Is there a way to synchronously execute multiple JavaScript files in node?

Question

So in Node I can execute a JavaScript file using a command like:

$ node src/someFile.js

But is there a way to execute all of the JavaScript files in a given directory synchronously (one file executes, then after it has finished the next one executes, etc)? Basically, is there a single command that would have the effect of something like

$ node src/firstFile.js
$ node src/secondFile.js
$ node src/thirdFile.js
...

I've tried commands like

$ node src/*.js

but with no success.

If there exists no such command, what's the best way to go about doing something like this?

Is an answer that uses shell-specific functionality acceptable to you? (I see you've already tried globbing) — zetavolt
– zetavolt, Commented Apr 12, 2016 at 23:31
@ￜＺＶￜ I'm currently running a Windows machine so shell scripting wouldn't be optimal for me personally - however if it does solve the issue then it should be a perfectly valid solution — Nick Zuber
– Nick Zuber, Commented Apr 12, 2016 at 23:34
I'll fixup my answer with a powershell result -- I think it would be best to do this from the shell unless you need to capture their exit code, restore their SEH chains in CreateRemoteThread etc. — zetavolt
– zetavolt, Commented Apr 12, 2016 at 23:35
I'm away from my windows machine, let me know if that PS script works for you. — zetavolt
– zetavolt, Commented Apr 12, 2016 at 23:42

zetavolt · Accepted Answer · 2016-04-12 23:38:15Z

4

I am not sure if this is going to work for you because this is a feature of the shell not of the node runtime but..

for f in src/*.js; do node "$f"; done

Or in Powershell:

Get-ChildItem .\*.js | Foreach-Object {
  node $_ 
}

edited Apr 12, 2016 at 23:38

answered Apr 12, 2016 at 23:32

zetavolt

3,2771 gold badge25 silver badges35 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Comments

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 12:16:01Z

2

You could use spawn to run a node process from node like

(function() {

var cp = require('child_process');
var childProcess = cp.spawn('node', [`src/firstFile.js`]);

At this point you have to add some listeners:

// now listens events
// Listen for an exit event:
child.on('exit', function(exitCode) {
    console.log("Child exited with code: " + exitCode);
    return resolve(exitCode);
});
// Listen for stdout data
child.stdout.on('data', function(data) {
    console.log(data.toString());
});
// child error
child.stderr.on('data',
    function(data) {
        console.log('err data: ' + data);
        // on error, kill this child
        child.kill();
    }
);
}).call(this);

Of course you need to serialize execution here, but it's easy since you have the child.on('exit') that tells you that the process ended, so you can start the next one.

Look to Controlling Multiple Processes in Node for my example working solution that run multi processes in node and wait execution to end / join.

edited May 23, 2017 at 12:16

CommunityBot

11 silver badge

answered Apr 12, 2016 at 23:34

loretoparisi

16.3k12 gold badges113 silver badges159 bronze badges

2 Comments

Nick Zuber Over a year ago

Ah so there's no simple one-liner solution native to node for this, but rather it requires writing a file (like you've suggested above)?

loretoparisi Over a year ago

One line solution will not give you control of the process status, exit code, and the pid. Of course, you can write a bash script that takes the pid, execute node $filename in a for loop statement, etc, but you need a supervisor to handle all these processes, that can be writted in bash, python, perl or ...node.

Petr Skocik · Accepted Answer · 2016-04-12 23:31:47Z

1

Using a POSIX shell:

$ for js in src/*.js; do node "$js"; done

answered Apr 12, 2016 at 23:31

Petr Skocik

60.6k7 gold badges105 silver badges165 bronze badges

Comments

ccnokes · Accepted Answer · 2016-04-12 23:35:35Z

1

If the calling each one from the shell thing isn't a hard requirement, I would kick them all off with a single node process from the shell. This node script would:

traverse the directory of modules
require the first one, which executes it, and pass a callback which the module will call on completion
When the complete callback is called, execute the next script in your directory.

answered Apr 12, 2016 at 23:35

ccnokes

7,1656 gold badges50 silver badges57 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Is there a way to synchronously execute multiple JavaScript files in node?

4 Answers 4

Comments

2 Comments

Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

4 Answers 4

Comments

2 Comments

Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related