Hướng dẫn nodejs change working directory

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I had this problem with a Node.js script I wrote.

I had set relative paths to reference some files in the local filesystem, like this:

../../dev/file.md

and if I ran the program from the folder it was, no problem.

But if I ran the file from another folder, from example the parent folder, the relative links would break.

To fix this, at the beginning of the program, I set

const process = require('process')
process.chdir(__dirname)

This set the current working directory of the process to __dirname which points to the current file’s parent folder path.

What you are trying to do is not possible. The reason for this is that in a POSIX system (Linux, OSX, etc), a child process cannot modify the environment of a parent process. This includes modifying the parent process's working directory and environment variables.

When you are on the commandline and you go to execute your Node script, your current process (bash, zsh, whatever) spawns a new process which has it's own environment, typically a copy of your current environment (it is possible to change this via system calls; but that's beyond the scope of this reply), allowing that process to do whatever it needs to do in complete isolation. When the subprocess exits, control is handed back to your shell's process, where the environment hasn't been affected.

There are a lot of reasons for this, but for one, imagine that you executed a script in the background (via ./foo.js &) and as it ran, it started changing your working directory or overriding your PATH. That would be a nightmare.

If you need to perform some actions that require changing your working directory of your shell, you'll need to write a function in your shell. For example, if you're running Bash, you could put this in your ~/.bash_profile:

do_cool_thing() {
  cd "/Users"
  echo "Hey, I'm in $PWD"
}

and then this cool thing is doable:

$ pwd
/Users/spike
$ do_cool_thing
Hey, I'm in /Users
$ pwd
/Users

If you need to do more complex things in addition, you could always call out to your nodejs script from that function.

This is the only way you can accomplish what you're trying to do.

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Install NodeJS on Windows

• Article
• 09/06/2022
• 6 minutes to read

In this article

If you are new to developing with Node.js and want to get up and running quickly so that you can learn, follow the steps below to install Node.js directly on Windows.

Note

If you are using Node.js professionally, find performance speed and system call compatibility important, want to run Docker containers that leverage Linux workspaces and avoid having to maintain both Linux and Windows build scripts, or just prefer using a Bash command line, then install Node.js on Windows Subsystem for Linux (more specifically, WSL 2).

Install nvm-windows, node.js, and npm

Besides choosing whether to install on Windows or WSL, there are additional choices to make when installing Node.js. We recommend using a version manager as versions change very quickly. You will likely need to switch between multiple Node.js versions based on the needs of different projects you're working on. Node Version Manager, more commonly called nvm, is the most popular way to install multiple versions of Node.js, but is only available for Mac/Linux and not supported on Windows. Instead, we recommend installing nvm-windows and then using it to install Node.js and Node Package Manager (npm). There are alternative version managers to consider as well covered in the next section.

Important

It is always recommended to remove any existing installations of Node.js or npm from your operating system before installing a version manager as the different types of installation can lead to strange and confusing conflicts. This includes deleting any existing nodejs installation directories (e.g., "C:\Program Files\nodejs") that might remain. NVM's generated symlink will not overwrite an existing (even empty) installation directory. For help with removing previous installations, see How to completely remove node.js from Windows.)

1. Follow the install instructions on the windows-nvm repository. We recommend using the installer, but if you have a more advanced understanding of your needs, you may want to consider the manual installation. The installer will point you to the releases page for the most recent version.

2. Download the nvm-setup.zip file for the most recent release.

3. Once downloaded, open the zip file, then open the nvm-setup.exe file.

4. The Setup-NVM-for-Windows installation wizard will walk you through the setup steps, including choosing the directory where both nvm-windows and Node.js will be installed.

   

5. Once the installation is complete. Open PowerShell (recommend opening with elevated Admin permissions) and try using windows-nvm to list which versions of Node are currently installed (should be none at this point): nvm ls

   

6. Install the current release of Node.js (for testing the newest feature improvements, but more likely to have issues than the LTS version): nvm install latest

7. Install the latest stable LTS release of Node.js (recommended) by first looking up what the current LTS version number is with: nvm list available, then installing the LTS version number with: nvm install <version> (replacing <version> with the number, ie: nvm install 12.14.0).

