The vfile npm package is a virtual file format for text processing systems, which allows for the manipulation and handling of file-related information in a structured and consistent way. It is commonly used in projects involving the processing of markdown, text, and similar content, providing a standardized interface for plugins and utilities.
Creating and modifying virtual files
This feature allows users to create a new virtual file and modify its contents. The example demonstrates creating a vfile with initial content and then appending additional text to it.
const vfile = require('vfile');
const file = vfile({path: './example.txt', contents: 'Hello, world!'});
file.contents += ' Modified content.';
console.log(file.contents);Accessing file metadata
This feature enables users to access metadata of the file such as the path and basename. The example shows how to create a vfile and retrieve its path and basename properties.
const vfile = require('vfile');
const file = vfile({path: './example.txt', contents: 'Hello, world!'});
console.log(file.path); // Outputs: './example.txt'
console.log(file.basename); // Outputs: 'example.txt'Handling errors and messages
This feature is useful for adding error or warning messages to a file, which can be particularly helpful in linting tools or compilers. The example demonstrates adding an error message to a vfile and logging all associated messages.
const vfile = require('vfile');
const file = vfile();
file.message('Unknown error', {line: 1, column: 1});
console.log(file.messages);Vinyl is a virtual file format that is often used in the gulp build system. It is similar to vfile in that it represents file objects in a virtual form, but it is more focused on being used with streams, particularly in the context of gulp's pipelines.
mem-fs provides an in-memory file system which stores file representations similar to vfile. While vfile is designed for text processing with a focus on linting and transformation, mem-fs is geared more towards temporary storage and manipulation of files in memory during tasks like scaffolding or testing.
VFile is a virtual file format used by retext (natural language) and mdast (markdown). Two processors which parse, transform, and compile text. Both need a virtual representation of files and a place to store warnings. And, they work in the browser. VFile provides these requirements.
Also, VFile exposes a warning mechanism compatible with ESLints formatters, making it easy to expose stylish warnings, or export tap compliant messages.
npm:
npm install vfile
VFile is also available for bower, component, and duo, and as an AMD, CommonJS, and globals module, uncompressed and compressed.
var VFile = require('vfile');
var file = new VFile({
'directory': '~',
'filename': 'example',
'extension': 'txt',
'contents': 'Foo *bar* baz'
});
file.toString(); // 'Foo *bar* baz'
file.filePath(); // '~/example.txt'
file.move({'extension': 'md'});
file.filePath(); // '~/example.md'
file.warn('Something went wrong', {'line': 1, 'column': 3});
// { [~/example.md:1:3: Something went wrong]
// name: '~/example.md:1:3',
// file: '~/example.md',
// reason: 'Something went wrong',
// line: 1,
// column: 3,
// fatal: false }
VFile objects make it easy to move files, to trigger warnings and errors, and to store supplementary metadata relating to files, all without accessing the file-system.
Example
var file = new VFile({
'directory': '~',
'filename': 'example',
'extension': 'txt',
'contents': 'Foo *bar* baz'
});
file === VFile(file); // true
file === new VFile(file); // true
VFile('foo') instanceof VFile; // true
Signatures
file = VFile(contents|options|vFile?).Parameters
contents (string) — Contents of the file;
vFile (VFile) — Existing representation, returned without modification;
options (Object):
directory (string?, default: '')
— Parent directory;
filename (string?, default: '')
— Name, without extension;
extension (string?, default: '')
— Extension(s), without initial dot;
contents (string?, default: '')
— Raw value.
Returns
vFile — Instance.
Notes
VFile exposes an interface compatible with ESLint’s formatters. For example,
to expose warnings using ESLint’s compact formatter, execute the following:
var compact = require('eslint/lib/formatters/compact');
var VFile = require('vfile');
var vFile = new VFile({
'directory': '~',
'filename': 'hello',
'extension': 'txt'
});
vFile.warn('Whoops, something happened!');
console.log(compact([vFile]));
Which would yield the following:
~/hello.txt: line 0, col 0, Warning - Whoops, something happened!
1 problem
string — Content of file.
string — Path to parent directory.
string — Filename. A file-path can still be generated when no filename exists.
string — Extension. A file-path can still be generated when no extension
exists.
boolean? — Whether an error created by VFile#fail()
is returned (when truthy) or thrown (when falsey).
