log('this machine calls itself %s', hostname)
})

osenv.hostname()

The machine name. Calls hostname if not found.

osenv.user()

The currently logged-in user. Calls whoami if not found.

osenv.prompt()

Either PS1 on unix, or PROMPT on Windows.

osenv.tmpdir()

The place where temporary files should be created.

osenv.home()

No place like it.

osenv.path()

An array of the places that the operating system will search for executables.

osenv.editor()

Return the executable name of the editor program. This uses the EDITOR and VISUAL environment variables, and falls back to vi on Unix, or notepad.exe on Windows.

osenv.shell()

The SHELL on Unix, which Windows calls the ComSpec. Defaults to 'bash' or 'cmd'.