How to Get Platform in Node.js: Simple Guide

In Node.js, you can get the current platform by using process.platform. This property returns a string like 'win32', 'linux', or 'darwin' that identifies the operating system platform.

Syntax

The platform is accessed via the process.platform property in Node.js. It returns a string representing the operating system platform.

• process: A global object in Node.js that provides information about the current Node.js process.
• platform: A property of process that holds the platform name as a string.

javascript

process.platform

Output

'win32' // example output on Windows

Example

This example shows how to print the current platform to the console. It demonstrates how to use process.platform to detect the operating system.

javascript

console.log('Current platform:', process.platform);

Output

Current platform: linux

Common Pitfalls

Some common mistakes when getting the platform in Node.js include:

• Trying to use navigator.platform which works in browsers but not in Node.js.
• Assuming platform strings are the same across all systems; for example, macOS returns 'darwin', not 'mac'.
• Not handling platform-specific code properly when writing cross-platform applications.

javascript

/* Wrong way (browser code, not Node.js) */
console.log(typeof navigator !== 'undefined' ? navigator.platform : undefined); // undefined in Node.js

/* Right way */
console.log(process.platform); // 'win32', 'linux', or 'darwin'

Output

undefined
Current platform: linux

Quick Reference

Common values returned by process.platform:

Platform String	Operating System
'win32'	Windows
'linux'	Linux
'darwin'	macOS
'aix'	IBM AIX
'freebsd'	FreeBSD
'openbsd'	OpenBSD
'sunos'	SunOS
'android'	Android

Key Takeaways

Use process.platform to get the current operating system platform in Node.js.

The value returned is a string like 'win32', 'linux', or 'darwin'.

Avoid using browser-specific properties like navigator.platform in Node.js.

Check platform strings carefully when writing cross-platform code.

process.platform is a simple and reliable way to detect the OS in Node.js.