1. Web
  2. Web APIs
  3. FileSystemFileHandle
  4. getFile()

FileSystemFileHandle: getFile() method

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since ⁨March 2023⁩.

Secure context: This feature is available only in secure contexts (HTTPS), in some or all supporting browsers.

Note: This feature is available in Web Workers.

The getFile() method of the FileSystemFileHandle interface returns a Promise which resolves to a File object representing the state on disk of the entry represented by the handle.

If the file on disk changes or is removed after this method is called, the returned File object will likely be no longer readable.

Syntax

js
getFile()

Parameters

None.

Return value

A Promise which resolves to a File object.

Exceptions

NotAllowedError DOMException

Thrown if the PermissionStatus.state is not granted in read mode.

NotFoundError DOMException

Thrown if current entry is not found.

Examples

The following asynchronous function presents a file picker and once a file is chosen, uses the getFile() method to retrieve the contents.

js
async function getTheFile() {
  // open file picker
  const [fileHandle] = await window.showOpenFilePicker(pickerOpts);

  // get file contents
  const fileData = await fileHandle.getFile();
}

Specifications

Specification
File System
# api-filesystemfilehandle-getfile

Browser compatibility

See also

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