Working Directory
The working directory determines the base path for file system operations and module resolution in your code. By default, PlayJS uses a system-assigned temporary directory. You can change it to any folder on your machine.
Why It Matters
When your code performs file system operations — such as reading or writing files with fs — the paths are resolved relative to the working directory. For example:
import fs from 'fs'
// Reads from <working-directory>/data.json
const data = fs.readFileSync('data.json', 'utf-8')
If you set the working directory to /Users/you/projects/my-app, then data.json resolves to /Users/you/projects/my-app/data.json.
The working directory also affects:
- Module resolution — Relative
importandrequirepaths are resolved from this directory process.cwd()— Returns the current working directory
Setting the Working Directory
Go to the menu Action → Set Working Directory and select a folder. The change takes effect immediately for all subsequent code executions.
Use Cases
- Working with local files — Point the working directory to a folder containing data files, configuration, or assets you want to read or write
- Testing Node.js scripts — Set it to your project root so that relative paths and module imports resolve correctly
- Accessing project resources — Read JSON configs, CSV data, or any files from a specific project folder
