osenv-modern

osenv-modern preserves the small CommonJS API and observable behavior of the archived osenv package while removing its deprecated runtime dependencies. It is a compatibility package, not a new environment-information API.

Installation

npm install osenv-modern

CommonJS remains the primary interface:

var osenv = require('osenv-modern')

console.log(osenv.home())
console.log(osenv.path())

Node.js can also import the CommonJS default without a separate ESM build:

import osenv from 'osenv-modern'

API

• hostname(callback?) returns COMPUTERNAME on Windows or HOSTNAME on Unix, with the legacy hostname command fallback.
• user(callback?) returns DOMAIN\\username on Windows or USER on Unix, with the legacy whoami fallback.
• prompt(callback?) returns PROMPT on Windows or PS1 on Unix.
• tmpdir(callback?) returns the operating-system temporary directory.
• home(callback?) returns the current home directory.
• path(callback?) returns PATH entries as an array.
• editor(callback?) uses EDITOR, VISUAL, then notepad.exe/vi.
• shell(callback?) uses ComSpec/SHELL, then cmd/bash.

Every result is memoized after its first lookup. A callback on a memoized value is invoked with (null, value) on process.nextTick(). See COMPATIBILITY.md for the exact fallback edge cases and environment precedence.

Platform and Node.js support

The package is tested on Windows, Linux, and macOS with all supported Node.js release lines: Node 22, 24, and 26 at the time of this release. The support floor advances when the oldest Node.js LTS line reaches end-of-life.

Migrating from osenv

Change the package name and keep existing calls unchanged:

- var osenv = require('osenv')
+ var osenv = require('osenv-modern')

After this package is published, npm aliasing can preserve source-level imports:

{
  "dependencies": {
    "osenv": "npm:osenv-modern@^1.0.0"
  }
}

Then existing require('osenv') calls resolve to osenv-modern.

Compatibility policy and known differences

The eight public functions, CommonJS loading, environment precedence, memoization, callback timing, fallback commands, defaults, and historical edge cases are compatibility commitments. There are no intentional API differences from [email protected]. Package metadata, supported Node versions, test tooling, and the absence of os-homedir/os-tmpdir are intentionally modernized.

License

ISC. The original copyright and license are retained in LICENSE.