Source Code: lib/readline.js
The node:readline module provides an interface for reading data from a\nReadable stream (such as process.stdin) one line at a time.\nIt can be accessed using:
node:readline
process.stdin
const readline = require('node:readline');\n
The following simple example illustrates the basic use of the node:readline\nmodule.
const readline = require('node:readline');\n\nconst rl = readline.createInterface({\n input: process.stdin,\n output: process.stdout\n});\n\nrl.question('What do you think of Node.js? ', (answer) => {\n // TODO: Log the answer in a database\n console.log(`Thank you for your valuable feedback: ${answer}`);\n\n rl.close();\n});\n
Once this code is invoked, the Node.js application will not terminate until the\nreadline.Interface is closed because the interface waits for data to be\nreceived on the input stream.
readline.Interface
input
Instances of the readline.Interface class are constructed using the\nreadline.createInterface() method. Every instance is associated with a\nsingle input Readable stream and a single output Writable stream.\nThe output stream is used to print prompts for user input that arrives on,\nand is read from, the input stream.
readline.createInterface()
output
The 'close' event is emitted when one of the following occur:
'close'
rl.close()
'end'
SIGINT
'SIGINT'
The listener function is called without passing any arguments.
The readline.Interface instance is finished once the 'close' event is\nemitted.
The 'line' event is emitted whenever the input stream receives an\nend-of-line input (\\n, \\r, or \\r\\n). This usually occurs when the user\npresses Enter or Return.
'line'
\\n
\\r
\\r\\n
The 'line' event is also emitted if new data has been read from a stream and\nthat stream ends without a final end-of-line marker.
The listener function is called with a string containing the single line of\nreceived input.
rl.on('line', (input) => {\n console.log(`Received: ${input}`);\n});\n
The 'history' event is emitted whenever the history array has changed.
'history'
The listener function is called with an array containing the history array.\nIt will reflect all changes, added lines and removed lines due to\nhistorySize and removeHistoryDuplicates.
historySize
removeHistoryDuplicates
The primary purpose is to allow a listener to persist the history.\nIt is also possible for the listener to change the history object. This\ncould be useful to prevent certain lines to be added to the history, like\na password.
rl.on('history', (history) => {\n console.log(`Received: ${history}`);\n});\n
The 'pause' event is emitted when one of the following occur:
'pause'
'SIGCONT'
'SIGTSTP'
rl.on('pause', () => {\n console.log('Readline paused.');\n});\n
The 'resume' event is emitted whenever the input stream is resumed.
'resume'
rl.on('resume', () => {\n console.log('Readline resumed.');\n});\n
The 'SIGCONT' event is emitted when a Node.js process previously moved into\nthe background using Ctrl+Z (i.e. SIGTSTP) is then\nbrought back to the foreground using fg(1p).
SIGTSTP
fg(1p)
If the input stream was paused before the SIGTSTP request, this event will\nnot be emitted.
The listener function is invoked without passing any arguments.
rl.on('SIGCONT', () => {\n // `prompt` will automatically resume the stream\n rl.prompt();\n});\n
The 'SIGCONT' event is not supported on Windows.
The 'SIGINT' event is emitted whenever the input stream receives\na Ctrl+C input, known typically as SIGINT. If there are no\n'SIGINT' event listeners registered when the input stream receives a\nSIGINT, the 'pause' event will be emitted.
rl.on('SIGINT', () => {\n rl.question('Are you sure you want to exit? ', (answer) => {\n if (answer.match(/^y(es)?$/i)) rl.pause();\n });\n});\n
The 'SIGTSTP' event is emitted when the input stream receives\na Ctrl+Z input, typically known as SIGTSTP. If there are\nno 'SIGTSTP' event listeners registered when the input stream receives a\nSIGTSTP, the Node.js process will be sent to the background.
When the program is resumed using fg(1p), the 'pause' and 'SIGCONT' events\nwill be emitted. These can be used to resume the input stream.
The 'pause' and 'SIGCONT' events will not be emitted if the input was\npaused before the process was sent to the background.
rl.on('SIGTSTP', () => {\n // This will override SIGTSTP and prevent the program from going to the\n // background.\n console.log('Caught SIGTSTP.');\n});\n
The 'SIGTSTP' event is not supported on Windows.
The rl.close() method closes the readline.Interface instance and\nrelinquishes control over the input and output streams. When called,\nthe 'close' event will be emitted.
Calling rl.close() does not immediately stop other events (including 'line')\nfrom being emitted by the readline.Interface instance.
The rl.pause() method pauses the input stream, allowing it to be resumed\nlater if necessary.
rl.pause()
Calling rl.pause() does not immediately pause other events (including\n'line') from being emitted by the readline.Interface instance.
