Source Code: lib/readline.js
\nThe readline module provides an interface for reading data from a Readable\nstream (such as process.stdin) one line at a time. It can be accessed\nusing:
const readline = require('readline');\nThe following simple example illustrates the basic use of the readline module.
const readline = require('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});\nOnce 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.
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.
The 'close' event is emitted when one of the following occur:
rl.close() method is called and the readline.Interface instance has\nrelinquished control over the input and output streams;input stream receives its 'end' event;input stream receives <ctrl>-D to signal end-of-transmission (EOT);input stream receives <ctrl>-C to signal SIGINT and there is no\n'SIGINT' event listener registered on the readline.Interface instance.The listener function is called without passing any arguments.
\nThe 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 the <Enter>, or <Return> keys.
The listener function is called with a string containing the single line of\nreceived input.
\nrl.on('line', (input) => {\n console.log(`Received: ${input}`);\n});\nThe 'pause' event is emitted when one of the following occur:
input stream is paused.input stream is not paused and receives the 'SIGCONT' event. (See\nevents 'SIGTSTP' and 'SIGCONT'.)The listener function is called without passing any arguments.
\nrl.on('pause', () => {\n console.log('Readline paused.');\n});\nThe 'resume' event is emitted whenever the input stream is resumed.
The listener function is called without passing any arguments.
\nrl.on('resume', () => {\n console.log('Readline resumed.');\n});\nThe 'SIGCONT' event is emitted when a Node.js process previously moved into\nthe background using <ctrl>-Z (i.e. SIGTSTP) is then brought back to the\nforeground using fg(1p).
If the input stream was paused before the SIGTSTP request, this event will\nnot be emitted.
The listener function is invoked without passing any arguments.
\nrl.on('SIGCONT', () => {\n // `prompt` will automatically resume the stream\n rl.prompt();\n});\nThe 'SIGCONT' event is not supported on Windows.
The 'SIGINT' event is emitted whenever the input stream receives a\n<ctrl>-C input, known typically as SIGINT. If there are no 'SIGINT' event\nlisteners registered when the input stream receives a SIGINT, the 'pause'\nevent will be emitted.
The listener function is invoked without passing any arguments.
\nrl.on('SIGINT', () => {\n rl.question('Are you sure you want to exit? ', (answer) => {\n if (answer.match(/^y(es)?$/i)) rl.pause();\n });\n});\nThe 'SIGTSTP' event is emitted when the input stream receives a <ctrl>-Z\ninput, typically known as SIGTSTP. If there are no 'SIGTSTP' event listeners\nregistered when the input stream receives a SIGTSTP, the Node.js process\nwill 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.
The listener function is invoked without passing any arguments.
\nrl.on('SIGTSTP', () => {\n // This will override SIGTSTP and prevent the program from going to the\n // background.\n console.log('Caught SIGTSTP.');\n});\nThe '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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Example usage:
\nrl.question('What is your favorite food? ', (answer) => {\n console.log(`Oh, so your favorite food is ${answer}`);\n});\nThe 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.
The rl.resume() method resumes the input stream if it has been paused.
The rl.setPrompt() method sets the prompt that will be written to output\nwhenever rl.prompt() is called.
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.
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' });\nThe rl.write() method will write the data to the readline Interface's\ninput as if it were provided by the user.
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.
Errors in the input stream are not forwarded.
\nIf 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.
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}\nReturns 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.
" } ], "properties": [ { "textRaw": "`line` {string|undefined}", "type": "string|undefined", "name": "line", "meta": { "added": [ "v0.1.98" ], "changes": [] }, "desc": "The current input data being processed by node.
\nThis 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.
Be aware that modifying the value during the instance runtime may have\nunintended consequences if rl.cursor is not also controlled.
If not using a TTY stream for input, use the 'line' event.
One possible use case would be as follows:
\nconst 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});\nThe cursor position relative to 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.