Ensure all messages associated with a file are handled properly when setting
this to true.
Array.<VFileMessage> — List of associated messages.
Notes
VFile#message(), and in turn VFile#warn() and VFile#fail(), return
Error objects that adhere to the VFileMessage schema.
Its results can populate messages.
Get the value of the file.
Example
var vFile = new VFile('Foo');
String(vFile); // 'Foo'
Signatures
string = vFile.toString().Returns
string — Contents.
Get the filename, with extension and directory, if applicable.
Example
var file = new VFile({
'directory': '~',
'filename': 'example',
'extension': 'txt'
});
String(file.filePath); // ~/example.txt
file.filePath() // ~/example.txt
Signatures
string = vFile.filePath().Returns
string — If the vFile has a filename, it will be prefixed with the
directory (slashed), if applicable, and suffixed with the (dotted) extension
(if applicable). Otherwise, an empty string is returned.
Move a file by passing a new directory, filename, and extension. When these are not given, the default values are kept.
Example
var file = new VFile({
'directory': '~',
'filename': 'example',
'extension': 'txt',
'contents': 'Foo *bar* baz'
});
file.move({'directory': '/var/www'});
file.filePath(); // '/var/www/example.txt'
file.move({'extension': 'md'});
file.filePath(); // '/var/www/example.md'
Parameters
options (Object):
directory (string, default: '')
— Parent directory;
filename (string?, default: '')
— Name, without extension;
extension (string, default: '')
— Extension(s), without initial dot.
Signatures
vFile = vFile.move(options?).Returns
vFile — Context object (chainable).
Create a message with reason at position. When an error is passed in as
reason, copies the stack. This does not add a message to messages.
Example
var file = new VFile();
file.message('Something went wrong');
// { [1:1: Something went wrong]
// name: '1:1',
// file: '',
// reason: 'Something went wrong',
// line: null,
// column: null }
Signatures
VFileMessage = vFile.message(err|reason, node|location|position?).Parameters
err (Error) — Original error, whose stack and message are used;
reason (string) — Reason for message;
node (Node) — Syntax tree object;
location (Object) — Syntax tree location (found at node.position);
position (Object) — Syntax tree position (found at
node.position.start or node.position.end).
Returns
VFileMessage — File-related message with location
information.
Warn. Creates a non-fatal message (see VFile#message()),
and adds it to the file's messages list.
Example
var file = new VFile();
file.warn('Something went wrong');
// { [1:1: Something went wrong]
// name: '1:1',
// file: '',
// reason: 'Something went wrong',
// line: null,
// column: null,
// fatal: false }
See
Fail. Creates a fatal message (see VFile#message()), sets fatal: true,
adds it to the file's messages list.
If quiet is not true, throws the error.
Example
var file = new VFile();
file.fail('Something went wrong');
// 1:1: Something went wrong
// at VFile.exception (vfile/index.js:296:11)
// at VFile.fail (vfile/index.js:360:20)
// at repl:1:6
file.quiet = true;
file.fail('Something went wrong');
// { [1:1: Something went wrong]
// name: '1:1',
// file: '',
// reason: 'Something went wrong',
// line: null,
// column: null,
// fatal: true }
See
Check if a fatal message occurred making the file no longer processable.
Example
var file = new VFile();
file.quiet = true;
file.hasFailed(); // false
file.fail('Something went wrong');
file.hasFailed(); // true
Signatures
boolean = vFile.hasFailed().Returns
boolean — true if at least one of file’s messages has a fatal
property set to true.
Error — File-related message with location information.
Properties
name (string)
— (Starting) location of the message, preceded by its file-path when
available, and joined by ':'. Used by the native
Error#toString();
file (string) — File-path;
reason (string) — Reason for message;
line (number?) — Line of error, when available;
column (number?) — Column of error, when available;
stack (string?) — Stack of message, when available;
fatal (boolean?) — Whether the associated file is still processable.
FAQs
Virtual file format for text processing
The npm package vfile receives a total of 4,999,513 weekly downloads. As such, vfile popularity was classified as popular.
We found that vfile demonstrated a healthy version release cadence and project activity because the last version was released less than a year ago. It has 1 open source maintainer collaborating on the project.
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