The rl.prompt() method writes the readline.Interface instances configured\nprompt to a new line in output in order to provide a user with a new\nlocation at which to provide input.
rl.prompt()
prompt
When called, rl.prompt() will resume the input stream if it has been\npaused.
If the readline.Interface was created with output set to null or\nundefined the prompt is not written.
null
undefined
The rl.question() method displays the query by writing it to the output,\nwaits for user input to be provided on input, then invokes the callback\nfunction passing the provided input as the first argument.
rl.question()
query
callback
When called, rl.question() will resume the input stream if it has been\npaused.
If the readline.Interface was created with output set to null or\nundefined the query is not written.
The callback function passed to rl.question() does not follow the typical\npattern of accepting an Error object or null as the first argument.\nThe callback is called with the provided answer as the only argument.
Error
Example usage:
rl.question('What is your favorite food? ', (answer) => {\n console.log(`Oh, so your favorite food is ${answer}`);\n});\n
Using an AbortController to cancel a question.
AbortController
const ac = new AbortController();\nconst signal = ac.signal;\n\nrl.question('What is your favorite food? ', { signal }, (answer) => {\n console.log(`Oh, so your favorite food is ${answer}`);\n});\n\nsignal.addEventListener('abort', () => {\n console.log('The food question timed out');\n}, { once: true });\n\nsetTimeout(() => ac.abort(), 10000);\n
If this method is invoked as it's util.promisify()ed version, it returns a\nPromise that fulfills with the answer. If the question is canceled using\nan AbortController it will reject with an AbortError.
AbortError
const util = require('node:util');\nconst question = util.promisify(rl.question).bind(rl);\n\nasync function questionExample() {\n try {\n const answer = await question('What is you favorite food? ');\n console.log(`Oh, so your favorite food is ${answer}`);\n } catch (err) {\n console.error('Question rejected', err);\n }\n}\nquestionExample();\n
The rl.resume() method resumes the input stream if it has been paused.
rl.resume()
The rl.setPrompt() method sets the prompt that will be written to output\nwhenever rl.prompt() is called.
rl.setPrompt()
The rl.getPrompt() method returns the current prompt used by rl.prompt().
rl.getPrompt()
The rl.write() method will write either data or a key sequence identified\nby key to the output. The key argument is supported only if output is\na TTY text terminal. See TTY keybindings for a list of key\ncombinations.
rl.write()
data
key
If key is specified, data is ignored.
When called, rl.write() will resume the input stream if it has been\npaused.
If the readline.Interface was created with output set to null or\nundefined the data and key are not written.
rl.write('Delete this!');\n// Simulate Ctrl+U to delete the line written previously\nrl.write(null, { ctrl: true, name: 'u' });\n
The rl.write() method will write the data to the readline Interface's\ninput as if it were provided by the user.
readline
Interface
Create an AsyncIterator object that iterates through each line in the input\nstream as a string. This method allows asynchronous iteration of\nreadline.Interface objects through for await...of loops.
AsyncIterator
for await...of
Errors in the input stream are not forwarded.
If the loop is terminated with break, throw, or return,\nrl.close() will be called. In other words, iterating over a\nreadline.Interface will always consume the input stream fully.
break
throw
return
Performance is not on par with the traditional 'line' event API. Use 'line'\ninstead for performance-sensitive applications.
async function processLineByLine() {\n const rl = readline.createInterface({\n // ...\n });\n\n for await (const line of rl) {\n // Each line in the readline input will be successively available here as\n // `line`.\n }\n}\n
readline.createInterface() will start to consume the input stream once\ninvoked. Having asynchronous operations between interface creation and\nasynchronous iteration may result in missed lines.
Returns the real position of the cursor in relation to the input\nprompt + string. Long input (wrapping) strings, as well as multiple\nline prompts are included in the calculations.
The current input data being processed by node.
This can be used when collecting input from a TTY stream to retrieve the\ncurrent value that has been processed thus far, prior to the line event\nbeing emitted. Once the line event has been emitted, this property will\nbe an empty string.
line
Be aware that modifying the value during the instance runtime may have\nunintended consequences if rl.cursor is not also controlled.
rl.cursor
If not using a TTY stream for input, use the 'line' event.
One possible use case would be as follows:
const values = ['lorem ipsum', 'dolor sit amet'];\nconst rl = readline.createInterface(process.stdin);\nconst showResults = debounce(() => {\n console.log(\n '\\n',\n values.filter((val) => val.startsWith(rl.line)).join(' ')\n );\n}, 300);\nprocess.stdin.on('keypress', (c, k) => {\n showResults();\n});\n
The cursor position relative to rl.line.
rl.line
This will track where the current cursor lands in the input string, when\nreading input from a TTY stream. The position of cursor determines the\nportion of the input string that will be modified as input is processed,\nas well as the column where the terminal caret will be rendered.
