tessl/npm-read-chunk
Read a chunk from a file
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Read Chunk
Read Chunk is a Node.js utility library that provides both asynchronous and synchronous APIs for reading specific chunks of data from files. It eliminates the boilerplate code typically required with Node.js built-in fs methods by handling file descriptor management automatically and returning data as Uint8Array buffers.
Package Information
- Package Name: read-chunk
- Package Type: npm
- Language: JavaScript (ES modules)
- Installation:
npm install read-chunk
Core Imports
import { readChunk, readChunkSync } from "read-chunk";For TypeScript projects:
import { readChunk, readChunkSync, type Options } from "read-chunk";Basic Usage
import { readChunk, readChunkSync } from "read-chunk";
// Asynchronous usage
const chunk = await readChunk('foo.txt', {
length: 3,
startPosition: 1
});
console.log(chunk); // Uint8Array containing the chunk data
// Synchronous usage
const chunkSync = readChunkSync('foo.txt', {
length: 3,
startPosition: 1
});
console.log(chunkSync); // Uint8Array containing the chunk dataCapabilities
Asynchronous File Chunk Reading
Read a chunk from a file asynchronously using Node.js file descriptor operations.
/**
* Read a chunk from a file asynchronously
* @param filePath - The path to the file
* @param options - Configuration options for the read operation
* @returns Promise resolving to the read chunk as Uint8Array
*/
function readChunk(filePath: string, options: Options): Promise<Uint8Array>;Usage:
import { readChunk } from "read-chunk";
// Read 10 bytes starting from position 5
const chunk = await readChunk('/path/to/file.txt', {
length: 10,
startPosition: 5
});
// Read from beginning of file (startPosition defaults to 0)
const header = await readChunk('/path/to/binary-file.bin', {
length: 1024
});Synchronous File Chunk Reading
Read a chunk from a file synchronously using Node.js file descriptor operations.
/**
* Read a chunk from a file synchronously
* @param filePath - The path to the file
* @param options - Configuration options for the read operation
* @returns The read chunk as Uint8Array
*/
function readChunkSync(filePath: string, options: Options): Uint8Array;Usage:
import { readChunkSync } from "read-chunk";
// Read 10 bytes starting from position 5
const chunk = readChunkSync('/path/to/file.txt', {
length: 10,
startPosition: 5
});
// Read from beginning of file
const header = readChunkSync('/path/to/binary-file.bin', {
length: 1024
});Types
interface Options {
/** The number of bytes to read */
readonly length: number;
/**
* The position to start reading from (defaults to 0)
* Can be specified as number or bigint for large file positions
*/
readonly startPosition?: number | bigint;
}Error Handling
Both functions handle file descriptor cleanup automatically using try/finally blocks. File system errors (such as file not found, permission denied, or invalid file paths) are propagated to the caller as native Node.js fs errors.
Common error scenarios:
- ENOENT: File does not exist
- EACCES: Permission denied
- EISDIR: Path is a directory, not a file
- EMFILE: Too many open files
Buffer Management
- Returns
Uint8Arrayfor consistent binary data handling across all platforms - Automatically trims the buffer if fewer bytes are read than requested (e.g., when reading near end of file)
- Uses native Node.js file descriptor operations for efficient reading without loading entire file into memory
- No external dependencies - uses only Node.js built-in modules (
node:fs,node:fs/promises)
Platform Requirements
- Minimum Node.js version: 18
- Module type: ES modules only (uses
import/exportsyntax) - Platform support: All platforms supported by Node.js
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