Node.js cluster child process path

Question

Started exploring node.js and faced the following problem

Let's say I've got 3 files: start.js, core/core.js and core/child.js

1. start.js requires core.js in the code

2. core.js creates a child process (core/child.js) using cluster with these settings

    cluster.setupMaster({ exec: './core/child.js' }); 

core.js and child.js are in the same folder, but I get an error (not found) if I use

exec: './child.js'

Didn't find anything similar in documentation, however

require('./child.js')

works perfectly. I have no problem if the path is a bit longer, just trying to understand why can't I use path local to core.js

Answer 1

require() works relative to the location of the current code file, but most other operations in Node.js (including launching other processes) are relative to the current working directory process.cwd() .

If you need to generate a path relative to the current file, you can use the __dirname variable available in every module at runtime.

var childPath = require('path').join(__dirname, 'child.js');