Replace a string in a file with nodejs

Perhaps the "replace" module (www.npmjs.org/package/replace) also would work for you. It would not require you to read and then write the file.

Adapted from the documentation:

// install:

npm install replace 

// require:

var replace = require("replace");

// use:

replace({
    regex: "string to be replaced",
    replacement: "replacement string",
    paths: ['path/to/your/file'],
    recursive: true,
    silent: true,
});

You could use simple regex:

var result = fileAsString.replace(/string to be replaced/g, 'replacement');

So...

var fs = require('fs')
fs.readFile(someFile, 'utf8', function (err,data) {
  if (err) {
    return console.log(err);
  }
  var result = data.replace(/string to be replaced/g, 'replacement');

  fs.writeFile(someFile, result, 'utf8', function (err) {
     if (err) return console.log(err);
  });
});

Since replace wasn't working for me, I've created a simple npm package replace-in-file to quickly replace text in one or more files. It's partially based on @asgoth's answer.

Edit (3 October 2016): The package now supports promises and globs, and the usage instructions have been updated to reflect this.

Edit (16 March 2018): The package has amassed over 100k monthly downloads now and has been extended with additional features as well as a CLI tool.

Install:

npm install replace-in-file

Require module

const replace = require('replace-in-file');

Specify replacement options

const options = {

  //Single file
  files: 'path/to/file',

  //Multiple files
  files: [
    'path/to/file',
    'path/to/other/file',
  ],

  //Glob(s) 
  files: [
    'path/to/files/*.html',
    'another/**/*.path',
  ],

  //Replacement to make (string or regex) 
  from: /Find me/g,
  to: 'Replacement',
};

Asynchronous replacement with promises:

replace(options)
  .then(changedFiles => {
    console.log('Modified files:', changedFiles.join(', '));
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.error('Error occurred:', error);
  });

Asynchronous replacement with callback:

replace(options, (error, changedFiles) => {
  if (error) {
    return console.error('Error occurred:', error);
  }
  console.log('Modified files:', changedFiles.join(', '));
});

Synchronous replacement:

try {
  let changedFiles = replace.sync(options);
  console.log('Modified files:', changedFiles.join(', '));
}
catch (error) {
  console.error('Error occurred:', error);
}