Node.js stats.nlink Property from fs.Stats Class

Last Updated : 25 Jun, 2020
The stats.nlink property is an inbuilt application programming interface of the fs.Stats class which is used to get the number of hard-links for the file. Syntax: 
stats.nlink;
Return Value: It returns a number or BigInt value which represents the number of hard-links for the file. Below examples illustrate the use of stats.nlink property in Node.js: Example 1: javascript 
// Node.js program to demonstrate the   
// stats.nlink property

// Accessing fs module
const fs = require('fs');

// Calling fs.Stats stats.nlink for 
// files using stat
fs.stat('./filename.txt', (err, stats) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log("using stat: number of "
    + "hard-links for the file is "
    + stats.nlink);
});
 
// Using lstat
fs.lstat('./filename.txt', (err, stats) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log("using lstat: number of "
    + "hard-links for the file is "
    + stats.nlink);
});

// For directories
// Using stat
fs.stat('./', (err, stats) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log("using stat: number of "
    + "hard-links for the file is "
    + stats.nlink);
});
 
// Using lstat
fs.lstat('./', (err, stats) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log("using lstat: number of "
    + "hard-links for the file is "
    + stats.nlink);
});
Output: 
using stat: number of hard-links for the file is  1
using lstat: number of hard-links for the file is  1
using stat: number of hard-links for the file is  1
using lstat: number of hard-links for the file is  1
Example 2: javascript 
// Node.js program to demonstrate the   
// stats.nlink property

// Accessing fs module
const fs = require('fs').promises;

// Calling fs.Stats stats.nlink
(async () => {
    const stats = await fs.stat('./filename.txt');
    console.log("using stat synchronous: number "
        + "of hard-links for the file is "
        + stats.nlink);
})().catch(console.error)
Output: 
(node:13780) ExperimentalWarning: The fs.promises API 
is experimental 
using stat synchronous: number of hard-links for the file is 1
Note: The above program will compile and run by using the node filename.js command and use the file_path correctly. Reference: https://nodejs.org/api/fs.html#fs_stats_nlink
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