require-tree

require-tree
============

!NPM

A require()-like method for directories, returning an object that mirrors the file tree.

npm install require-tree

Usage

Considering this file structure:

* models
* user.js
* page.js
* item.js

Requiring the models directory will return an object containing each exported module:

``javascript
var require_tree = require('require-tree')
require_tree('./models')
/* {
user: [object Object],
page: [object Object],
item: [object Object]
} */
`

Directories can be deeply nested, andindex.js files are merged into their parent by default:

`javascript
// api/user.js:
module.exports = {
profile: function(){},
posts: function(){}
}

// api/pages/index.js:
module.exports = {
list: function(){}
}

// api/pages/edit.js:
module.exports = {
getPermissions: function(){},
remove: function(){}
}

var api = require_tree('./api')
`

This will yield

- api.user.profile
- api.user.posts
- api.pages.list
- api.pages.edit.getPermissions
- api.pages.edit.remove

$3

`javascript
require_tree(path, { options })
`

#### { name: string | function (exports) }

Use a property of the exports object as it's key (instead of the filename) in the final object.

`javascript
// models/user-model.js
module.exports = {
id: 'user',
attrs: {}
}

require_tree('./models', { name: 'id' })
require_tree('./models', { name: function (obj) { return obj.id } })
// => { user: { id: 'user', attrs: {} } }
`

#### { filter: string | regexp | function }

Filter the required files. Strings can use a wildcard '*' and are expanded into regular expressions. You can also provide your own RegExp, or a function that receives the filename as an argument, and returns true or false.

`javascript
require_tree('./path', { filter: '*-model' })
require_tree('./path', { filter: /^model/ })
require_tree('./path', { filter: function (filename) { return filename.indexOf('model') === 0 } })
`

#### { keys: string | array | regexp | function }

Use to return only certain keys from exported objects.

`javascript
require_tree('./models', { keys: 'at*' })
require_tree('./models', { keys: ['attrs'] })
require_tree('./models', { keys: function (key){ return key.indexOf('attrs') >= 0 } })
// => { user: { attrs: {} } }
`

#### { each: function }

Callback to run after each file is required. Doesn't modify the exported object.

`javascript
require_tree('./items', { each: function (obj) { items.insert(obj) } })
`

#### { transform: function }

Same as each, but can modify the exports object.

`javascript
require_tree('./models', { transform: function (obj) { return new Model(obj) } })
`

#### { index: 'merge', 'ignore', 'preserve' }

* merge (default): merges the index.js exports at the root of it's parent
ignore: causes index.js files to not be loaded* at all
* preserve: puts the index.js export object under the .index property

For backwards compatibility, a value of true is equal to preserve, while false is equal to ignore.

- controllers
- index.js
- users.js
- ...

`javascript
// controllers/index.js:
module.exports = {
init: function () { ... }
}

var controllers = require_tree('./controllers', { index: 'preserve' })
controllers.index.init()

var controllers = require_tree('./controllers', { index: 'ignore' })
controllers.index // undefined

var controllers = require_tree('./controllers', { index: 'merge' })
controllers.init()
`

$3

require-tree must always be required in the local scope, never shared between modules or as a global. Paths are resolved relative to the parent module, like require itself, so it's behaviour depends on module.parent being set correctly. If necessary, you can use absolute paths (__dirname + '/path') or set the NODE_PATH` environment variable.