DirectoryEntrySync

Non-standard: This feature is non-standard and is not on a standards track. Do not use it on production sites facing the Web: it will not work for every user. There may also be large incompatibilities between implementations and the behavior may change in the future.

Deprecated: This feature is no longer recommended. Though some browsers might still support it, it may have already been removed from the relevant web standards, may be in the process of being dropped, or may only be kept for compatibility purposes. Avoid using it, and update existing code if possible; see the compatibility table at the bottom of this page to guide your decision. Be aware that this feature may cease to work at any time.

The DirectoryEntrySync interface represents a directory in a file system. It includes methods for creating, reading, looking up, and recursively removing files in a directory.

Warning: This interface is deprecated and is no more on the standard track. Do not use it anymore. Use the File and Directory Entries API instead.

Basic concepts

If you want to create subdirectories, you have to create each child directory in sequence. If you try to create a directory using a full path that includes parent directories that do not exist yet, you get an error. So create the hierarchy by recursively adding a new path after creating the parent directory.

Example

The getFile() method returns a FileEntrySync, which represents a file in the file system. The following creates an empty file called logs.txt in the root directory.

const fileEntry = fs.root.getFile("logs.txt", { create: true });

The getDirectory() method returns a DirectoryEntrySync, which represents a file in the file system. The following creates a new directory called project_dir in the root directory.

const dirEntry = fs.root.getDirectory("project_dir", { create: true });

Instance methods

createReader()

Creates a new DirectoryReaderSync to read entries from this directory.

Syntax

createReader()

Parameters

None

Return value

DirectoryReaderSync: Represents a directory in a file system.

Exceptions

This method can raise a DOMException with the following codes:

Exception	Description
`NOT_FOUND_ERR`	The directory does not exist.
`SECURITY_ERR`	The browser determined that it was not safe to look up the metadata. [ todo: Explain why ]

getFile()

Depending on how you've set the options parameter, the method either creates a file or looks up an existing file.

Syntax

getFile(path)
getFile(path, options)

Parameters

path: Either an absolute path or a relative path from the directory to the file to be looked up or created. You cannot create a file whose immediate parent does not exist. Create the parent directory first.
options: (optional) An object literal describing the behavior of the method. If the file does not exist, it is created.

Object literal	Condition	Result
`create: true` `exclusive: true`	Path already exists	An error is thrown.
`create: true` `exclusive: false`	Path doesn't exist and no other error occurs	A file is created. If a file already exists, no error is thrown.
`create: false` (`exclusive` is ignored)	Path exists	The file is returned.
`create: false` (`exclusive` is ignored)	Path doesn't exist	An error is thrown.
`create: false` (`exclusive` is ignored)	Path exists, but is a directory	An error is thrown.

Return value

FileEntrySync: Represents a file in a file system.

Exceptions

This method can raise a DOMException with the following codes:

Exception	Description
`ENCODING_ERR`	The path supplied is invalid.
`NOT_FOUND_ERR`	The path was structurally correct, but refers to a resource that does not exist.
`NO_MODIFICATION_ALLOWED_ERR`	This is a permission issue. The target directory or file is not writable.
`PATH_EXISTS_ERR`	The file already exists. You cannot create another one with the same path.
`QUOTA_EXCEEDED_ERROR`	The operation would cause the application to exceed its storage quota.
`SECURITY_ERR`	The application does not have permission to access the element referred to by path. [ todo: Explain why ]
`TYPE_MISMATCH_ERR`	The path supplied exists, but it is not a directory.

getDirectory()

Creates or looks up a directory. The method is similar to getFile() with DirectoryEntrySync being passed.

Syntax

getDirectory(path)
getDirectory(path, options)

Parameters

path: Either an absolute path or a relative path from the directory to the file to be looked up or created. You cannot create a file whose immediate parent does not exist. Create the parent directory first.
options: (optional) An object literal describing the behavior of the method if the file does not exist.

Object literal	Condition	Result
`create: true` `exclusive: true`	Path already exists	An error is thrown.
`create: true` `exclusive: false`	Path doesn't exist and no other error occurs	A directory is created. If a file already exists, no error is thrown.
`create: false` (`exclusive` is ignored)	Path exists	The directory is returned.
`create: false` (`exclusive` is ignored)	Path doesn't exist	An error is thrown.
`create: false` (`exclusive` is ignored)	Path exists, but is a directory	An error is thrown.

Return value

DirectoryEntrySync: Represents a directory in a file system.

Exceptions

This method can raise a DOMException with the following codes:

Exception	Description
`ENCODING_ERR`	The path supplied is invalid.
`NOT_FOUND_ERR`	The path was structurally correct, but refers to a resource that does not exist.
`NO_MODIFICATION_ALLOWED_ERR`	This is a permission issue. The target directory or file is not writable.
`PATH_EXISTS_ERR`	The file already exists. You cannot create another one with the same path.
`QUOTA_EXCEEDED_ERROR`	The operation would cause the application to exceed its storage quota.
`SECURITY_ERR`	The application does not have permission to access the element referred to by path. [ todo: Explain why ]
`TYPE_MISMATCH_ERR`	The path supplied exists, but it is not a directory.

removeRecursively()

Deletes a directory and all of its contents. You cannot delete the root directory of a file system.

If you delete a directory that contains a file that cannot be removed or if an error occurs while the deletion is in progress, some of the contents might not be deleted. Catch these cases with error callbacks and retry the deletion.

Syntax

removeRecursively()

Parameters

None

Return value

undefined

Exceptions

This method can raise a DOMException with the following codes:

Exception	Description
`NOT_FOUND_ERR`	The target directory does not exist.
`INVALID_STATE_ERR`	This directory is not longer valid for some reason other than being deleted. [todo: Explain more ]
`NO_MODIFICATION_ALLOWED_ERR`	One of the following is not writable: the directory, its parent directory, and some of the content in the directory.
`SECURITY_ERR`	The application does not have permission to access the target directory, its parent, or some of its contents.

Specifications

This feature is not part of any current specification. It is no longer on track to become a standard. Use the File and Directory Entries API instead.

Browser compatibility

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