File System - Tauri — ContextQMD

import PluginLinks from '@components/PluginLinks.astro'; import Compatibility from '@components/plugins/Compatibility.astro';

import { Tabs, TabItem, Steps } from '@astrojs/starlight/components'; import CommandTabs from '@components/CommandTabs.astro'; import PluginPermissions from '@components/PluginPermissions.astro';

Access the file system.

:::note[Use std::fs or tokio::fs on the Rust side] If you want to manipulate files/directories through Rust, use traditional Rust's libs (std::fs, tokio::fs, etc).

:::

Supported Platforms

Setup

Install the fs plugin to get started.

	Use your project's package manager to add the dependency:

	{ ' ' }

	<CommandTabs
        npm="npm run tauri add fs"
        yarn="yarn run tauri add fs"
        pnpm="pnpm tauri add fs"
        deno="deno task tauri add fs"
        bun="bun tauri add fs"
        cargo="cargo tauri add fs"
	/>

</TabItem>
<TabItem label = "Manual">
	<Steps>

    1. Run the following command in the `src-tauri` folder to add the plugin to the project's dependencies in `Cargo.toml`:

        ```sh frame=none
        cargo add tauri-plugin-fs
        ```

    2.	Modify `lib.rs` to initialize the plugin:

        ```rust title="src-tauri/src/lib.rs" ins={4}
        #[cfg_attr(mobile, tauri::mobile_entry_point)]
        pub fn run() {
          tauri::Builder::default()
            .plugin(tauri_plugin_fs::init())
            .run(tauri::generate_context!())
            .expect("error while running tauri application");
        }
        ```

    3.	Install the JavaScript Guest bindings using your preferred JavaScript package manager:

        <CommandTabs
            npm = "npm install @tauri-apps/plugin-fs"
            yarn = "yarn add @tauri-apps/plugin-fs"
            pnpm = "pnpm add @tauri-apps/plugin-fs"
            deno = "deno add npm:@tauri-apps/plugin-fs"
            bun = "bun add @tauri-apps/plugin-fs"
        />

	</Steps>
</TabItem>

</Tabs>

Configuration

Android

When using the audio, cache, documents, downloads, picture, public or video directories your app must have access to the external storage.

Include the following permissions to the manifest tag in the gen/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml file:

xml

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />

iOS

Apple requires app developers to specify approved reasons for API usage to enhance user privacy.

You must create a PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy file in the src-tauri/gen/apple folder with the required NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryFileTimestamp key and the C617.1 recommended reason.

xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
  <dict>
    <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypes</key>
    <array>
      <dict>
        <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPIType</key>
        <string>NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryFileTimestamp</string>
        <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypeReasons</key>
        <array>
          <string>C617.1</string>
        </array>
      </dict>
    </array>
  </dict>
</plist>

Usage

The fs plugin is available in both JavaScript and Rust. :::caution[Different APIs] Although this plugin has a file manipulation API on the frontend, in the backend it offers only the methods to change permission of some resources (files, directories, etc).

In the Rust side you can use the traditional file manipulation libraries, std::fs, tokio::fs or others.

:::

javascript

import { exists, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
// when using `"withGlobalTauri": true`, you may use
// const { exists, BaseDirectory } = window.__TAURI__.fs;

// Check if the `$APPDATA/avatar.png` file exists
await exists('avatar.png', { baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppData });

</TabItem> <TabItem label = "Rust" >

rust

use tauri_plugin_fs::FsExt;

#[cfg_attr(mobile, tauri::mobile_entry_point)]
pub fn run() {
  tauri::Builder::default()
      .plugin(tauri_plugin_fs::init())
      .setup(|app| {
          // allowed the given directory
          let scope = app.fs_scope();
        	scope.allow_directory("/path/to/directory", false);
          dbg!(scope.allowed());

          Ok(())
       })
       .run(tauri::generate_context!())
       .expect("error while running tauri application");
}

</TabItem> </Tabs>

Security

This module prevents path traversal, not allowing parent directory accessors to be used (i.e. "/usr/path/to/../file" or "../path/to/file" paths are not allowed). Paths accessed with this API must be either relative to one of the base directories or created with the path API.

See @tauri-apps/plugin-fs - Security for more information.

Paths

The file system plugin offers two ways of manipulating paths: the base directory and the path API.

base directory

Every API has an options argument that lets you define a baseDir that acts as the working directory of the operation.
js
```
import { readFile } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const contents = await readFile('avatars/tauri.png', {
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.Home,
});
```
In the above example the ~/avatars/tauri.png file is read since we are using the Home base directory.

path API

Alternatively you can use the path APIs to perform path manipulations.

import { readFile } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
import * as path from '@tauri-apps/api/path';
const home = await path.homeDir();
const contents = await readFile(await path.join(home, 'avatars/tauri.png'));

Files

Create

Creates a file and returns a handle to it. If the file already exists, it is truncated.

import { create, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const file = await create('foo/bar.txt', { baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppData });
await file.write(new TextEncoder().encode('Hello world'));
await file.close();

:::note Always call file.close() when you are done manipulating the file. :::

Write

The plugin offers separate APIs for writing text and binary files for performance.

text files

import { writeTextFile, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const contents = JSON.stringify({ notifications: true });
await writeTextFile('config.json', contents, {
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppConfig,
});

binary files

import { writeFile, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const contents = new Uint8Array(); // fill a byte array
await writeFile('config', contents, {
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppConfig,
});

Open

Opens a file and returns a handle to it. With this API you have more control over how the file should be opened (read-only mode, write-only mode, append instead of overwrite, only create if it does not exist, etc).

