Node.js fs.readlink() Method Last Updated : 29 Jul, 2020 Comments Improve Suggest changes Like Article Like Report The fs.readlink() method is an inbuilt application programming interface of fs module which is used to asynchronously return a symbolic link's value, i.e. the path it is linked to. The optional argument can be used to specify the character encoding of the link path. Syntax: fs.readlink( path[, options], callback ) Parameters: This method accepts three parameters as mentioned above and described below: path: It is a string, Buffer, or URL which represents the path of the symbolic link.options: It is an object or string that can be used to specify optional parameters that will affect the output. It has one optional parameter:encoding: It is a string value that specifies the character encoding in which the link path is returned. The default value is 'utf8'.'callback: It is the function that would be called when the method is executed. err: It is an error that would be thrown if the method fails.linkString: It is the string or Buffer object that contains the symbolic link's string value. Below examples illustrate the fs.readlink() method in Node.js: Example 1: This example reads the value of symlink for a file and also changes the encoding of the value. javascript // Node.js program to demonstrate the // fs.readlink() method // Import the filesystem module const fs = require('fs'); // Create a symbolic link fs.symlinkSync(__dirname + "\\example_file.txt", "symlinkToFile", 'file'); console.log("\nSymlink created\n"); // Using the default utf-8 encoding for the link value fs.readlink("symlinkToFile", (err, linkString) => { if (err) console.log(err); else console.log("Path of the symlink:", linkString); }); // Using the base64 encoding for the link value fs.readlink("symlinkToFile", // Specify the options object {encoding: "base64"}, (err, linkString) => { if (err) console.log(err); else console.log("Path in base64:", linkString); }); Output: Symlink created Path of the symlink: G:\tutorials\nodejs-fs-readlink\example_file.txt Path in base64: RzpcdHV0b3JpYWxzXG5vZGVqcy1mcy1yZWFkbGlua1xleGFtcGxlX2ZpbGUudHh0 Example 2: This example reads the value of a symlink for a directory. javascript // Node.js program to demonstrate the // fs.readlink() method // Import the filesystem module const fs = require('fs'); // Create a symbolic link fs.symlinkSync(__dirname + "\\example_directory", "symlinkToDir", 'dir'); console.log("\nSymlink created\n"); fs.readlink("symlinkToDir", (err, linkString) => { if (err) console.log(err); else console.log("Path of the symlink:", linkString); }); Output: Symlink created Path of the symlink: G:\tutorials\nodejs-fs-readlink\example_directory Reference: https://nodejs.org/api/fs.html#fs_fs_readlink_path_options_callback Comment More infoAdvertise with us S sayantanm19 Follow Improve Article Tags : Web Technologies Node.js Node.js-fs-module Similar Reads Node JS fs.readFile() Method ​In Node.js, the fs.readFile() method is a fundamental tool for reading files asynchronously, allowing your application to remain responsive while accessing file data. This method is part of Node.js's File System (fs) module, which provides an API for interacting with the file system.Syntaxfs.readFi 3 min read Node.js fs.exists() Method The fs exists method in node is used to check if the input file or the directory exists or not. It is an inbuilt application programming interface of fs module which provides an API for interacting with the file system in a manner closely modeled around POSIX functions. Syntax:fs.exists( path, callb 2 min read Node fs.existsSync() Method In Node.js, the fs.existsSync() method checks if a file or folder exists at a given path. It's synchronous, meaning it pauses the program until it finds the result (either true if it exists, or false if it doesn't). Because it stops everything while it works, it’s best used for quick checks in small 3 min read Node fs.mkdir() Method The fs.mkdir() method in Node.js is used to create a directory asynchronously.Syntaxfs.mkdir(path, mode, callback)Parameters: This method accepts three parameters as mentioned above and described below: path: This parameter holds the path of the directory that has to be created.mode: This parameter 2 min read Node.js fs.truncate() Method The fs.truncate() method in node.js is used to change the size of the file i.e either increase or decrease the file size. This method changes the length of the file at the path by len bytes. If len represents a length shorter than the file's current length, the file is truncated to that length. If i 2 min read Node.js fs.renameSync() Method In Node.js, the fs.renameSync() method is part of the built-in File System (fs) module and is used to rename or move files and directories synchronously. This method is useful when you need to quickly change a file's name or move it to a different directory synchronously. It blocks the execution of 3 min read Node.js fs.rmdir() Method The fs.rmdir() method is used to delete a directory at the given path. It can also be used recursively to remove nested directories.Syntax: fs.rmdir( path, options, callback )Parameters: This method accepts three parameters as mentioned above and described below: path: It holds the path of the direc 3 min read Node.js fs.stat() Method The fs.stat() method is used to return information about the given file or directory. It returns an fs.Stat object which has several properties and methods to get details about the file or directory. Syntax:fs.stat( path, options, callback )Parameters: This method accept three parameters as mentione 3 min read Node.js fs.mkdtempSync() Method The fs.mkdtempSync() method is an inbuilt application programming interface of fs module which provides an API for interacting with the file system in a manner closely modeled around standard POSIX functions. The fs.mkdtempSync() method creates a unique temporary directory. This is the synchronous v 2 min read Node.js fs.realpath() Method The fs.realPath() method is used to compute the canonical pathname of the given path. It does so by resolving the ., .. and the symbolic links in the path. Syntax: fs.realpath( path, options, callback ) Parameters: This method accept three parameters as mentioned above and described below: path: It 3 min read Like