filesize.js
A lightweight, high-performance file size utility for JavaScript that converts bytes to human-readable strings. Works in both Node.js and browser environments with comprehensive format support.
Installation
npm install filesizeUsage
ES Modules
import {filesize} from "filesize";
filesize(265318, {standard: "jedec"}); // "259.1 KB"CommonJS
const {filesize} = require("filesize");
filesize(1024); // "1.02 kB"Partial Application
import {partial} from "filesize";
const size = partial({standard: "jedec"});
size(265318); // "259.1 KB"Parameters
- input {Number|String|BigInt}- The value to convert (required)
- options {Object}- Configuration object (optional)
Options Object
- base {Number}- Number base, default is10
- bits {Boolean}- Enablesbitsizes, default isfalse
- exponent {Number}- Specifies the symbol via exponent, e.g.2isMBfor base 2, default is-1
- fullform {Boolean}- Enables full form of unit of measure, default isfalse
- fullforms {Array}- Array of full form overrides, default is[]
- locale {String|Boolean}- BCP 47 language tag to specify a locale, ortrueto use default locale, default is""
- localeOptions {Object}- Dictionary of options defined by ECMA-402 (Number.prototype.toLocaleString)
- output {String}- Output of function (array,exponent,object, orstring), default isstring
- pad {Boolean}- Decimal place end padding, default isfalse
- precision {Number}- Sets precision of numerical output, default is0
- round {Number}- Decimal place, default is2
- roundingMethod {String}- Rounding method, can beround,floor, orceil, default isround
- separator {String}- Decimal separator character, default is an empty string
- spacer {String}- Character between theresultandsymbol, default is" "
- standard {String}- Standard unit of measure, can beiec,jedec, orsi. Default issi(base 10)
- symbols {Object}- Dictionary of IEC/JEDEC symbols to replace for localization
Input Validation
The function validates input and throws TypeError for invalid values:
// Invalid input will throw TypeError
try {
  filesize("invalid");
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error.message); // "Invalid input"
}
try {
  filesize(NaN);
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error.message); // "Invalid input"
}Testing
filesize.js maintains 100% test coverage across all metrics with a comprehensive test suite of 47 test cases:
-------------|---------|----------|---------|---------|-------------------
File         | % Stmts | % Branch | % Funcs | % Lines | Uncovered Line #s 
-------------|---------|----------|---------|---------|-------------------
All files    |     100 |      100 |     100 |     100 |                   
 filesize.js |     100 |      100 |     100 |     100 |                   
-------------|---------|----------|---------|---------|-------------------Running Tests
# Run all tests (linting + unit tests)
npm test
# Run only unit tests
npm run mochaTest Coverage
The test suite comprehensively covers:
- Basic functionality: Core conversion logic and edge cases
- Output formats: All output types (string, array, object, exponent)
- Standards support: IEC, JEDEC, and SI standards with different bases
- Bit conversion: Bits vs bytes with auto-increment logic
- Precision handling: Rounding methods and decimal precision
- Localization: Locale formatting and custom symbols
- Error handling: Invalid inputs and boundary conditions
- Partial functions: All option combinations with curried functions
Performance Benchmarks
filesize.js is optimized for high performance with comprehensive benchmarks covering various usage patterns:
🚀 Performance Overview
| Scenario | Operations/sec | Notes | 
|---|---|---|
| Basic conversion | ~16-27M ops/sec | Fastest operations (large numbers) | 
| Small numbers | ~18-20M ops/sec | Consistent performance | 
| With options | ~5-13M ops/sec | Depends on option complexity | 
| Locale formatting | ~91K ops/sec | Most expensive operation | 
| Stress testing | ~2-10M ops/sec | Handles edge cases gracefully | 
📊 Detailed Benchmark Results
Basic Performance (5-run average)
- filesize(0): 18.6M ops/sec
- filesize(512): 20.3M ops/sec
- filesize(1024): 18.7M ops/sec
- filesize(1048576): 23.5M ops/sec
- filesize(1073741824): 23.6M ops/sec
- filesize(1099511627776): 26.9M ops/sec
- With bits=true: 16.8M ops/sec
- With standard="iec": 16.6M ops/sec
- With round=4: 13.4M ops/sec
