Get user input through Node.js console

I have just started using Node.js, and I don’t know how to get user input. I am looking for the JavaScript counterpart of the python function input() or the C function gets. Thanks.

Answer

There are 3 options you could use. I will walk you through these examples:

(Option 1) prompt-sync: In my opinion, it is the simpler one. It is a module available on npm and you can refer to the docs for more examples prompt-sync.

npm install prompt-sync

const prompt = require("prompt-sync")({ sigint: true });
const age = prompt("How old are you? ");
console.log(`You are ${age} years old.`);

(Option 2) prompt: It is another module available on npm:

npm install prompt

const prompt = require('prompt');

prompt.start();

prompt.get(['username', 'email'], function (err, result) {
    if (err) { return onErr(err); }
    console.log('Command-line input received:');
    console.log('  Username: ' + result.username);
    console.log('  Email: ' + result.email);
});

function onErr(err) {
    console.log(err);
    return 1;
}

(Option 3) readline: It is a built-in module in Node.js. You only need to run the code below:

const readline = require("readline");
const rl = readline.createInterface({
    input: process.stdin,
    output: process.stdout
});

rl.question("What is your name ? ", function(name) {
    rl.question("Where do you live ? ", function(country) {
        console.log(`${name}, is a citizen of ${country}`);
        rl.close();
    });
});

rl.on("close", function() {
    console.log("nBYE BYE !!!");
    process.exit(0);
});

Enjoy!