When you work with files and directories in Node.js, handling file paths correctly is essential. Different operating systems use different path formats, so you need a reliable way to build, resolve, and extract information from file paths.

The path module is a built-in Node.js utility that helps you work with file paths in a cross-platform way. By using the methods provided by the path module, you avoid subtle bugs and make your code portable across Windows, macOS, and Linux. The path module does not interact with the file system itself, instead, it helps you format and analyze path strings safely and consistently.

The code sample demonstrates how to use the path module to handle file paths in a way that works on any operating system.

You first require the path module, then use path.join to combine directory and file name segments into a single, normalized path string. This ensures that the correct path separators are used, whether you are on Windows or Unix-based systems.

Next, path.resolve is used to turn a series of relative path segments into an absolute path based on the current working directory. This is useful when you need to reference files reliably, regardless of where your script is run.

Finally, path.basename extracts just the file name from a complete path, which is helpful when you only need the name of the file, not the full path.

By using these methods, you make your code more robust and portable across different environments.