File System Explorer API

A Node.js server that provides an API for exploring and downloading system files and directories.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (version 14 or later)
• npm (Node.js package manager)

Installation

1. Install required dependencies:

npm install

2. Start the server:

node server.js

The server will run on port 3000: http://localhost:3000

API Endpoints

1. List Available Drives

GET /files

Returns a list of all available drives in the system with their details.

Response

{
    "isDrivesList": true,
    "drives": [
        {
            "mounted": "C:",
            "filesystem": "NTFS",
            "size": 256060514304,
            "used": 186504359936,
            "available": 69556154368,
            "capacity": "73%",
            "path": "C:\\"
        }
    ]
}

2. List Directory Contents

GET /files?path={directoryPath}

Returns the contents of the specified directory.

Parameters

• path (query): Full path to the directory (e.g., C:\Users)

Response

{
    "isDrivesList": false,
    "currentPath": "C:\\Users",
    "contents": [
        {
            "name": "Documents",
            "path": "C:\\Users\\Documents",
            "isDirectory": true,
            "size": 4096,
            "created": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
            "modified": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
            "downloadUrl": null
        },
        {
            "name": "example.txt",
            "path": "C:\\Users\\example.txt",
            "isDirectory": false,
            "size": 1024,
            "created": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
            "modified": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
            "downloadUrl": "/download?path=C%3A%5CUsers%5Cexample.txt"
        }
    ]
}

3. Download File

GET /download?path={filePath}

Downloads the specified file.

Parameters

• path (query): Full path to the file to download

Response

• Success: File download starts
• Error: JSON error message

{
    "error": "Error message here"
}

Quick Start Guide

1. View Available Drives

   GET http://localhost:3000/files
   

   Lists all available drives in your system.

2. Browse Directory

   GET http://localhost:3000/files?path=C:\Users
   

   Shows contents of the specified directory.

3. Download File

   GET http://localhost:3000/download?path=C:\Users\example.txt
   

   Downloads the specified file.

Error Handling

The API returns appropriate HTTP status codes:

• 200: Success
• 400: Bad Request (invalid parameters)
• 404: Not Found (file/directory doesn't exist)
• 500: Internal Server Error

Error responses include a JSON object with error details:

{
    "error": "Error message",
    "details": "Additional error details"
}

Security Notes

1. Access Control

   • The server has access to system files
   • Implement authentication if used in production
   • Restrict access to sensitive directories

2. File Access

   • Some files/directories might be inaccessible due to permissions
   • System files (containing '$' in name) are filtered out
   • Directory traversal is prevented

Development

Built with:

• Express.js - Web framework
• node-disk-info - Drive information
• cors - Cross-origin resource sharing