nodemcu-firmware/docs/modules/file.md

file Module

Since	Origin / Contributor	Maintainer	Source
2014-12-22	Zeroday	Zeroday	file.c

The file module provides access to the file system and its individual files.

The file system is a flat file system, with no notion of subdirectories/folders.

Besides the SPIFFS file system on internal flash, this module can also access FAT partitions on an external SD card if FatFS is enabled.

-- open file in flash:
if file.open("init.lua") then
  print(file.read())
  file.close()
end

-- or with full pathspec
file.open("/FLASH/init.lua")

-- open file on SD card
if file.open("/SD0/somefile.txt") then
  print(file.read())
  file.close()
end

file.chdir()

Change current directory (and drive). This will be used when no drive/directory is prepended to filenames.

Current directory defaults to the root of internal SPIFFS (/FLASH) after system start.

!!! note

Function is only available when [FatFS support](../sdcard.md#enabling-fatfs) is compiled into the firmware.

Syntax

file.chdir(dir)

Parameters

dir directory name - /FLASH, /SD0, /SD1, etc.

Returns

true on success, false otherwise

file.exists()

Determines whether the specified file exists.

Syntax

file.exists(filename)

Parameters

• filename file to check

Returns

true of the file exists (even if 0 bytes in size), and false if it does not exist

Example

files = file.list()
if files["device.config"] then
    print("Config file exists")
end

if file.exists("device.config") then
    print("Config file exists")
end

See also

file.list()

file.format()

Format the file system. Completely erases any existing file system and writes a new one. Depending on the size of the flash chip in the ESP, this may take several seconds.

!!! note

Function is not supported for SD cards.

Syntax

file.format()

Parameters

none

Returns

nil

See also

file.remove()

file.fscfg()

Returns the flash address and physical size of the file system area, in bytes.

!!! note

Function is not supported for SD cards.

Syntax

file.fscfg()

Parameters

none

Returns

• flash address (number)
• size (number)

Example

print(string.format("0x%x", file.fscfg()))

file.fsinfo()

Return size information for the file system. The unit is Byte for SPIFFS and kByte for FatFS.

Syntax

file.fsinfo()

Parameters

none

Returns

• remaining (number)
• used (number)
• total (number)

Example

-- get file system info
remaining, used, total=file.fsinfo()
print("\nFile system info:\nTotal : "..total.." (k)Bytes\nUsed : "..used.." (k)Bytes\nRemain: "..remaining.." (k)Bytes\n")

file.list()

Lists all files in the file system.

Syntax

file.list()

Parameters

none

Returns

a lua table which contains the {file name: file size} pairs

Example

l = file.list();
for k,v in pairs(l) do
  print("name:"..k..", size:"..v)
end

file.on()

Registers callback functions.

Trigger events are:

• rtc deliver current date & time to the file system. Function is expected to return a table containing the fields year, mon, day, hour, min, sec of current date and time. Not supported for internal flash.

Syntax

file.on(event[, function()])

Parameters

• event string
• function() callback function. Unregisters the callback if function() is omitted.

Returns

nil

Example

sntp.sync(server_ip,
  function()
    print("sntp time sync ok")
    file.on("rtc",
      function()
        return rtctime.epoch2cal(rtctime.get())
      end)
  end)

file.open()

Opens a file for access, potentially creating it (for write modes).

When done with the file, it must be closed using file.close().

Syntax

file.open(filename, mode)

Parameters

• filename file to be opened, directories are not supported
• mode:
  • "r": read mode (the default)
  • "w": write mode
  • "a": append mode
  • "r+": update mode, all previous data is preserved
  • "w+": update mode, all previous data is erased
  • "a+": append update mode, previous data is preserved, writing is only allowed at the end of file

Returns

file object if file opened ok. nil if file not opened, or not exists (read modes).

Example

-- open 'init.lua', print the first line.
if file.open("init.lua", "r") then
  print(file.readline())
  file.close()
end

Example (object model)

-- open 'init.lua', print the first line.
fd = file.open("init.lua", "r")
if fd then
  print(fd:readline())
  fd:close(); fd = nil
end

See also

• file.close()
• file.readline()

file.remove()

Remove a file from the file system. The file must not be currently open.

Syntax

file.remove(filename)

Parameters

filename file to remove

Returns

nil

Example

-- remove "foo.lua" from file system.
file.remove("foo.lua")

See also

file.open()

file.rename()

Renames a file. If a file is currently open, it will be closed first.

Syntax

file.rename(oldname, newname)

Parameters

• oldname old file name
• newname new file name

Returns

true on success, false on error.

Example

-- rename file 'temp.lua' to 'init.lua'.
file.rename("temp.lua","init.lua")

File access functions

The file module provides several functions to access the content of a file after it has been opened with file.open(). They can be used as part of a basic model or an object model:

Basic model

In the basic model there is max one file opened at a time. The file access functions operate on this file per default. If another file is opened, the previous default file needs to be closed beforehand.