   

8. List what versions of Node are installed: nvm ls ...now you should see the two versions that you just installed listed.

   

9. After installing the Node.js version numbers you need, select the version that you would like to use by entering: nvm use <version> (replacing <version> with the number, ie: nvm use 12.9.0).

Warning

Access Denied Issue in nvm-windows version 1.1.9, switching node version requires elevated Powershell (run as administrator). It is recommended to use version 1.1.7 to avoid this issue.

1. To change the version of Node.js you would like to use for a project, create a new project directory mkdir NodeTest, and enter the directory cd NodeTest, then enter nvm use <version> replacing <version> with the version number you'd like to use (ie v10.16.3`).

2. Verify which version of npm is installed with: npm --version, this version number will automatically change to whichever npm version is associated with your current version of Node.js.

Alternative version managers

While windows-nvm is currently the most popular version manager for node, there are alternatives to consider:

• nvs (Node Version Switcher) is a cross-platform nvm alternative with the ability to integrate with VS Code.

• Volta is a new version manager from the LinkedIn team that claims improved speed and cross-platform support.

To install Volta as your version manager (rather than windows-nvm), go to the Windows Installation section of their Getting Started guide, then download and run their Windows installer, following the setup instructions.

Important

You must ensure that Developer Mode is enabled on your Windows machine before installing Volta.

To learn more about using Volta to install multiple versions of Node.js on Windows, see the Volta Docs.

Install Visual Studio Code

We recommend you install Visual Studio Code, as well as the Node.js Extension Pack, for developing with Node.js on Windows. Install them all or pick and choose which seem the most useful to you.

To install the Node.js extension pack:

1. Open the Extensions window (Ctrl+Shift+X) in VS Code.
2. In the search box at the top of the Extensions window, enter: "Node Extension Pack" (or the name of whatever extension you are looking for).
3. Select Install. Once installed, your extension will appear in the "Enabled" folder of your Extensions window. You can disable, uninstall, or configure settings by selecting the gear icon next to the description of your new extension.

A few additional extensions you may want to consider include:

• Debugger for Chrome: Once you finish developing on the server side with Node.js, you'll need to develop and test the client side. This extension integrates your VS Code editor with your Chrome browser debugging service, making things a bit more efficient.
• Keymaps from other editors: These extensions can help your environment feel right at home if you're transitioning from another text editor (like Atom, Sublime, Vim, eMacs, Notepad++, etc).
• Settings Sync: Enables you to synchronize your VS Code settings across different installations using GitHub. If you work on different machines, this helps keep your environment consistent across them.

Alternative code editors

If you prefer to use a code editor or IDE other than Visual Studio Code, the following are also good options for your Node.js development environment:

• IntelliJ IDEA
• Sublime Text
• Atom
• Brackets
• Notepad++

Install Git

If you plan to collaborate with others, or host your project on an open-source site (like GitHub), VS Code supports version control with Git. The Source Control tab in VS Code tracks all of your changes and has common Git commands (add, commit, push, pull) built right into the UI. You first need to install Git to power the Source Control panel.

1. Download and install Git for Windows from the git-scm website.

2. An Install Wizard is included that will ask you a series of questions about settings for your Git installation. We recommend using all of the default settings, unless you have a specific reason for changing something.

3. If you've never worked with Git before, GitHub Guides can help you get started.

4. We recommend adding a .gitignore file to your Node projects. Here is GitHub's default gitignore template for Node.js.

Use Windows Subsystem for Linux for production

Using Node.js directly on Windows is great for learning and experimenting with what you can do. Once you are ready to build production-ready web apps, which are typically deployed to a Linux-based server, we recommend using Windows Subsystem for Linux version 2 (WSL 2) for developing Node.js web apps. Many Node.js packages and frameworks are created with a *nix environment in mind and most Node.js apps are deployed on Linux, so developing on WSL ensures consistency between your development and production environments. To set up a WSL dev environment, see Set up your Node.js development environment with WSL 2.