fs.copy fails silently if source file is /dev/null

[raybellis]

Using bluebird with fs.copyAsync, my program finished with no error despite a .catch(console.error) when I tried to copy /dev/null onto a file.

[jprichardson]

Do you get the same problem with just fs.copy?

[raybellis]

It appears to fail, silently, without creating the file or calling the callback:

var fs = require('fs-extra');

fs.copy('/dev/null', '/tmp/foo', function(err) {
    console.log('in callback');
});

(Node 4.2.1, Fedora 22)

[jprichardson]

Thanks. Verified. Just hangs on OS X 10.11 / Node 4.2.1.

Surely this is the offending line: https://github.com/jprichardson/node-fs-extra/blob/0.26.2/lib/copy/copy.js#L15

Ideas on a practical solution? I'd hate as something could be symlinked to /dev/null right? Surely others have experienced this... a cursory Google search didn't return much.

Thanks for your help.

[jprichardson]

Nope, this is the offending line:

https://github.com/jprichardson/node-fs-extra/blob/0.26.2/lib/copy/copy.js#L24

Is there something about the stats of /dev/null that I could use to reliably detect it?

[raybellis]

No, it's not there, either - it's the getStats() function in lib/copy/ncp.js which doesn't have a branch to take if the given file isn't either a directory, a plain file, or a symlink.

[raybellis]

I think the check in that function for stats.isFile() needs the addition of:

|| stats.isBlockDevice() || stats.isCharacterDevice()

I've tried that (can branch and submit a pull request if you like). It makes the Node function behave the same way that cp does - it just treats copying /dev/null (or /dev/zero) as a copy of all available bytes from the source to the destination.

[jprichardson]

I would love a pull request :) I have a test here: 631ed20

[jprichardson]

Updated test. Thanks again for your help, it's much appreciated!