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wtf is node-fs-extra?

gaearon/node-fs-extra — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-17 · repo last pushed 2016-09-22

★ 6JavaScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 1/5DormantSetup · easy

TL;DR

fs-extra adds convenient file and folder operations to Node.js, like copying directories, deleting folders recursively, and reading/writing JSON, as a drop-in upgrade to the built-in fs module.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((fs-extra))
    What it does
      Copy folders
      Delete recursively
      Create nested dirs
      Read write JSON
    Tech stack
      JavaScript
      Node.js
    Use cases
      Deployment scripts
      Build tooling
      Backup directories
    Audience
      Node developers
      Backend engineers
    Notable
      Drop-in fs replacement
      Widely depended upon

Code map

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filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Write a deployment script that copies an entire project folder to a new location.

REASON 2

Delete old build output directories recursively before a fresh build.

REASON 3

Create a nested folder path that doesn't exist yet in one call.

REASON 4

Read and write JSON config files directly without manual parsing.

What's in the stack?

JavaScriptNode.js

How it stacks up

gaearon/node-fs-extraarthurmoorgan/driftatom/etch-list-view
Stars666
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript
Last pushed2016-09-22—2020-04-28
MaintenanceDormant—Dormant
Setup difficultyeasymoderatemoderate
Complexity1/52/52/5
Audiencedevelopergeneraldeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Drop-in replacement for Node's built-in fs module, no structural code changes needed.

The README does not specify license details.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Use fs-extra to copy an entire directory including all its contents to a backup folder.
Prompt 2
Show me how to recursively delete a folder with fs-extra in a build script.
Prompt 3
Write a Node.js script using fs-extra to ensure a nested directory path exists before writing a file.
Prompt 4
Use fs-extra's JSON helpers to read and update a config.json file.

Frequently asked questions

wtf is node-fs-extra?

fs-extra adds convenient file and folder operations to Node.js, like copying directories, deleting folders recursively, and reading/writing JSON, as a drop-in upgrade to the built-in fs module.

What language is node-fs-extra written in?

Mainly JavaScript. The stack also includes JavaScript, Node.js.

Is node-fs-extra actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2016-09-22).

What license does node-fs-extra use?

The README does not specify license details.

How hard is node-fs-extra to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is node-fs-extra for?

Mainly developer.

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