What is the purpose of the `fs.exists()` method in Node.js?

Q: What is the purpose of the `fs.exists()` method in Node.js?

const fs = require('fs'); fs.exists('example.txt', (exists) => { if (exists) { console.log('✅ File exists!'); } else { console.log('❌ File does not exist.'); } });

Difficulty: 5/10

file system, asynchronous APIs, deprecation

The `fs.exists()` method is used to check if a file or directory exists at a given path. It takes a path as an argument and invokes a callback function with a boolean value indicating whether the path exists or not.

javascript

Scenario Questions

0-2 years experience

1You need to read a JSON config file at startup. How would you use the fs module to verify the file is present before calling fs.readFile?
2What does the callback receive when you call fs.exists('some/path', cb) and the path points to a directory?

2-5 years experience

1A feature checks with fs.exists() before creating a log file, but under load the process sometimes crashes when writing. Why might the existence check be unreliable, and how would you rewrite it?

Follow-up Questions

What are the race‑condition risks when using fs.exists() before another file operation?
How does the deprecation of fs.exists() affect existing codebases?
When would you prefer fs.access() over fs.stat() for an existence check?

What is the purpose of the `fs.exists()` method in Node.js?

The fs.exists() method is used to check if a file or directory exists at a given path. It takes a path as an argument and invokes a callback function with a boolean value indicating whether the path exists or not.

Scenario Questions

Follow-up Questions

What is the purpose of the `fs.exists()` method in Node.js?

The fs.exists() method is used to check if a file or directory exists at a given path. It takes a path as an argument and invokes a callback function with a boolean value indicating whether the path exists or not.

Scenario Questions

Follow-up Questions

The `fs.exists()` method is used to check if a file or directory exists at a given path. It takes a path as an argument and invokes a callback function with a boolean value indicating whether the path exists or not.

The `fs.exists()` method is used to check if a file or directory exists at a given path. It takes a path as an argument and invokes a callback function with a boolean value indicating whether the path exists or not.