Introduction to Recursive Copy in JavaScript

The recursive-copy module in JavaScript is a powerful utility designed to copy files and directories recursively with ease. It’s particularly useful for tasks that require duplication of complex directory structures. In this article, we’ll explore the recursive-copy module and its various APIs with code snippets.

Installation

To start, you need to install the recursive-copy module:

npm install recursive-copy

Basic Copy

The basic usage of recursive-copy is straightforward. Here’s how you can copy a source directory to a destination:

 const copy = require('recursive-copy');
copy('src', 'dest')
  .then(results => console.log('Copied ' + results.length + ' files'))
  .catch(error => console.error('Copy failed: ' + error));

Filtering Files

You can filter which files to copy using the filter option:

 copy('src', 'dest', { filter: ['**/*.js'] })
  .then(results => console.log('Copied ' + results.length + ' files'))
  .catch(error => console.error('Copy failed: ' + error));

Transforming Files

The transform option allows you to modify files as they are copied:

 const through = require('through2'); copy('src', 'dest', {
  transform: (src, dest, stats) => {
    return through(function(chunk, enc, done) {
      this.push(chunk.toString().toUpperCase());
      done();
    });
  }
}) .then(results => console.log('Copied and transformed ' + results.length + ' files')) .catch(error => console.error('Copy failed: ' + error)); 

Renaming Files

Files can be renamed during the copy process with the rename option:

 copy('src', 'dest', {
  rename: function(filePath) {
    return filePath.replace(/\.txt$/, '.md');
  }
}) .then(results => console.log('Copied and renamed ' + results.length + ' files')) .catch(error => console.error('Copy failed: ' + error)); 

Providing an App Example

Here’s a practical example of how you might use recursive-copy in a Node.js application:

 const express = require('express'); const copy = require('recursive-copy');
const app = express();
app.get('/copy-directory', (req, res) => {
  copy('src', 'backup', { filter: ['**/*.js'] })
    .then(results => res.send('Successfully copied ' + results.length + ' files'))
    .catch(error => res.status(500).send('Copy failed: ' + error));
});
app.listen(3000, () => console.log('Server listening on port 3000')); 

Conclusion

The recursive-copy module is a versatile and efficient tool for copying files and directories in Node.js. With its various options for filtering, transforming, and renaming files, it can greatly simplify many file-handling tasks. Integrating it into applications can help automate and enhance file management processes.

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