A WebDAV client written in JavaScript for NodeJS.

About

This client was branched from webdav-fs as the core functionality deserved its own repository. As webdav-fs' API was designed to resemble NodeJS' fs API, little could be done to improve the adapter interface for regular use.

This WebDAV client library is designed to provide an improved API for low-level WebDAV integration. This client uses window.fetch when available in the browser.

Please read our contribution guide if you plan on making an issue or PR.

Installation

To install for use with NodeJS, execute the following shell command:

npm install webdav --save

Usage

Usage is very simple (API) - the main exported object is a factory to create adapter instances:

var createClient = require("webdav");

var client = createClient(
    "https://webdav-server.org/remote.php/webdav",
    "username",
    "password"
);

client
    .getDirectoryContents("/")
    .then(function(contents) {
        console.log(JSON.stringify(contents, undefined, 4));
    });

Each method returns a Promise.

Authentication

webdav uses Basic authentication by default, if username and password are provided (if none are provided, no Authorization header is specified). It also supports OAuth tokens - simply pass the token data to the username field:

createClient(
    "https://address.com",
    {
        "access_token": "2YotnFZFEjr1zCsicMWpAA",
        "token_type": "example",
        "expires_in": 3600,
        "refresh_token": "tGzv3JOkF0XG5Qx2TlKWIA",
        "example_parameter": "example_value"
    }
);

Adapter methods

These methods can be called on the object returned from the main factory.

copyFile(remotePath, targetPath [, options])

Copy a file or directory from one path to another.

createDirectory(remotePath [, options])

Create a new directory at the remote path.

createReadStream(remotePath [, options])

Creates a readable stream on the remote path.

Returns a readable stream instance.

createWriteStream(remotePath [, options])

Creates a writeable stream to a remote path.

Returns a writeable stream instance.

deleteFile(remotePath [, options])

Delete a file or directory at remotePath.

getDirectoryContents(remotePath [, options])

Get an array of items within a directory. remotePath is a string that begins with a forward-slash and indicates the remote directory to get the contents of.

client
    .getDirectoryContents("/MyFolder")
    .then(function(contents) {
        console.log(JSON.stringify(contents, undefined, 2));
    });

The returned value is a Promise, which resolves with an array of item stat objects.

getFileContents(remotePath [, options])

Get the contents of the file at remotePath as a Buffer or String. format can either be "binary" or "text", where "binary" is default.

var fs = require("fs");

client
    .getFileContents("/folder/myImage.jpg")
    .then(function(imageData) {
        fs.writeFileSync("./myImage.jpg", imageData);
    });

Or with text:

client
    .getFileContents("/doc.txt", { format: "text" })
    .then(function(text) {
        console.log(text);
    });

Important: When running on Node, node-fetch is used as the default fetch library. node-fetch provides the .buffer() method for responses, which returns a Buffer instance, but other libraries (and standard fetch) do not. When the buffer method is not available, this library will attempt to use .arrayBuffer. It is your responsibility to handle the output and any required conversion. The arraybuffer-to-buffer library makes it easy to convert back to a Buffer if you require it.

getFileDownloadLink(remotePath [, options])

Get the external download link of a remote file. Only supported for non-authenticated connections or connections using Basic authentication.

Important note: This method exposes the username and password in the URL - It is not recommended to send or store any output from this function.

getFileStream(remotePath [, options])

Get a readable stream on a remote file. Returns a Promise that resolves with a readable stream instance.

This is the underlying method to createReadStream (uses a PassThrough stream to delay the data). Due to the requirement of waiting on the request to complete before being able to get the true read stream, a Promise is returned that resolves when it becomes available. createReadStream simply creates and returns a PassThrough stream immediately and writes to it once this method resolves.

var fs = require("fs");

client
    .getFileStream("/test/image.png")
    .then(function(imageStream) {
        imageStream.pipe(fs.createWriteStream("./image.png"));
    });

options is an object that may look like the following:

{
    "headers": {}
}

options.range

Optionally request part of the remote file by specifying the start and end byte positions. The end byte position is optional and the rest of the file from start onwards will be streamed.

var stream = client.getFileStream("/test/image.png", {
    range: { start: 0, end: 499 } // first 500 bytes
});

getQuota([options])

Get quota information. Returns null upon failure or an object like so:

{
    "used": "12842",
    "available": "512482001"
}

Both values are provided in bytes in string form. available may also be one of the following:

• unknown: The available space is unknown or not yet calculated
• unlimited: The space available is not limited by quotas

moveFile(remotePath, targetPath [, options])

Move a file or directory from remotePath to targetPath.

// Move a directory
client.moveFile("/some-dir", "/storage/moved-dir");

// Rename a file
client.moveFile("/images/pic.jpg", "/images/profile.jpg");

putFileContents(remotePath, data [, options])

Put some data in a remote file at remotePath from a Buffer or String. data is a Buffer or a String. options has a property called format which can be "binary" (default) or "text".

var fs = require("fs");

var imageData = fs.readFileSync("someImage.jpg");

client.putFileContents("/folder/myImage.jpg", imageData, { format: "binary" });

client.putFileContents("/example.txt", "some text", { format: "text" });

options, which is optional, can be set to an object like the following:

{
    "format": "binary",
    "headers": {
        "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream"
    },
    "overwrite": true
}

options.overwrite (default: true), if set to false, will add an additional header which tells the server to abort writing if the target already exists.

stat(remotePath [, options])

Get the stat properties of a remote file or directory at remotePath. Resolved object is a item stat object.

Overriding the built-in fetch function

Under the hood, webdav-client uses node-fetch to perform requests. This can be overridden by running the following:

// For example, use the `fetch` method in the browser:
const createWebDAVClient = require("webdav");
createWebDAVClient.setFetchMethod(window.fetch);

Returned data structures

Item stat

Item stats are objects with properties that descibe a file or directory. They resemble the following:

{
    "filename": "/test",
    "basename": "test",
    "lastmod": "Tue, 05 Apr 2016 14:39:18 GMT",
    "size": 0,
    "type": "directory"
}

or:

{
    "filename": "/image.jpg",
    "basename": "image.jpg",
    "lastmod": "Sun, 13 Mar 2016 04:23:32 GMT",
    "size": 42497,
    "type": "file",
    "mime": "image/jpeg"
}

Properties:

| Property name | Type | Present | Description | |---------------|---------|--------------|---------------------------------------------| | filename | String | Always | File path of the remote item | | basename | String | Always | Base filename of the remote item, no path | | lastmod | String | Always | Last modification date of the item | | size | Number | Always | File size - 0 for directories | | type | String | Always | Item type - "file" or "directory" | | mime | String | Files only | Mime type - for file items only |

Compatibility

This library has been tested to work with the following WebDAV servers or applications:

• ownCloud
• Nextcloud
• Yandex.ru
• jsDAV
• webdav-server

Webpack / Browserify

WebDAV-client is browser friendly, after being transpiled. Refer to the use of WebDAV-fs in the Buttercup mobile compatibility library or the Buttercup browser extension for guidance on preparation for the web.

Please note that it is not the responsibility of this library to be compatible with Webpack or Browserify. Small modifications may be made here to support them, but no guarantees of compatibility are made as there are an almost infinite number of configurations in both systems that could potentially cause issues with this library or a dependency therein.