If I attach an object to the module.exports object in node like so:

module.exports = new Object()

will each object = require('./Object') throughout my application create a new instance of that object, or will it create a reference to the one instance?

If I attach an object to the module.exports object in node like so:

module.exports = new Object()

will each object = require('./Object') throughout my application create a new instance of that object, or will it create a reference to the one instance?

• javascript
• node.js
• monjs

• 2 If you want a new instance for each use, it's probably worth making each create their own instance. module.exports = Object; then var Object = require('./Object'), object = new Object();. – Jonathan Lonowski Commented Sep 9, 2013 at 0:47

2 Answers 2

require() caches files that it executes.

The first time you require('./Object'), it will run your code and place the exported object in require.cache.
Subsequent calls will return the cached object immediately.

You could remove your module from the cache yourself, or use a getter, but those are bad ideas.

Check out caching caveats in the node docs. You'll get the same object as long as the resolved module path matches. There's an example in this answer of when resolved paths would not match.