Repository navigation
Document that fs.copyFile() dereferences symlinks #61518
Description
Activity
The behavior of fs.copyFile() when handling symbolic links is currently undocumented.
While fs.cp() explicitly documents its symlink handling via the dereference option, fs.copyFile() always dereferences symlinks (i.e., it copies the contents of the target file rather than the symlink itself). This implicit behavior is not stated in the documentation, which can lead to incorrect assumptions or unexpected results for users working with symlinks.
Expected behavior
The documentation for fs.copyFile() should clearly state that it always dereferences symbolic links and does not preserve them as links.
- added 2 commits that reference this issue
on Feb 4, 2026 This issue has been marked as stale due to 90 days of inactivity.
It will be automatically closed in 30 days if no further activity occurs. If this is still relevant, please leave a comment or update it to keep it open.Please keep this open.
- added a commit that references this issue
on Aug 18, 2026 - added 3 commits that reference this issue
on Aug 25, 2026 - added a commit that references this issue
on Sep 7, 2026
Affected URL(s)
https://nodejs.org/api/fs.html#fscopyfilesrc-dest-mode-callback
Description of the problem
Currently undocumented.
fs.cp()documents its symlink behavior viadereferenceoption;fs.copyFile()should note that it always dereferences.