This simple module enables you to add additional directories to the Node.js module search path (for top-level app modules only). This allows application-level modules to be required as if they were installed into the node_modules
directory.
npm install app-module-path --save
// ***IMPORTANT**: The following line should be added to the very
// beginning of your main script!
require('app-module-path').addPath(baseDir);
IMPORTANT: The search path should be modified before any modules are loaded!
Example:
In your my-app/index.js
(or my-app/server.js
) file:
// Add the root project directory to the app module search path:
require('app-module-path').addPath(__dirname);
Given the following example directory structure:
- my-app/
- src/ - Source code and application modules directory
- foo/ - A module directory
- index.js
- bar/ - Another module directory
- index.js
- foo/ - A module directory
- node_modules/ - Installed modules
- installed-baz/ - An installed module
- index.js
- installed-baz/ - An installed module
- index.js - Main script
- src/ - Source code and application modules directory
The following will work for any modules under the src
directory:
// All of the following lines will work in "src/foo/index.js" and "src/bar/index.js":
var foo = require('src/foo'); // Works
var bar = require('src/bar'); // Works
var baz = require('installed-baz'); // Works
Lastly, by design, installed modules (i.e. modules under the node_modules
directory) will not be able to require application-level modules so the following will not work:
// All of the following lines will work *not* work in "node_modules/installed-baz/index.js"!
var foo = require('src/foo'); // Fails
var bar = require('src/bar'); // Fails
- Search path order:
- App module paths will be added to the beginning of the default module search path. That is, if a module with the same name exists in both a
node_modules
directory and an application module directory then the module in the appliation module directory will be loaded since it is found first.
- App module paths will be added to the beginning of the default module search path. That is, if a module with the same name exists in both a
- Node.js compatibility:
- This module depends on overriding/wrapping a built-in Node.js method, and it is possible (but unlikely) that this behavior could be broken in a future release of Node.js (at which point a workaround would need to be used)
- This module will not change or break modules installed into the
node_modules
directory.
- Recommendations:
- Since this module changes the Node.js convention of how non-relative modules are resolved, it is recommended (but not required) to put all app modules in a common directory below the application root (such as
my-app/src
ormy-app/app_modules
) and then to add the application root to the search path. The require calls would then be something likerequire('src/foo')
orrequire('app_modules/foo')
. The common prefix makes it more clear that the module can be found in the application's modules directory and not in thenode_modules
directory.
- Since this module changes the Node.js convention of how non-relative modules are resolved, it is recommended (but not required) to put all app modules in a common directory below the application root (such as
Pull requests, bug reports and feature requests welcome.
BSD-2-Clause