Node.js Upload Files
The Formidable Module
There is a very good module for working with file uploads, called "Formidable".
The Formidable module can be downloaded and installed using NPM:
C:\Users\Your Name>npm install formidable
After you have downloaded the Formidable module, you can include the module in any application:
var formidable = require('formidable');
Upload Files
Now you are ready to make a web page in Node.js that lets the user upload files to your computer:
Step 1: Create an Upload Form
Create a Node.js file that writes an HTML form, with an upload field:
Example
This code will produce an HTML form:
var http = require('http');
http.createServer(function
(req, res) {
res.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/html'});
res.write('<form
action="fileupload" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data">');
res.write('<input
type="file" name="filetoupload"><br>');
res.write('<input
type="submit">');
res.write('</form>');
return res.end();
}).listen(8080);
Step 2: Parse the Uploaded File
Include the Formidable module to be able to parse the uploaded file once it reaches the server.
When the file is uploaded and parsed, it gets placed on a temporary folder on your computer.
Example
The file will be uploaded, and placed on a temporary folder:
var http = require('http');
var formidable = require('formidable');
http.createServer(function
(req, res) {
if (req.url == '/fileupload') {
var form = new formidable.IncomingForm();
form.parse(req,
function (err, fields, files) {
res.write('File
uploaded');
res.end();
});
} else {
res.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/html'});
res.write('<form
action="fileupload" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data">');
res.write('<input
type="file" name="filetoupload"><br>');
res.write('<input
type="submit">');
res.write('</form>');
return res.end();
}
}).listen(8080);
Step 3: Save the File
When a file is successfully uploaded to the server, it is placed on a temporary folder.
The path to this directory can be found in the "files" object, passed as the
third argument in the parse() method's callback function.
To move the file to the folder of your choice, use the File System module, and rename the file:
Example
Include the fs module, and move the file to the current folder:
var http = require('http');
var formidable = require('formidable');
var fs = require('fs');
http.createServer(function
(req, res) {
if (req.url == '/fileupload') {
var form = new formidable.IncomingForm();
form.parse(req,
function (err, fields, files) {
var
oldpath = files.filetoupload.filepath;
var
newpath = 'C:/Users/Your Name/' + files.filetoupload.originalFilename;
fs.rename(oldpath, newpath, function (err) {
if (err) throw
err;
res.write('File uploaded
and moved!');
res.end();
});
});
} else {
res.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/html'});
res.write('<form
action="fileupload" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data">');
res.write('<input
type="file" name="filetoupload"><br>');
res.write('<input
type="submit">');
res.write('</form>');
return res.end();
}
}).listen(8080);
