Javascript - EISDIR: illegal operation on a directory, when trying to copy one file to another directory using fs

evan_tech1234
November 27, 2023
285 views
1 vote
2 Answers

Im trying to copy one of my files from one directory into another directory

.then((answers) => {
        //installing dependencies in specified directory
        try{
            console.log(answers.dependencies)
            //answers.dependencies
            let dest = "/Users/[name]/Code/test"
            let copyingFile = fs.copyFile('/Users/[name]/Code/boilerplate/EZBOILERPLATE/testFile.js', "/Users/[name]/Code/test")
        } catch(error) {
            console.log("Error when copying file: ", error )
        }
        console.log("file coppied". copyingFile)
        
    })
}

but whenever I try to run the program I get this error in javascript

[Error: EISDIR: illegal operation on a directory, copyfile '/Users/[name]/Code/boilerplate/EZBOILERPLATE/testFile.js' -> '/Users/[name]/Code/test'] {
  errno: -21,
  code: 'EISDIR',
  syscall: 'copyfile',
  path: '/Users/[name]/Code/boilerplate/EZBOILERPLATE/testFile.js',
  dest: '/Users/[name]/Code/test'
}

Answers

- jQueeny
- November 26, 2023 at 9:44 pm
- 0 votes
0
If you are using the fs.copyFile then you need to specify the filename on the destination and use a callback to check for errors like so:
```
fs.copyFile(
'/Users/[name]/Code/boilerplate/EZBOILERPLATE/testFile.js',
'/Users/[name]/Code/test/testFile.js', (err) => {
  if (err) {
    console.error(err);
    //Handle error
  }
});
```
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- jsejcksn
- November 27, 2023 at 5:07 am
- 0 votes
0
As mentioned in the comments, the second argument to the copyFile function must be the destination file path (not the path to a directory).

If you plan to copy more than one file to a destination directory, you can abstract the file path manipulation using a function, for example:

copy_to_dir.mjs:
```
import { copyFile } from "node:fs/promises";
import { basename, join } from "node:path";

export function copyToDir(srcFilePath, destDirPath, mode) {
  const destFilePath = join(destDirPath, basename(srcFilePath));
  return copyFile(srcFilePath, destFilePath, mode);
}
```
Ref: fsPromises.copyFile, path.basename, path.join

Then you can use the function with the same arguments in your original code:
```
import { copyToDir } from "./copy_to_dir.mjs";

await copyToDir(
  "/Users/[name]/Code/boilerplate/EZBOILERPLATE/testFile.js",
  "/Users/[name]/Code/test",
);
```
and the file will be copied to /Users/[name]/Code/test/testFile.js.

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