The readline.clearLine() method clears current line of given TTY stream\nin a specified direction identified by dir.
readline.clearLine()
dir
The readline.clearScreenDown() method clears the given TTY stream from\nthe current position of the cursor down.
readline.clearScreenDown()
The readline.createInterface() method creates a new readline.Interface\ninstance.
const readline = require('node:readline');\nconst rl = readline.createInterface({\n input: process.stdin,\n output: process.stdout\n});\n
Once the readline.Interface instance is created, the most common case is to\nlisten for the 'line' event:
rl.on('line', (line) => {\n console.log(`Received: ${line}`);\n});\n
If terminal is true for this instance then the output stream will get\nthe best compatibility if it defines an output.columns property and emits\na 'resize' event on the output if or when the columns ever change\n(process.stdout does this automatically when it is a TTY).
terminal
true
output.columns
'resize'
process.stdout
When creating a readline.Interface using stdin as input, the program\nwill not terminate until it receives an EOF character. To exit without\nwaiting for user input, call process.stdin.unref().
stdin
process.stdin.unref()
The completer function takes the current line entered by the user\nas an argument, and returns an Array with 2 entries:
completer
Array
For instance: [[substr1, substr2, ...], originalsubstring].
[[substr1, substr2, ...], originalsubstring]
function completer(line) {\n const completions = '.help .error .exit .quit .q'.split(' ');\n const hits = completions.filter((c) => c.startsWith(line));\n // Show all completions if none found\n return [hits.length ? hits : completions, line];\n}\n
The completer function can be called asynchronously if it accepts two\narguments:
function completer(linePartial, callback) {\n callback(null, [['123'], linePartial]);\n}\n
The readline.cursorTo() method moves cursor to the specified position in a\ngiven TTY stream.
readline.cursorTo()
stream
The readline.emitKeypressEvents() method causes the given Readable\nstream to begin emitting 'keypress' events corresponding to received input.
readline.emitKeypressEvents()
'keypress'
Optionally, interface specifies a readline.Interface instance for which\nautocompletion is disabled when copy-pasted input is detected.
interface
If the stream is a TTY, then it must be in raw mode.
This is automatically called by any readline instance on its input if the\ninput is a terminal. Closing the readline instance does not stop\nthe input from emitting 'keypress' events.
readline.emitKeypressEvents(process.stdin);\nif (process.stdin.isTTY)\n process.stdin.setRawMode(true);\n
The readline.moveCursor() method moves the cursor relative to its current\nposition in a given TTY stream.
readline.moveCursor()
The following example illustrates the use of readline.Interface class to\nimplement a small command-line interface:
const readline = require('node:readline');\nconst rl = readline.createInterface({\n input: process.stdin,\n output: process.stdout,\n prompt: 'OHAI> '\n});\n\nrl.prompt();\n\nrl.on('line', (line) => {\n switch (line.trim()) {\n case 'hello':\n console.log('world!');\n break;\n default:\n console.log(`Say what? I might have heard '${line.trim()}'`);\n break;\n }\n rl.prompt();\n}).on('close', () => {\n console.log('Have a great day!');\n process.exit(0);\n});\n
A common use case for node:readline is to consume an input file one line at a\ntime. The easiest way to do so is leveraging the fs.ReadStream API as\nwell as a for await...of loop:
fs.ReadStream
const fs = require('node:fs');\nconst readline = require('node:readline');\n\nasync function processLineByLine() {\n const fileStream = fs.createReadStream('input.txt');\n\n const rl = readline.createInterface({\n input: fileStream,\n crlfDelay: Infinity\n });\n // Note: we use the crlfDelay option to recognize all instances of CR LF\n // ('\\r\\n') in input.txt as a single line break.\n\n for await (const line of rl) {\n // Each line in input.txt will be successively available here as `line`.\n console.log(`Line from file: ${line}`);\n }\n}\n\nprocessLineByLine();\n
Alternatively, one could use the 'line' event:
const fs = require('node:fs');\nconst readline = require('node:readline');\n\nconst rl = readline.createInterface({\n input: fs.createReadStream('sample.txt'),\n crlfDelay: Infinity\n});\n\nrl.on('line', (line) => {\n console.log(`Line from file: ${line}`);\n});\n
Currently, for await...of loop can be a bit slower. If async / await\nflow and speed are both essential, a mixed approach can be applied:
async
await
const { once } = require('node:events');\nconst { createReadStream } = require('node:fs');\nconst { createInterface } = require('node:readline');\n\n(async function processLineByLine() {\n try {\n const rl = createInterface({\n input: createReadStream('big-file.txt'),\n crlfDelay: Infinity\n });\n\n rl.on('line', (line) => {\n // Process the line.\n });\n\n await once(rl, 'close');\n\n console.log('File processed.');\n } catch (err) {\n console.error(err);\n }\n})();\n
fg