" } ] } ], "methods": [ { "textRaw": "`readline.clearLine(stream, dir[, callback])`", "type": "method", "name": "clearLine", "meta": { "added": [ "v0.7.7" ], "changes": [ { "version": "v12.7.0", "pr-url": "https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/28674", "description": "The stream's write() callback and return value are exposed." } ] }, "signatures": [ { "return": { "textRaw": "Returns: {boolean} `false` if `stream` wishes for the calling code to wait for the `'drain'` event to be emitted before continuing to write additional data; otherwise `true`.", "name": "return", "type": "boolean", "desc": "`false` if `stream` wishes for the calling code to wait for the `'drain'` event to be emitted before continuing to write additional data; otherwise `true`." }, "params": [ { "textRaw": "`stream` {stream.Writable}", "name": "stream", "type": "stream.Writable" }, { "textRaw": "`dir` {number}", "name": "dir", "type": "number", "options": [ { "textRaw": "`-1`: to the left from cursor", "name": "-1", "desc": "to the left from cursor" }, { "textRaw": "`1`: to the right from cursor", "name": "1", "desc": "to the right from cursor" }, { "textRaw": "`0`: the entire line", "name": "0", "desc": "the entire line" } ] }, { "textRaw": "`callback` {Function} Invoked once the operation completes.", "name": "callback", "type": "Function", "desc": "Invoked once the operation completes." } ] } ], "desc": "The readline.clearLine() method clears current line of given TTY stream\nin a specified direction identified by dir.
The readline.clearScreenDown() method clears the given TTY stream from\nthe current position of the cursor down.
The readline.createInterface() method creates a new readline.Interface\ninstance.
const readline = require('readline');\nconst rl = readline.createInterface({\n input: process.stdin,\n output: process.stdout\n});\nOnce 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});\nIf 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).
The completer function takes the current line entered by the user\nas an argument, and returns an Array with 2 entries:
Array with matching entries for the completion.For instance: [[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}\nThe completer function can be called asynchronously if it accepts two\narguments:
function completer(linePartial, callback) {\n callback(null, [['123'], linePartial]);\n}\nThe readline.cursorTo() method moves cursor to the specified position in a\ngiven TTY stream.
The readline.emitKeypressEvents() method causes the given Readable\nstream to begin emitting 'keypress' events corresponding to received input.
Optionally, interface specifies a readline.Interface instance for which\nautocompletion is disabled when copy-pasted input is detected.
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);\nThe readline.moveCursor() method moves the cursor relative to its current\nposition in a given TTY stream.
The following example illustrates the use of readline.Interface class to\nimplement a small command-line interface:
const readline = require('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});\nA common use case for 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:
const fs = require('fs');\nconst readline = require('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();\nAlternatively, one could use the 'line' event:
const fs = require('fs');\nconst readline = require('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});\nCurrently, for await...of loop can be a bit slower. If async / await\nflow and speed are both essential, a mixed approach can be applied:
const { once } = require('events');\nconst { createReadStream } = require('fs');\nconst { createInterface } = require('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| Keybindings | \nDescription | \nNotes | \n
|---|---|---|
ctrl + shift + backspace | \n Delete line left | \nDoesn't work on Linux, Mac and Windows | \n
ctrl + shift + delete | \n Delete line right | \nDoesn't work on Mac | \n
ctrl + c | \n Emit SIGINT or close the readline instance | \n \n |
ctrl + h | \n Delete left | \n\n |
ctrl + d | \n Delete right or close the readline instance in case the current line is empty / EOF | \nDoesn't work on Windows | \n
ctrl + u | \n Delete from the current position to the line start | \n\n |
ctrl + k | \n Delete from the current position to the end of line | \n\n |
ctrl + a | \n Go to start of line | \n\n |
ctrl + e | \n Go to to end of line | \n\n |
ctrl + b | \n Back one character | \n\n |
ctrl + f | \n Forward one character | \n\n |
ctrl + l | \n Clear screen | \n\n |
ctrl + n | \n Next history item | \n\n |
ctrl + p | \n Previous history item | \n\n |
ctrl + z | \n Moves running process into background. Type\n fg and press enter\n to return. | \n Doesn't work on Windows | \n
ctrl + w or ctrl\n + backspace | \n Delete backwards to a word boundary | \nctrl + backspace Doesn't\n work on Linux, Mac and Windows | \n
ctrl + delete | \n Delete forward to a word boundary | \nDoesn't work on Mac | \n
ctrl + left or\n meta + b | \n Word left | \nctrl + left Doesn't work\n on Mac | \n
ctrl + right or\n meta + f | \n Word right | \nctrl + right Doesn't work\n on Mac | \n
meta + d or meta\n + delete | \n Delete word right | \nmeta + delete Doesn't work\n on windows | \n
meta + backspace | \n Delete word left | \nDoesn't work on Mac | \n