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The FileSystem module provides a comprehensive abstraction for file system operations that work across platforms. All operations return Effect values for composable, functional file I/O with proper error handling.

​
Overview

The FileSystem interface offers both synchronous and asynchronous file operations through Effect, including:
  • File reading and writing (binary and text)
  • Directory management
  • File permissions and metadata
  • Streaming file operations
  • File watching
  • Temporary file/directory creation

​
Basic Usage

import { Console, Effect, FileSystem } from "effect"

const program = Effect.gen(function*() {
  const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem

  // Create a directory
  yield* fs.makeDirectory("./temp", { recursive: true })

  // Write a file
  yield* fs.writeFileString("./temp/hello.txt", "Hello, World!")

  // Read the file back
  const content = yield* fs.readFileString("./temp/hello.txt")
  yield* Console.log("File content:", content)

  // Get file information
  const stats = yield* fs.stat("./temp/hello.txt")
  yield* Console.log("File size:", stats.size)

  // Clean up
  yield* fs.remove("./temp", { recursive: true })
})

​
File Operations

​
Reading Files

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readFile

Reads a file as binary data (Uint8Array). 
readFile: (path: string) => Effect.Effect<Uint8Array, PlatformError>
Example: 
const program = Effect.gen(function*() {
  const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem
  const data = yield* fs.readFile("./data.bin")
  yield* Console.log(`Read ${data.length} bytes`)
})

​
readFileString

Reads a file as a text string with optional encoding. 
readFileString: (
  path: string,
  encoding?: string
) => Effect.Effect<string, PlatformError>
Example: 
const program = Effect.gen(function*() {
  const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem
  const content = yield* fs.readFileString("./config.json")
  const config = JSON.parse(content)
  yield* Console.log("Config:", config)
})

​
Writing Files

​
writeFile

Writes binary data to a file. 
writeFile: (
  path: string,
  data: Uint8Array,
  options?: {
    readonly flag?: OpenFlag | undefined
    readonly mode?: number | undefined
  }
) => Effect.Effect<void, PlatformError>

​
writeFileString

Writes a string to a file. 
writeFileString: (
  path: string,
  data: string,
  options?: {
    readonly flag?: OpenFlag | undefined
    readonly mode?: number | undefined
  }
) => Effect.Effect<void, PlatformError>
Example: 
const program = Effect.gen(function*() {
  const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem
  
  // Write with default flags (truncate if exists)
  yield* fs.writeFileString("./output.txt", "Hello, World!")
  
  // Append to file
  yield* fs.writeFileString("./log.txt", "New log entry\n", {
    flag: "a"
  })
})

​
File Information

​
stat

Retrieves comprehensive file or directory information. 
stat: (path: string) => Effect.Effect<File.Info, PlatformError>
The File.Info structure includes:
  • type: File type (File, Directory, SymbolicLink, etc.)
  • size: File size in bytes
  • mtime, atime, birthtime: Timestamps
  • mode: Permissions
  • uid, gid: User/group IDs
Example: 
const program = Effect.gen(function*() {
  const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem
  
  const info = yield* fs.stat("./data.txt")
  
  yield* Console.log(`File type: ${info.type}`)
  yield* Console.log(`File size: ${info.size} bytes`)
  yield* Console.log(`Modified: ${info.mtime?.toISOString()}")
  
  if (info.type === "File") {
    yield* Console.log("Processing regular file...")
  }
})

​
exists

Checks if a path exists. 
exists: (path: string) => Effect.Effect<boolean, PlatformError>
Example: 
const program = Effect.gen(function*() {
  const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem
  
  const exists = yield* fs.exists("./config.json")
  if (!exists) {
    yield* fs.writeFileString("./config.json", '{"env": "development"}')
  }
})

​
Directory Operations

​
makeDirectory

Creates a directory with optional recursive creation. 
makeDirectory: (
  path: string,
  options?: {
    readonly recursive?: boolean | undefined
    readonly mode?: number | undefined
  }
) => Effect.Effect<void, PlatformError>
Example: 
const program = Effect.gen(function*() {
  const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem
  