Options Performance Impact
- bits=true: 12.5M ops/sec
- pad=true: 5.6M ops/sec
- locale="en-US": 91K ops/sec (significant overhead)
- standard="iec": 8.8M ops/sec
- standard="jedec": 9.0M ops/sec
- output="array": 10.2M ops/sec
- output="object": 9.2M ops/sec
- fullform=true: 7.8M ops/sec
- precision=3: 6.3M ops/sec
- separator=",": 7.2M ops/sec
Stress Test Results
- Edge cases: 2.3M ops/sec (90% success rate)
- Very large numbers: 4.6M ops/sec (100% success)
- Very small numbers: 10.4M ops/sec (100% success)
- Negative numbers: 5.4M ops/sec (100% success)
- Random options: 2.3M ops/sec (100% success)
- BigInt values: 3.7M ops/sec (100% success)
- Memory pressure: 49K ops/sec (100% success)
- Error conditions: 715K ops/sec (~40% success rate)
Partial Function Performance
Partial functions maintain excellent performance with minimal overhead:
- Acceptable overhead: 1.1-1.4x slower for most configurations
- Locale partials: Significant overhead (~180x slower) due to locale formatting
- Creation cost: Amortized across multiple uses
💡 Performance Insights
Excellent Performance (>10M ops/sec)
- Basic conversions with minimal options
- Large number processing (1TB+ values)
- Standard output formats (string, array, object)
- IEC and JEDEC standards
Good Performance (1-10M ops/sec)
- Complex option combinations
- Precision and rounding operations
- Fullform output
- Stress test scenarios
Use Sparingly (<100K ops/sec)
- Locale formatting (significant overhead ~91K ops/sec)
- Memory pressure conditions
🎯 Optimization Tips
- Cache partial functions for repeated operations with same options
- Avoid locale formatting in performance-critical code
- Use object output for fastest structured data
- Batch similar operations together
- Profile your specific usage patterns
Running Benchmarks
# Run all benchmarks
cd benchmarks && node index.js
# Run specific benchmark
node benchmarks/basic-performance.js
# With garbage collection (more accurate)
node --expose-gc benchmarks/index.js🔥 Recent Performance Optimizations (v11.0.8)
The latest version includes significant performance improvements:
- Pre-computed lookup tables for Math operations (eliminates expensive Math.pow()calls)
- Optimized base/standard logic with reduced branching
- Fast path for zero values with minimal computation
- Cached object property access to reduce repeated lookups
- Improved mathematical operations with conditional calculations
Overall performance improvement: 30-70% faster across common use cases while maintaining full backward compatibility.
Benchmarks run on macOS ARM64, Node.js v24.8.0, 12 CPU cores, 24GB RAM (5-run averages)
API Reference
Functions
filesize(input, options)
Converts a numeric value to a human-readable file size string.
Parameters:
- input- {Number|String|BigInt}- The value to convert
- options- {Object}- Configuration options (optional)
Returns: {String|Array|Object|Number} - Formatted size based on output option
filesize(500); // "500 B"
filesize(1024, {base: 2}); // "1 KiB"
filesize(265318, {output: "array"}); // [265.32, "kB"]See also: partial()
partial(options)
Creates a pre-configured filesize function with options applied.
Parameters:
- options- {Object}- Configuration options to apply
Returns: {Function} - New function with options pre-applied
const formatBinary = partial({base: 2, standard: "iec"});
formatBinary(1048576); // "1 MiB"
const formatBits = partial({bits: true});
formatBits(1024); // "8.19 kbit"See also: filesize()
Output Formats
String Output (default)
filesize(265318); // "265.32 kB"
filesize(265318, {separator: ","}); // "265,32 kB"Array Output
filesize(265318, {output: "array"}); // [265.32, "kB"]
filesize(1024, {output: "array", base: 2}); // [1, "KiB"]Object Output
filesize(265318, {output: "object"}); 
// {value: 265.32, symbol: "kB", exponent: 1, unit: "kB"}Exponent Output
filesize(1024, {output: "exponent"}); // 1
filesize(1048576, {output: "exponent", base: 2}); // 2Standards Support
SI (International System of Units) - Default
filesize(1000); // "1 kB" (base 10)
filesize(1000000); // "1 MB"IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission)
filesize(1024, {standard: "iec", base: 2}); // "1 KiB"
filesize(1048576, {standard: "iec", base: 2}); // "1 MiB"JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council)
filesize(1024, {standard: "jedec"}); // "1 KB"
filesize(1048576, {standard: "jedec"}); // "1 MB"Examples
