# How to get the last modified date of a file with Node.js

By Atta Ur Rehman Shah (https://attacomsian.com/about). Published Mar 31, 2020, updated Oct 1, 2022. Topics: Node.js.
Canonical URL: https://attacomsian.com/blog/nodejs-get-file-last-modified-date

> Learn about a quick way to get the last modified date of a file in a Node.js application.

The `fs` module provided by Node.js allows us to interact with the file system. You can use the `fs.stat()` method to asynchronously get the file details, including the last modified date.

All you need to do is pass the relative or absolute file path to the `fs.stat()` method. This method returns an object of type [fs.Stats](https://nodejs.org/api/fs.html#fs_class_fs_stats), which includes information about a file. 

The `fs.Stats` object has two properties, `mtime` and `ctime`, that can be used to get the last modified date of a file. The `mtime` property returns the last modified date of data changes, and `ctime` returns the last time the file status was changed.

Here is an example:

```javascript
const fs = require('fs')

// fetch file details
fs.stat('file.txt', (err, stats) => {
  if (err) {
    throw err
  }

  // print file last modified date
  console.log(`File Data Last Modified: ${stats.mtime}`)
  console.log(`File Status Last Modified: ${stats.ctime}`)
})
```

Both `mtime` and `ctime` properties are instances of JavaScript `Date`, so you can use all the date-related methods and properties to manipulate their values.

The `mtime` property is updated when you write data to the file. However, the value of `ctime` is only changed when you update the file's metadata, like the file name or access rights.

The `fs.stat()` method also has a **synchronous** counterpart called `fs.statSync()` that can be used to synchronously fetch the file details, like below:

```javascript
const fs = require('fs')

// fetch file details
try {
  const stats = fs.statSync('file.txt')

  // print file last modified date
  console.log(`File Data Last Modified: ${stats.mtime}`)
  console.log(`File Status Last Modified: ${stats.ctime}`)
} catch (error) {
  console.log(error)
}
```

Read [this guide](https://attacomsian.com/blog/reading-writing-files-nodejs) to learn more about handling files in a Node.js application.