path.dirname and basename

Learn path.dirname and path.basename.

dirname and basename

path.dirname returns the directory part of a path, while path.basename returns the file name. If you pass the extension as a second argument to basename, it strips it.

path.dirname('/a/b/c.txt');  // '/a/b'
path.basename('/a/b/c.txt');  // 'c.txt'
path.basename('/a/b/c.txt', '.txt');  // 'c'

These methods are handy when you want only the directory or only the file name from a path. They return fewer fields than path.parse; if you need a single component, dirname or basename is shorter.

Exercise Your turn: dirname and basename

Start with import path from 'path'. Write const dir = path.dirname('/a/b/c.txt') and const file = path.basename('/a/b/c.txt'). Log with console.log(dir, file).

Show example solution

import path from 'path';
const dir = path.dirname('/a/b/c.txt');
const file = path.basename('/a/b/c.txt');
console.log(dir, file);

dirname vs basename

dirname drops the last segment of a path and returns the directory part. basename does the opposite: it returns the last segment (the file name). Used together, they split a path into directory and file name.

const dir = path.dirname('/a/b/c.txt');  // '/a/b'
const file = path.basename('/a/b/c.txt'); // 'c.txt'

Here dir gives the directory holding the file, and file gives the file name. This split is useful when moving a file to another directory or showing only its name.

Test yourself

Fill in the blank: basename

import path from 'path';
const name = path.____('/a/b/c.txt');
console.log(name);

Show answer

import path from 'path';
const name = path.basename('/a/b/c.txt');
console.log(name);

What does path.dirname('/a/b/c.txt') return?
- 'c.txt'
- '/a/b'
- 'c'
- '/a/b/c.txt'
Show answer

'/a/b' — dirname returns the directory part.
dirname vs basename

dirname

directory part
basename

file name
second argument

drops extension

Next lesson: path.extname

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