  // Create nested directories
  yield* fs.makeDirectory("./data/users/profiles", { recursive: true })
})

​
readDirectory

Lists directory contents with optional recursive listing. 
readDirectory: (
  path: string,
  options?: {
    readonly recursive?: boolean | undefined
  }
) => Effect.Effect<Array<string>, PlatformError>
Example: 
const program = Effect.gen(function*() {
  const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem
  
  // List immediate children
  const files = yield* fs.readDirectory("./src")
  yield* Console.log("Files:", files)
  
  // List all files recursively
  const allFiles = yield* fs.readDirectory("./src", { recursive: true })
  yield* Console.log("All files:", allFiles)
})

​
remove

Removes a file or directory. 
remove: (
  path: string,
  options?: {
    readonly recursive?: boolean | undefined
    readonly force?: boolean | undefined
  }
) => Effect.Effect<void, PlatformError>
Example: 
const program = Effect.gen(function*() {
  const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem
  
  // Remove directory and all contents
  yield* fs.remove("./temp", { recursive: true })
  
  // Remove file, ignore if it doesn't exist
  yield* fs.remove("./cache.txt", { force: true })
})

​
Streaming Operations

​
stream

Creates a readable Stream for file contents. 
stream: (
  path: string,
  options?: {
    readonly bytesToRead?: SizeInput | undefined
    readonly chunkSize?: SizeInput | undefined
    readonly offset?: SizeInput | undefined
  }
) => Stream.Stream<Uint8Array, PlatformError>
Example: 
import { Effect, FileSystem, Stream } from "effect"

const program = Effect.gen(function*() {
  const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem
  
  // Stream file in 64KB chunks
  const stream = fs.stream("./large-file.bin", {
    chunkSize: FileSystem.KiB(64)
  })
  
  // Process chunks
  yield* Stream.runForEach(stream, (chunk) =>
    Effect.log(`Processing ${chunk.length} bytes`)
  )
})

​
sink

Creates a writable Sink for file output. 
sink: (
  path: string,
  options?: {
    readonly flag?: OpenFlag | undefined
    readonly mode?: number | undefined
  }
) => Sink.Sink<void, Uint8Array, never, PlatformError>
Example: 
import { Effect, FileSystem, Stream } from "effect"

const program = Effect.gen(function*() {
  const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem
  
  // Create a sink and write data to it
  const sink = fs.sink("./output.bin")
  
  // Stream data to file
  const dataStream = Stream.make(
    new Uint8Array([1, 2, 3]),
    new Uint8Array([4, 5, 6])
  )
  
  yield* Stream.run(dataStream, sink)
})

​
Temporary Files

​
makeTempDirectory

Creates a temporary directory. 
makeTempDirectory: (options?: {
  readonly directory?: string | undefined
  readonly prefix?: string | undefined
}) => Effect.Effect<string, PlatformError>

​
makeTempDirectoryScoped

Creates a temporary directory that’s automatically deleted when the scope closes. 
makeTempDirectoryScoped: (options?: {
  readonly directory?: string | undefined
  readonly prefix?: string | undefined
}) => Effect.Effect<string, PlatformError, Scope>
Example: 
import { Effect, FileSystem } from "effect"

const program = Effect.scoped(
  Effect.gen(function*() {
    const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem
    
    // Directory is automatically cleaned up
    const tmpDir = yield* fs.makeTempDirectoryScoped({
      prefix: "my-app-"
    })
    
    yield* fs.writeFileString(`${tmpDir}/data.txt`, "temporary")
    yield* Effect.log(`Using temp dir: ${tmpDir}`)
    
    // Directory deleted when scope exits
  })
)

​
File Operations

​
copy

Copies a file or directory (equivalent to cp -r). 
copy: (
  fromPath: string,
  toPath: string,
  options?: {
    readonly overwrite?: boolean | undefined
    readonly preserveTimestamps?: boolean | undefined
  }
) => Effect.Effect<void, PlatformError>

​
rename

Renames or moves a file or directory. 
rename: (
  oldPath: string,
  newPath: string
) => Effect.Effect<void, PlatformError>
Creates a symbolic link. 
symlink: (
  fromPath: string,
  toPath: string
) => Effect.Effect<void, PlatformError>

