Web/API/FileSystemDirectoryEntry

This is an experimental technologyCheck the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production.

The FileSystemDirectoryEntry interface of the File and Directory Entries API represents a directory in a file system. It provides methods which make it possible to access and manipulate the files in a directory, as well as to access the entries within the directory.

Basic concepts

You can create a new directory by calling getDirectory(). If you want to create subdirectories, create each child directory in sequence. If you try creating a directory using a full path that includes parent directories that do not exist yet, an error is returned. So create the hierarchy by recursively adding a new path after creating the parent directory.

Example

In the following code snippet, we create a directory called "Documents."

// Taking care of the browser-specific prefixes.
window.requestFileSystem = window.requestFileSystem || window.webkitRequestFileSystem; 
window.directoryEntry = window.directoryEntry || window.webkitDirectoryEntry;

...

function onFs(fs){
  fs.root.getDirectory('Documents', {create:true}, function(directoryEntry){
    //directoryEntry.isFile === false
    //directoryEntry.isDirectory === true
    //directoryEntry.name === 'Documents'
    //directoryEntry.fullPath === '/Documents'
    
    }, onError);

  }

// Opening a file system with temporary storage
window.requestFileSystem(TEMPORARY, 1024*1024 /*1MB*/, onFs, onError);

Properties

This interface has no properties of its own, but inherits properties from its parent interface, FileSystemEntry.

Methods

This interface inherits methods from its parent interface, FileSystemEntry.

createReader(): Creates a FileSystemDirectoryReader object which can be used to read the entries in this directory.
getDirectory(): Returns a FileSystemDirectoryEntry object representing a directory located at a given path, relative to the directory on which the method is called.
getFile(): Returns a FileSystemFileEntry object representing a file located within the directory's hierarchy, given a path relative to the directory on which the method is called.

Obsolete methods

removeRecursively(): Deletes a directory and all of its contents, including the contents of subdirectories. This has been removed from the spec.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
File and Directory Entries APIThe definition of 'FileSystemDirectoryEntry' in that specification.	Draft

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`FileSystemDirectoryEntry` Experimental'	Chrome Full support 8 Alternate Name' Full support 8 Alternate Name' Alternate Name' Uses the non-standard name: `DirectoryEntry`	Edge Full support 79 Prefixed' Full support 79 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: webkit	Firefox Full support 50	IE No support No	Opera Full support Yes Prefixed' Full support Yes Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: webkit	Safari Full support 11.1	WebView Android Full support ≤37 Alternate Name' Full support ≤37 Alternate Name' Alternate Name' Uses the non-standard name: `DirectoryEntry`	Chrome Android Full support 18 Alternate Name' Full support 18 Alternate Name' Alternate Name' Uses the non-standard name: `DirectoryEntry`	Firefox Android Full support 50	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS Full support 11.3	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0 Alternate Name' Full support 1.0 Alternate Name' Alternate Name' Uses the non-standard name: `DirectoryEntry`
`createReader` Experimental'	Chrome Full support 13	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 50	IE No support No	Opera No support No	Safari Full support 11.1	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 50	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS Full support 11.3	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`getDirectory` Experimental'	Chrome Full support 8	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 50 Notes' Full support 50 Notes' Notes' In Firefox, the `errorCallback`'s input parameter is a `DOMException` rather than a `FileError` object.	IE No support No	Opera No support No	Safari Full support 11.1	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 50 Notes' Full support 50 Notes' Notes' In Firefox, the `errorCallback`'s input parameter is a `DOMException` rather than a `FileError` object.	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS Full support 11.3	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`getFile` Experimental'	Chrome Full support 8	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 50 Notes' Full support 50 Notes' Notes' In Firefox, the `errorCallback`'s input parameter is a `DOMException` rather than a `FileError` object.	IE No support No	Opera No support No	Safari Full support 11.1	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 50 Notes' Full support 50 Notes' Notes' In Firefox, the `errorCallback`'s input parameter is a `DOMException` rather than a `FileError` object.	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS Full support 11.3	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`removeRecursively` Deprecated'Non-standard'	Chrome Full support 8	Edge Full support 79	Firefox No support 50 — 52 Notes' No support 50 — 52 Notes' Notes' While the `removeRecursively()` method existed, it immediately called the error callback with `NS_ERROR_DOM_SECURITY_ERR`.	IE No support No	Opera No support No	Safari No support No	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android No support 50 — 52 Notes' No support 50 — 52 Notes' Notes' While the `removeRecursively()` method existed, it immediately called the error callback with `NS_ERROR_DOM_SECURITY_ERR`.	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.': Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.
Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.': Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.
Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.': Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.
Uses a non-standard name.': Uses a non-standard name.
Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.': Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.