Path Tracker

Path Tracker is a Node.js library designed for efficiently tracking and locating files and directories within complex project structures. It addresses the limitations of traditional file path management, such as hardcoding paths or manual directory traversal, providing a more dynamic and reliable way to handle file paths in evolving projects.

Features

• trackRootPath: Retrieve the root path of your current working directory.
• trackRelativePath: Search for paths that include a specified relative path segment, ideal for locating both files and directories.

Installation

npm install path-tracker

Module Support

Path Tracker supports both ES6 and CommonJS modules.

ES6 Import

import { trackRootPath, trackRelativePath } from "path-tracker";

CommonJS Require

const { trackRootPath, trackRelativePath } = require("path-tracker");

Usage

Getting the Root Path

const rootPath = trackRootPath();
console.log(rootPath); // Outputs the current working directory path

Tracking a Relative Path

const searchResult = trackRelativePath("/index.js");
console.log(searchResult);
// Outputs paths that include '/index.js' or indicates no paths found with null value

API Reference

trackRootPath()

Returns the root path of the current working directory.

trackRelativePath(relativePathSegment, rootPath, [excludeSearchIn])

The trackRelativePath function is designed to search for paths that include a specified relative path segment. By default, it searches from the root path of the project, but you can set a specific root path to restrict the search area. Additionally, the excludeSearchIn parameter is used to exclude directories from the search, with node_modules being excluded by default to optimize performance.

• Parameters:

  • relativePathSegment (string): The relative path segment to find.
  • rootPath (string, optional): The root path from where to start the search, defaults to the current working directory.
  • excludeSearchIn (string[], optional): Directories to exclude from the search. Defaults to ["node_modules"].

• Returns: An object with:

  • code (number): 1 for success, 0 for no paths found.
  • paths (string[] | null): Array of found paths or null if none found.

Sample Directory Structure

To illustrate the capabilities of Path Tracker, the following directory structure is used in our examples. Please note that these examples assume 'playground' as the root directory of the project for demonstration purposes:

+-- playground
    +-- dir
        +-- dir1
            |-- file1.txt
        +-- dir2
            |-- file1.txt
    +-- existingDir
    +-- complexDir
        +-- subDir1
            |-- fileA.js
        +-- subDir2
            +-- dir
            |-- fileA.js
    +-- config
        |-- settings.json

Example Scenarios

1. Single File Found:

   // Assuming 'playground' is the root directory
   const singleFileResult = trackRelativePath("/settings.json");
   // Output: { code: 1, paths: ['/playground/config/settings.json'] }

2. Multiple Files Found:

   // Assuming 'playground' is the root directory
   const multipleFilesResult = trackRelativePath("/fileA.js");
   // Output: { code: 1, paths: ['/playground/complexDir/subDir1/fileA.js', '/playground/complexDir/subDir2/fileA.js'] }

3. Single Directory Found:

   // Assuming 'playground' is the root directory
   const singleDirResult = trackRelativePath("/existingDir");
   // Output: { code: 1, paths: ['/playground/existingDir'] }

4. Multiple Directories Found:

   // Assuming 'playground' is the root directory
   const multipleDirsResult = trackRelativePath("/dir");
   // Output: { code: 1, paths: ['/playground/dir', '/playground/complexDir/subDir2/dir'] }

5. No File or Directory Found (code 0):

   // Assuming 'playground' is the root directory
   const noResult = trackRelativePath("/nonexistent.txt");
   // Output: { code: 0, paths: null }

6. Directory Exists but File Not Found (code 0):

   // Assuming 'playground' is the root directory
   const noFileInDirResult = trackRelativePath("/existingDir/nonexistent.txt");
   // Output: { code: 0, paths: null }

7. Restricted Search Area with Root Path:

   // Assuming 'playground' is the root directory
   const restrictedSearchResult = trackRelativePath("/file1.txt", "/playground/dir/dir1");
   // Output: { code: 1, paths: ['/playground/dir/dir1/file1.txt'] }

8. Using excludeSearchIn to Exclude Directories:

   // Assuming 'playground' is the root directory
   const excludeSearchResult = trackRelativePath("/fileA.js", "/playground", ["complexDir/subDir2"]);
   // Output: { code: 1, paths: ['/playground/complexDir/subDir1/fileA.js'] }

These examples are designed to provide a clear understanding of how Path Tracker functions in different scenarios. Remember to adjust the paths according to your project's directory structure.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit pull requests or create issues for bugs, suggestions, or new features.