diff --git a/xs-platform/pathlib.js b/xs-platform/pathlib.js
index 66e2e6749d6..7b85784449f 100644
--- a/xs-platform/pathlib.js
+++ b/xs-platform/pathlib.js
@@ -3,7 +3,39 @@ const harden = x => Object.freeze(x, true);
 export function makePath(filename, { File, Iterator }) {
   const mk = there => makePath(there, { File, Iterator });
 
+  function readFileSync() {
+    let file;
+    try {
+      file = new File(filename);
+    } catch(oops) {
+      // not sure why xs loses error messages, but without logging, we just get:
+      // xs-platform/pathlib.js:21: exception: throw!
+      console.log({ filename, message: oops.message });
+      throw(new Error(`${filename}: ${oops.message}`));
+    }
+    const contents = file.read(String);
+    file.close();
+    return contents;
+  }
+
+  function readdirSync(options) {
+    const dirIter = new Iterator(filename);
+    let item;
+    const items = [];
+    while ((item = dirIter.next())) {
+      const f = typeof item.length === 'number';
+      items.push(harden({
+	name: item.name,
+	isFile: () => f,
+      }));
+    }
+    return items;
+  }
+
   return harden({
+    toString() {
+      return filename;
+    },
     resolve(...others) {
       // ISSUE: support ../?
       // TODO: chop off filename at last /
@@ -13,19 +45,14 @@ export function makePath(filename, { File, Iterator }) {
       // ISSUE: support ../?
       return mk([filename, ...others].join('/'));
     },
-    readFileSync() {
-      let file;
-      try {
-	file = new File(filename);
-      } catch(oops) {
-	// not sure why xs loses error messages, but without logging, we just get:
-	// xs-platform/pathlib.js:21: exception: throw!
-	console.log({ filename, message: oops.message });
-	throw(new Error(`${filename}: ${oops.message}`));
-      }
-      const contents = file.read(String);
-      file.close();
-      return contents;
+    statSync() {
+      new File(filename);
+      return harden({});
+    },
+    readFileSync,
+    readlinesSync() {
+      return readFileSync().replace(/\n$/, '').split('\n');
     },
+    readdirSync,
   });
 }