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__filename and __dirname in ESM

ESM does not populate the __filename and __dirname variables frequently used in CommonJS. This post shows what to do instead.

Most robust​

This version is supported in all modern Node.js versions. (As of writing this, July 2024, v18-v22.)

import {fileURLToPath} from 'node:url';
import {dirname} from 'node:path';

const __filename = fileURLToPath(import.meta.url);
const __dirname = dirname(__filename);

Most succinct​

This version is shorter but is still marked as "experimental" in Node.js (here and here) and was only introduced recently into Node.js via v21.2.0 and v20.11.0.

const __filename = import.meta.filename;
const __dirname = import.meta.dirname;