Read directory contents using Javascript locally

Question

I have a standard folder structure for a web app.

css
js
img
asetts
lib

index.html

Inside my assets folder I have a bunch of plain text files and I would like to first be able to list the filenames using Javascript, so I can store the URI's in the model, and read from them later on the in the application. I want all of this happening client side.

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 23 '15 at 11:15

1

(Client-side) JavaScript does not have access to the file system like that.

This is not possible without some kind of browser plugin.

answered Nov 23 '15 at 11:15

Cerbrus

70,800
18
132
147

Is there any alternative then? How would I serve up static content like that without the need for a server? – Allan Macmillan Nov 23 '15 at 11:22
Without the need for a server? No. Nothing reliable. – Cerbrus Nov 23 '15 at 12:12
It is possible to read the contents of a directory using the [File System Access API](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/File_System_Access_API) instead of a browser plugin. – Anderson Green Feb 23 '22 at 17:15

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 23 '15 at 11:23

You can read the textfiles in the local folder.

function read()
{
    var xHR = new XMLHttpRequest();
    //replace textfile_url with the relative url of your text file
    xHR.open("GET", "textfile_url", true);
    xHR.onreadystatechange = function ()
    {
        if(xHR.readyState === 4)
        {
            //all your text is in the next line
            var text = xHR.responseText;

        }
    }

    xHR.send();
}

Read directory contents using Javascript locally

2 Answers2