pathslash

node:path, platform-correct, with forward-slash output.

pathslash is a tiny wrapper around node:path that always outputs forward slashes (/) while keeping the correct per-platform semantics. It never reimplements path logic. Every function delegates to node:path and only flips the separators in the result.

Why

• Forward slashes everywhere. On Windows, the win32 functions output / instead of \, which is what bundlers, route maps, and URLs expect.
• Correct semantics for free. Drive letters, UNC paths, and case-insensitive relative behave exactly as in node:path, because they are node:path.
• POSIX-safe. On POSIX, a backslash is a valid filename character, so it is never rewritten there.
• A typed drop-in. Same API and types as node:path.

Install

npm i pathslash

Usage

The default export and the top-level named exports follow the host platform, exactly like node:path:

import path, { join } from "pathslash";

join("src", "a.ts"); // 'src/a.ts'
path.sep; // '/'

To force a specific platform, use the win32 and posix namespaces. They work on any host OS:

import { win32, posix } from "pathslash";

win32.join("C:\\a", "b"); // 'C:/a/b'  (forward slashes)
win32.normalize("C:\\a\\..\\b"); // 'C:/b'
win32.relative("C:/Foo/Bar", "C:/foo/baz"); // '../baz'  (case-insensitive)

posix.join("a", "b\\c"); // 'a/b\\c'  (backslash kept)

toSlash(path)

Safely normalizes separators to /. On Windows it converts \ to /. On POSIX it returns the path unchanged, because a backslash is a valid filename character there and rewriting it would corrupt the path. Use it for paths that come from outside this package, such as process.cwd():

import { toSlash } from "pathslash";

toSlash("C:\\a\\b"); // 'C:/a/b' on Windows, unchanged on POSIX

Notes

• win32.sep is "/" instead of "\\", and win32.delimiter stays ";".
• \\?\ (extended-length) paths stay verbatim. toSlash and every win32.* function leave them untouched, because a forward slash is a literal character there, not a separator.
• toNamespacedPath always returns a native, backslash path, since \\?\ paths are only valid with backslashes.
• matchesGlob mirrors node:path. It exists only on Node versions that ship it (22.5+) and is undefined on older ones.
• The types are a drop-in too: import type { ParsedPath, FormatInputPathObject, PlatformPath } from "pathslash".
• Everything else matches node:path, separators aside.

License

MIT