-- open 'init.lua', print the first line.
if file.open("init.lua", "r") then
  print(file.readline())
  file.close()
end

Object model

Files are represented by file objects which are created by file.open(). File access functions are available as methods of this object, and multiple file objects can coexist.

src = file.open("init.lua", "r")
if src then
  dest = file.open("copy.lua", "w")
  if dest then
    local line
    repeat
      line = src:read()
      if line then
        dest:write(line)
      end
    until line == nil
    dest:close(); dest = nil
  end
  src:close(); dest = nil
end

!!! Attention

It is recommended to use only one single model within the application. Concurrent use of both models can yield unpredictable behavior: Closing the default file from basic model will also close the correspoding file object. Closing a file from object model will also close the default file if they are the same file.

!!! Note

The maximum number of open files on SPIFFS is determined at compile time by `SPIFFS_MAX_OPEN_FILES` in `user_config.h`.

file.close(), file.obj:close()

Closes the open file, if any.

Syntax

file.close()

fd:close()

Parameters

none

Returns

nil

See also

file.open()

file.flush(), file.obj:flush()

Flushes any pending writes to the file system, ensuring no data is lost on a restart. Closing the open file using file.close() / fd:close() performs an implicit flush as well.

Syntax

file.flush()

fd:flush()

Parameters

none

Returns

nil

Example (basic model)

-- open 'init.lua' in 'a+' mode
if file.open("init.lua", "a+") then
  -- write 'foo bar' to the end of the file
  file.write('foo bar')
  file.flush()
  -- write 'baz' too
  file.write('baz')
  file.close()
end

See also

file.close() / file.obj:close()

file.read(), file.obj:read()

Read content from the open file.

!!! note

The function temporarily allocates 2 * (number of requested bytes) on the heap for buffering and processing the read data. Default chunk size (`FILE_READ_CHUNK`) is 1024 bytes and is regarded to be safe. Pushing this by 4x or more can cause heap overflows depending on the application. Consider this when selecting a value for parameter `n_or_char`.

Syntax

file.read([n_or_char])

fd:read([n_or_char])

Parameters

• n_or_char:
  • if nothing passed in, then read up to FILE_READ_CHUNK bytes or the entire file (whichever is smaller).
  • if passed a number n, then read up to n bytes or the entire file (whichever is smaller).
  • if passed a string containing the single character char, then read until char appears next in the file, FILE_READ_CHUNK bytes have been read, or EOF is reached.

Returns

File content as a string, or nil when EOF

Example (basic model)

-- print the first line of 'init.lua'
if file.open("init.lua", "r") then
  print(file.read('\n'))
  file.close()
end

Example (object model)

-- print the first 5 bytes of 'init.lua'
fd = file.open("init.lua", "r")
if fd then
  print(fd:read(5))
  fd:close(); fd = nil
end

See also

• file.open()
• file.readline() / file.obj:readline()

file.readline(), file.obj:readline()

Read the next line from the open file. Lines are defined as zero or more bytes ending with a EOL ('\n') byte. If the next line is longer than 1024, this function only returns the first 1024 bytes.

Syntax

file.readline()

fd:readline()

Parameters

none

Returns

File content in string, line by line, including EOL('\n'). Return nil when EOF.

Example (basic model)

-- print the first line of 'init.lua'
if file.open("init.lua", "r") then
  print(file.readline())
  file.close()
end

See also

• file.open()
• file.close() / file.obj:close()
• file.read() / file.obj:read()

file.seek(), file.obj:seek()

Sets and gets the file position, measured from the beginning of the file, to the position given by offset plus a base specified by the string whence.

Syntax

file.seek([whence [, offset]])

fd:seek([whence [, offset]])

Parameters

• whence
  • "set": base is position 0 (beginning of the file)
  • "cur": base is current position (default value)
  • "end": base is end of file
• offset default 0

If no parameters are given, the function simply returns the current file offset.

Returns

the resulting file position, or nil on error

Example (basic model)

if file.open("init.lua", "r") then
  -- skip the first 5 bytes of the file
  file.seek("set", 5)
  print(file.readline())
  file.close()
end

See also

file.open()

file.write(), file.obj:write()

Write a string to the open file.

Syntax

file.write(string)

fd:write(string)

Parameters

string content to be write to file

Returns

true if the write is ok, nil on error

Example (basic model)

-- open 'init.lua' in 'a+' mode
if file.open("init.lua", "a+") then
  -- write 'foo bar' to the end of the file
  file.write('foo bar')
  file.close()
end

Example (object model)

-- open 'init.lua' in 'a+' mode
fd = file.open("init.lua", "a+")
if fd then
  -- write 'foo bar' to the end of the file
  fd:write('foo bar')
  fd:close()
end

See also

• file.open()
• file.writeline() / file.obj:writeline()

file.writeline(), file.obj:writeline()

Write a string to the open file and append '\n' at the end.

Syntax

file.writeline(string)

fd:writeline(string)

Parameters

string content to be write to file

Returns

true if write ok, nil on error

Example (basic model)

-- open 'init.lua' in 'a+' mode
if file.open("init.lua", "a+") then
  -- write 'foo bar' to the end of the file
  file.writeline('foo bar')
  file.close()
end

See also

• file.open()
• file.readline() / file.obj:readline()