:::note Always call file.close() when you are done manipulating the file. :::

read-only

This is the default mode.

import { open, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const file = await open('foo/bar.txt', {
  read: true,
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppData,
});

const stat = await file.stat();
const buf = new Uint8Array(stat.size);
await file.read(buf);
const textContents = new TextDecoder().decode(buf);
await file.close();

write-only

import { open, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const file = await open('foo/bar.txt', {
  write: true,
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppData,
});
await file.write(new TextEncoder().encode('Hello world'));
await file.close();

By default the file is truncated on any file.write() call. See the following example to learn how to append to the existing contents instead.

append

import { open, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const file = await open('foo/bar.txt', {
  append: true,
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppData,
});
await file.write(new TextEncoder().encode('world'));
await file.close();

Note that { append: true } has the same effect as { write: true, append: true }.

truncate

When the truncate option is set and the file already exists, it will be truncated to length 0.

import { open, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const file = await open('foo/bar.txt', {
  write: true,
  truncate: true,
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppData,
});
await file.write(new TextEncoder().encode('world'));
await file.close();

This option requires write to be true.

You can use it along the append option if you want to rewrite an existing file using multiple file.write() calls.

create

By default the open API only opens existing files. To create the file if it does not exist, opening it if it does, set create to true:

import { open, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const file = await open('foo/bar.txt', {
  write: true,
  create: true,
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppData,
});
await file.write(new TextEncoder().encode('world'));
await file.close();

In order for the file to be created, write or append must also be set to true.

To fail if the file already exists, see createNew.

createNew

createNew works similarly to create, but will fail if the file already exists.

import { open, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const file = await open('foo/bar.txt', {
  write: true,
  createNew: true,
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppData,
});
await file.write(new TextEncoder().encode('world'));
await file.close();

In order for the file to be created, write must also be set to true.

Read

The plugin offers separate APIs for reading text and binary files for performance.

text files

import { readTextFile, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const configToml = await readTextFile('config.toml', {
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppConfig,
});

If the file is large you can stream its lines with the readTextFileLines API:

typescript

import { readTextFileLines, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const lines = await readTextFileLines('app.logs', {
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLog,
});
for await (const line of lines) {
  console.log(line);
}

binary files

import { readFile, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const icon = await readFile('icon.png', {
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.Resources,
});

Remove

Call remove() to delete a file. If the file does not exist, an error is returned.

import { remove, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
await remove('user.db', { baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLocalData });

Copy

The copyFile function takes the source and destination paths. Note that you must configure each base directory separately.

import { copyFile, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
await copyFile('user.db', 'user.db.bk', {
  fromPathBaseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLocalData,
  toPathBaseDir: BaseDirectory.Temp,
});

In the above example the <app-local-data>/user.db file is copied to $TMPDIR/user.db.bk.

Exists

Use the exists() function to check if a file exists:

import { exists, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const tokenExists = await exists('token', {
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLocalData,
});

Metadata

File metadata can be retrieved with the stat and the lstat functions. stat follows symlinks (and returns an error if the actual file it points to is not allowed by the scope) and lstat does not follow symlinks, returning the information of the symlink itself.

import { stat, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const metadata = await stat('app.db', {
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLocalData,
});

Rename

The rename function takes the source and destination paths. Note that you must configure each base directory separately.

import { rename, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
await rename('user.db.bk', 'user.db', {
  fromPathBaseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLocalData,
  toPathBaseDir: BaseDirectory.Temp,
});

In the above example the <app-local-data>/user.db.bk file is renamed to $TMPDIR/user.db.

Truncate

Truncates or extends the specified file to reach the specified file length (defaults to 0).

truncate to 0 length

typescript

import { truncate } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
await truncate('my_file.txt', 0, { baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLocalData });

truncate to a specific length

typescript

import {
  truncate,
  readTextFile,
  writeTextFile,
  BaseDirectory,
} from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';

const filePath = 'file.txt';
await writeTextFile(filePath, 'Hello World', {
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLocalData,
});
await truncate(filePath, 7, {
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLocalData,
});
const data = await readTextFile(filePath, {
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLocalData,
});
console.log(data); // "Hello W"

Directories

Create

To create a directory, call the mkdir function:

import { mkdir, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
await mkdir('images', {
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLocalData,
});

Read

The readDir function recursively lists the entries of a directory:

typescript

import { readDir, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const entries = await readDir('users', { baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLocalData });

