Node.js fs.symlinkSync() Method

The fs.symlinkSync() method is used to synchronously create a symlink to the specified path. This method creates a link making the path point to the target. The relative targets are relative to the link’s parent directory.

Syntax:

fs.symlinkSync( target, path, type )

Parameters: This method accept three parameters as mentioned above and described below:

• target: It is a string, buffer or URL which represents the path to which the symlink has to be created.
• path: It is a string, buffer or URL which represents the path where the symlink will be created.
• type: It is a string which represents the type of symlink to be created. It can be specified with ‘file’, ‘dir’ or ‘junction’. If the target does not exist, ‘file’ will be used.

Below examples illustrate the fs.symlinkSync() method in Node.js:

Example 1: This example creates a symlink to a file.

// Node.js program to demonstrate the
// fs.symlinkSync() method

// Import the filesystem module
const fs = require('fs');

console.log("Contents of the text file:");
console.log(
  fs.readFileSync('example_file.txt', 'utf8')
);

fs.symlinkSync(__dirname + "\\example_file.txt",
               "symlinkToFile", 'file');

console.log("\nSymlink created\n");
console.log("Contents of the symlink created:");
console.log(
  fs.readFileSync('symlinkToFile', 'utf8')
);

Output:

Contents of the text file:
Hello Geeks

Symlink created

Contents of the symlink created:
Hello Geeks

Example 2: This example creates a symlink to a directory.

// Node.js program to demonstrate the
// fs.symlinkSync() method

// Import the filesystem module
const fs = require('fs');

fs.symlinkSync(__dirname + "\\example_directory",
               "symlinkToDir", 'dir');

console.log("Symlink created");
console.log("Symlink is a directory:",
  fs.statSync("symlinkToDir").isDirectory()
);

Output:

Symlink created
Symlink is a directory: true

Reference: https://nodejs.org/api/fs.html#fs_fs_symlinksync_target_path_type