Basic Usage
import {filesize} from "filesize";
filesize(500); // "500 B"
filesize(1024); // "1.02 kB"
filesize(265318); // "265.32 kB"
filesize(265318, {round: 0}); // "265 kB"Binary Formats
// IEC binary prefixes (KiB, MiB, GiB)
filesize(1024, {base: 2, standard: "iec"}); // "1 KiB"
filesize(1048576, {base: 2, standard: "iec"}); // "1 MiB"
// JEDEC binary format (KB, MB, GB with binary calculation)
filesize(1024, {standard: "jedec"}); // "1 KB"
filesize(265318, {standard: "jedec"}); // "259.1 KB"Bits vs Bytes
filesize(500, {bits: true}); // "4 kbit"
filesize(1024, {bits: true}); // "8.19 kbit"
filesize(1024, {bits: true, base: 2}); // "8 Kibit"Custom Formatting
// Full form units
filesize(1024, {fullform: true}); // "1.02 kilobytes"
filesize(1024, {base: 2, fullform: true}); // "1 kibibyte"
// Custom separators and spacing
filesize(265318, {separator: ","}); // "265,32 kB"
filesize(265318, {spacer: ""}); // "265.32kB"
// Precision and padding
filesize(1536, {round: 3, pad: true}); // "1.536 kB"
filesize(1536, {precision: 3}); // "1.54 kB"Localization
// German locale
filesize(265318, {locale: "de"}); // "265,32 kB"
// Custom symbols
filesize(1, {symbols: {B: "Б"}}); // "1 Б"
// Custom full forms
filesize(12, {fullform: true, fullforms: ["байтов"]}); // "12 байтов"Advanced Usage
// Specific exponent
filesize(1024, {exponent: 0}); // "1024 B"
filesize(1024, {exponent: 1}); // "1.02 kB"
// BigInt support
filesize(BigInt(1024), {standard: "jedec"}); // "1 KB"
// Extreme precision for very large numbers
filesize(Math.pow(1024, 8), {precision: 3}); // "1.21 YB"Partial Application Patterns
import {partial} from "filesize";
// Create specialized formatters
const formatBinary = partial({base: 2, standard: "iec"});
const formatBits = partial({bits: true});
const formatPrecise = partial({round: 3, pad: true});
const formatGerman = partial({locale: "de"});
// Use throughout application
formatBinary(1048576); // "1 MiB"
formatBits(1024); // "8.19 kbit"
formatPrecise(1536); // "1.536 kB"
formatGerman(265318); // "265,32 kB"
// Method chaining equivalent
const sizes = [1024, 2048, 4096];
sizes.map(formatBinary); // ["1 KiB", "2 KiB", "4 KiB"]Development
This project follows Node.js best practices and uses:
- ES Modules for modern JavaScript
- Mocha for testing with comprehensive coverage
- ESLint for code quality and consistency
- Rollup for building distributions
- TypeScript definitions for type safety
Project Structure
filesize.js/
├── src/
│   ├── filesize.js      # Main implementation
│   └── constants.js     # Unit definitions and constants
├── tests/
│   └── unit/
│       └── filesize.test.js  # Comprehensive test suite
├── types/
│   ├── filesize.d.ts    # TypeScript definitions
│   └── constants.d.ts   # Constants type definitions
└── package.json         # Dependencies and scriptsContributing
- Fork the repository
- Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
- Write tests for your changes
- Ensure all tests pass (npm test)
- Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
- Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
- Open a Pull Request
Development Workflow
filesize.js includes an optimized development workflow with modern build tools:
- 🔄 Live Reload: Use npm run devfor automatic rebuilds during development
- 📊 Bundle Analysis: Monitor build sizes with npm run build:analyze
- ⚡ Fast Testing: Live test running with npm run test:watch
- 🔧 Auto-fixing: Automatic linting fixes with npm run lint:fix
- 📈 Performance: Optimized Rollup configuration with enhanced tree shaking
Build Output Analysis:
- Minified ES Module: ~1.8KB (gzipped)
- UMD Bundle: ~1.9KB (gzipped)
- Comprehensive source maps included
Development Commands
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Development mode with live rebuild
npm run dev
# Build distribution
npm run build
# Build with bundle size analysis
npm run build:analyze
# Live rebuild during development
npm run build:watch
# Run linting
npm run lint
# Auto-fix linting issues
npm run lint:fix
# Run tests
npm test
# Live testing during development
npm run test:watch
# Run only unit tests
npm run mocha
# Bundle size analysis
npm run analyze:size
# Benchmarking
npm run benchmark
npm run benchmark:basic
npm run benchmark:stressLicense
Copyright (c) 2025 Jason Mulligan
Licensed under the BSD-3 license.
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