Remove

Call remove() to delete a directory. If the directory does not exist, an error is returned.

import { remove, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
await remove('images', { baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLocalData });

If the directory is not empty, the recursive option must be set to true:

import { remove, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
await remove('images', {
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLocalData,
  recursive: true,
});

Exists

Use the exists() function to check if a directory exists:

import { exists, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const tokenExists = await exists('images', {
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLocalData,
});

Metadata

Directory metadata can be retrieved with the stat and the lstat functions. stat follows symlinks (and returns an error if the actual file it points to is not allowed by the scope) and lstat does not follow symlinks, returning the information of the symlink itself.

import { stat, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
const metadata = await stat('databases', {
  baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLocalData,
});

Watching changes

To watch a directory or file for changes, use the watch or watchImmediate functions.

watch

watch is debounced so it only emits events after a certain delay:

import { watch, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
await watch(
  'app.log',
  (event) => {
    console.log('app.log event', event);
  },
  {
    baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLog,
    delayMs: 500,
  }
);

watchImmediate

watchImmediate immediately notifies listeners of an event:

import { watchImmediate, BaseDirectory } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-fs';
await watchImmediate(
  'logs',
  (event) => {
    console.log('logs directory event', event);
  },
  {
    baseDir: BaseDirectory.AppLog,
    recursive: true,
  }
);

By default watch operations on a directory are not recursive. Set the recursive option to true to recursively watch for changes on all sub-directories.

:::note The watch functions require the watch feature flag:

toml

[dependencies]
tauri-plugin-fs = { version = "2.0.0", features = ["watch"] }

:::

Permissions

By default all potentially dangerous plugin commands and scopes are blocked and cannot be accessed. You must modify the permissions in your capabilities configuration to enable these.

See the Capabilities Overview for more information and the step by step guide to use plugin permissions.

json

{
  "$schema": "../gen/schemas/desktop-schema.json",
  "identifier": "main-capability",
  "description": "Capability for the main window",
  "windows": ["main"],
  "permissions": [
    "fs:default",
    {
      "identifier": "fs:allow-exists",
      "allow": [{ "path": "$APPDATA/*" }]
    }
  ]
}

Scopes

This plugin permissions includes scopes for defining which paths are allowed or explicitly rejected. For more information on scopes, see the Command Scopes.

Each allow or deny scope must include an array listing all paths that should be allowed or denied. The scope entries are in the { path: string } format.

:::note deny take precedence over allow so if a path is denied by a scope, it will be blocked at runtime even if it is allowed by another scope. :::

Scope entries can use $<path> variables to reference common system paths such as the home directory, the app resources directory and the config directory. The following table lists all common paths you can reference:

Path	Variable
appConfigDir	$APPCONFIG
appDataDir	$APPDATA
appLocalDataDir	$APPLOCALDATA
appcacheDir	$APPCACHE
applogDir	$APPLOG
audioDir	$AUDIO
cacheDir	$CACHE
configDir	$CONFIG
dataDir	$DATA
localDataDir	$LOCALDATA
desktopDir	$DESKTOP
documentDir	$DOCUMENT
downloadDir	$DOWNLOAD
executableDir	$EXE
fontDir	$FONT
homeDir	$HOME
pictureDir	$PICTURE
publicDir	$PUBLIC
runtimeDir	$RUNTIME
templateDir	$TEMPLATE
videoDir	$VIDEO
resourceDir	$RESOURCE
tempDir	$TEMP

Examples

global scope

To apply a scope to any fs command, use the fs:scope permission:

json

{
  "$schema": "../gen/schemas/desktop-schema.json",
  "identifier": "main-capability",
  "description": "Capability for the main window",
  "windows": ["main"],
  "permissions": [
    {
      "identifier": "fs:scope",
      "allow": [{ "path": "$APPDATA" }, { "path": "$APPDATA/**/*" }]
    }
  ]
}

To apply a scope to a specific fs command, use the the object form of permissions { "identifier": string, "allow"?: [], "deny"?: [] }:

json

{
  "$schema": "../gen/schemas/desktop-schema.json",
  "identifier": "main-capability",
  "description": "Capability for the main window",
  "windows": ["main"],
  "permissions": [
    {
      "identifier": "fs:allow-rename",
      "allow": [{ "path": "$HOME/**/*" }]
    },
    {
      "identifier": "fs:allow-rename",
      "deny": [{ "path": "$HOME/.config/**/*" }]
    },
    {
      "identifier": "fs:allow-exists",
      "allow": [{ "path": "$APPDATA/*" }]
    }
  ]
}

In the above example you can use the exists API using any $APPDATA sub path (does not include sub-directories) and the rename

:::tip If you are trying to access dotfiles (e.g. .gitignore) or dotfolders (e.g. .ssh) on Unix based systems, then you need to specify either the full path /home/user/.ssh/example or the glob after the dotfolder path component /home/user/.ssh/*.

If that does not work in your use case then you can configure the plugin to treat any component as a valid path literal.

json

 "plugins": {
    "fs": {
      "requireLiteralLeadingDot": false
    }
  }

:::