How to create an empty file in Node.js
Discover how create an empty file in a filesystem folder in Node.js
The method fs.openSync()
provided by the fs
built-in module is the best way.
It returns a file descriptor:
const fs = require('fs')
const filePath = './.data/initialized'
const fd = fs.openSync(filePath, 'w')
the w
flag makes sure the file is created if not existing, and if the file exists it overwrites it with a new file, overriding its content.
Use the a
flag to avoid overwriting. The file is still created if not existing.
If you don’t need the file descriptor, you can wrap the call in a fs.closeSync()
call, to close the file:
const fs = require('fs')
const filePath = './.data/initialized'
fs.closeSync(fs.openSync(filePath, 'w'))
→ I wrote 17 books to help you become a better developer, download them all at $0 cost by joining my newsletter
→ JOIN MY CODING BOOTCAMP, an amazing cohort course that will be a huge step up in your coding career - covering React, Next.js - next edition February 2025