How To Copy Multiple Files And Keep The Folder Structure With Gulp

Are you tired of manually copying files one by one and losing track of your folder structure? Well, good news! With Gulp, you can streamline the process and keep your folder structure intact. In this guide, we'll walk you through how to copy multiple files while preserving the folder hierarchy using Gulp.

First things first, if you haven't already installed Gulp, make sure to do so by running the following command in your terminal:

npm install gulp-cli -g

Once you have Gulp set up in your project, you'll need to install the `gulp-replace` plugin, which will allow you to copy files and maintain the folder structure. Simply run the following command in your terminal:

npm install gulp-replace --save-dev

Now that you have Gulp and the necessary plugin installed, create a new Gulp task in your `gulpfile.js` with the following code snippet:

const gulp = require('gulp');
const replace = require('gulp-replace');

gulp.task('copy-files', function() {
  return gulp.src('src/**/*.txt')
    .pipe(replace(/^/g, 'new_folder_name/'))
    .pipe(gulp.dest('dist'));
});

Let's break down the code snippet above:

- `gulp.src('src/**/*.txt')`: This line specifies the files you want to copy. In this case, we are selecting all `.txt` files in the `src` directory and its subdirectories.

- `replace(/^/g, 'new_folder_name/')`: This line uses the `gulp-replace` plugin to prepend the `'new_folder_name/'` string to the beginning of each file path.

- `gulp.dest('dist')`: This line tells Gulp to write the modified files to the `dist` directory while preserving the folder structure.

Once you have configured your Gulp task, you can run it by entering the following command in your terminal:

gulp copy-files

That's it! Gulp will now copy all the specified files from the `src` directory while keeping the folder structure intact and save them to the `dist` directory.

Remember, Gulp is a powerful task runner that can automate a wide range of development tasks. By utilizing plugins like `gulp-replace`, you can customize your workflow and save time on manual file operations.

In conclusion, copying multiple files and maintaining the folder structure with Gulp is a straightforward process that can greatly improve your development workflow. Start exploring the possibilities today and streamline your file management tasks with Gulp!