How do I load my script into the node.js REPL?

Question

I have a script foo.js that contains some functions I want to play with in the REPL.

Is there a way to have node execute my script and then jump into a

Answer 1

replpad is cool, but for a quick and easy way to load a file into node, import its variables and start a repl, you can add the following code to the end of your .js file

if (require.main === module){
    (function() {
        var _context = require('repl').start({prompt: '$> '}).context;
        var scope = require('lexical-scope')(require('fs').readFileSync(__filename));
        for (var name in scope.locals[''] )
            _context[scope.locals[''][name]] = eval(scope.locals[''][name]);
        for (name in scope.globals.exported)
            _context[scope.globals.exported[name]] = eval(scope.globals.exported[name]);
    })();
}

Now if your file is src.js, running node src.js will start node, load the file, start a REPL, and copy all the objects declared as var at the top level as well as any exported globals. The if (require.main === module) ensures that this code will not be executed if src.js is included through a require statement. I fact, you can add any code you want to be excuted when you are running src.js standalone for debugging purposes inside the if statement.