dirent.path to dirent.parentPath (DEP0178)

Migrate from deprecated dirent.path property to dirent.parentPath for directory entries

This codemod transforms usage of the deprecated dirent.path property to use the renamed dirent.parentPath property when working with directory entries.

What It Does

The codemod transforms:

• dirent.path → dirent.parentPath
• Works with both fs.readdir() and fs.opendir() APIs

Usage

npx codemod nodejs/dirent-path-to-parent-path

Examples

Using readdir()

Promises API

Before

const { readdir } = require('node:fs/promises');
const entries = await readdir('/some/path', { withFileTypes: true });
for (const dirent of entries) {
  console.log(dirent.path);
}

After

const { readdir } = require('node:fs/promises');
const entries = await readdir('/some/path', { withFileTypes: true });
for (const dirent of entries) {
  console.log(dirent.parentPath);
}

Callback API

Before

const { readdir } = require('node:fs');
readdir('/some/path', { withFileTypes: true }, (err, entries) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  for (const dirent of entries) {
    console.log(dirent.path);
  }
});

After

const { readdir } = require('node:fs');
readdir('/some/path', { withFileTypes: true }, (err, entries) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  for (const dirent of entries) {
    console.log(dirent.parentPath);
  }
});

Using opendir()

Before

import { opendir } from 'node:fs/promises';
const dir = await opendir('./');
for await (const dirent of dir) {
  console.log(`Found ${dirent.name} in ${dirent.path}`);
}

After

import { opendir } from 'node:fs/promises';
const dir = await opendir('./');
for await (const dirent of dir) {
  console.log(`Found ${dirent.name} in ${dirent.parentPath}`);
}

What is a Dirent?

A Dirent (directory entry) is an object representation of a directory entry, returned by:

• fs.readdir() with withFileTypes: true
• fs.opendir() and iterating over the directory

Dirent Properties

• name - The file name of the directory entry
• parentPath - The path to the parent directory (formerly path)
• isFile() - Returns true if the entry is a file
• isDirectory() - Returns true if the entry is a directory
• isSymbolicLink() - Returns true if the entry is a symbolic link

Use withFileTypes: true with readdir() to get Dirent objects instead of strings. This provides file type information without additional stat() calls.

Why the Rename?

The property was renamed from path to parentPath because:

• The value contains the parent directory path, not the entry’s full path
• The old name path was ambiguous and misleading
• parentPath clearly communicates what the property contains

The path property was deprecated in Node.js v20.x. Use parentPath to ensure compatibility with future Node.js versions.

Getting the Full Path

To get the full path of a directory entry, combine parentPath and name:

import { opendir } from 'node:fs/promises';
import { join } from 'node:path';

const dir = await opendir('./');
for await (const dirent of dir) {
  const fullPath = join(dirent.parentPath, dirent.name);
  console.log(`Full path: ${fullPath}`);
}

Common Use Cases

Filtering Files by Type

import { readdir } from 'node:fs/promises';
import { join } from 'node:path';

const entries = await readdir('./src', { withFileTypes: true });
const files = entries
  .filter(dirent => dirent.isFile())
  .map(dirent => join(dirent.parentPath, dirent.name));

console.log('Files:', files);

Recursive Directory Traversal

import { readdir } from 'node:fs/promises';
import { join } from 'node:path';

async function* walk(dir) {
  const entries = await readdir(dir, { withFileTypes: true });
  
  for (const dirent of entries) {
    const fullPath = join(dirent.parentPath, dirent.name);
    
    if (dirent.isDirectory()) {
      yield* walk(fullPath);
    } else {
      yield fullPath;
    }
  }
}

for await (const filePath of walk('./src')) {
  console.log(filePath);
}

Deprecation Reference

This migration addresses DEP0178.