Node.js fs.openSync() Method
Last Updated :
28 Apr, 2025
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The fs.openSync() method is an inbuilt application programming interface of fs module which is used to return an integer value that represents the file descriptor.
Syntax:
fs.openSync( path, flags, mode )
Parameters: This method accepts three parameters as mentioned above and described below:
- path: It holds the path of the file. It is of type string, Buffer, or URL.
- flags: It holds either a string or a number value. Its default value of it is 'r'.
- mode: It holds either a string or an integer value and its default value of it is 0o666.
Return Value: It returns a number that represents the file descriptor.
The below examples illustrate the use of the fs.openSync() method in Node.js:
Example 1:
// Node.js program to demonstrate the
// fs.openSync() method
// Including fs module
const fs = require('fs');
// Defining filename
const filename = './myfile';
// Calling openSync method
// with its parameters
const res = fs.openSync(filename, 'r');
// Prints output
console.log(res);
Output:
23
Here, the flag 'r' indicates that the file is already created and it reads the created file.
Example 2:
// Node.js program to demonstrate the
// fs.openSync() method
// Including fs module
const fs = require('fs');
// Defining path
const path = require('path');
// Calling openSync method with
// all its parameters
const fd = fs.openSync(path.join(
process.cwd(), 'input.txt'), 'w', 0o666);
// This will append the content
// of file created above
fs.writeSync(fd, 'GeeksforGeeks');
// Setting timeout
setTimeout(function () {
// Its printed after the file is closed
console.log('closing file now');
// closing file descriptor
fs.closeSync(fd);
}, 10000);
console.log("Program done!");
Output:
Program done! closing file now
Here, the flag 'w' indicates that the file is created or overwritten.
Reference: https://nodejs.org/api/fs.html#fs_fs_opensync_path_flags_mode