​
File Watching

​
watch

Watches a directory or file for changes. 
watch: (path: string) => Stream.Stream<WatchEvent, PlatformError>
Watch events include:
  • Create: New file/directory created
  • Update: File/directory modified
  • Remove: File/directory deleted
Example: 
import { Console, Effect, FileSystem, Stream } from "effect"

const program = Effect.gen(function*() {
  const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem
  
  const watcher = fs.watch("./watched-dir")
  
  yield* Stream.runForEach(watcher, (event) =>
    Console.log(`Event: ${event._tag} - ${event.path}`)
  )
})

​
Size Utilities

The module provides convenient helpers for working with file sizes:

​
Size Constructors

  • Size(bytes): Creates a Size from number or bigint
  • KiB(n): Kibibytes (1024 bytes)
  • MiB(n): Mebibytes (1024² bytes)
  • GiB(n): Gibibytes (1024³ bytes)
  • TiB(n): Tebibytes (1024⁴ bytes)
  • PiB(n): Pebibytes (1024⁵ bytes)
Example: 
import { Effect, FileSystem } from "effect"

const program = Effect.gen(function*() {
  const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem
  
  // Truncate file to 100 MiB
  yield* fs.truncate("./data.bin", FileSystem.MiB(100))
  
  // Stream with 64 KiB chunks
  const stream = fs.stream("./file.txt", {
    chunkSize: FileSystem.KiB(64)
  })
})

​
Low-Level File Handles

For fine-grained control, you can work with file handles directly:

​
open

Opens a file and returns a handle that’s automatically closed when the scope exits. 
open: (
  path: string,
  options?: {
    readonly flag?: OpenFlag | undefined
    readonly mode?: number | undefined
  }
) => Effect.Effect<File, PlatformError, Scope>
Example: 
import { Console, Effect, FileSystem } from "effect"

const program = Effect.scoped(
  Effect.gen(function*() {
    const fs = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem
    
    const file = yield* fs.open("./data.txt", { flag: "r+" })
    
    // Get file info
    const stats = yield* file.stat
    yield* Console.log(`File size: ${stats.size} bytes`)
    
    // Seek to position
    yield* file.seek(10, "start")
    
    // Read from current position
    const buffer = new Uint8Array(5)
    const bytesRead = yield* file.read(buffer)
    
    // Write data
    const data = new TextEncoder().encode("Hello")
    yield* file.write(data)
    
    // Flush to disk
    yield* file.sync
    
    // File is automatically closed when scope exits
  })
)

​
Open Flags

File open flags control how files are opened:
  • "r": Read-only. File must exist.
  • "r+": Read/write. File must exist.
  • "w": Write-only. Truncates or creates file.
  • "wx": Like ‘w’ but fails if file exists.
  • "w+": Read/write. Truncates or creates file.
  • "wx+": Like ‘w+’ but fails if file exists.
  • "a": Write-only append. Creates if needed.
  • "ax": Like ‘a’ but fails if file exists.
  • "a+": Read/write append. Creates if needed.
  • "ax+": Like ‘a+’ but fails if file exists.

​
Testing

​
makeNoop

Creates a no-op FileSystem for testing. 
makeNoop: (fileSystem: Partial<FileSystem>) => FileSystem
Example: 
import { Effect, FileSystem } from "effect"

const testFs = FileSystem.makeNoop({
  readFileString: (path) => {
    if (path === "test-config.json") {
      return Effect.succeed('{"test": true}')
    }
    return Effect.fail(
      PlatformError.systemError({
        _tag: "NotFound",
        module: "FileSystem",
        method: "readFileString",
        description: "File not found",
        pathOrDescriptor: path
      })
    )
  },
  exists: (path) => Effect.succeed(path === "test-config.json")
})

const program = Effect.gen(function*() {
  const content = yield* testFs.readFileString("test-config.json")
  // Will succeed with mocked content
})

​
Type Reference

​
FileSystem

interface FileSystem {
  readonly access: (path: string, options?) => Effect.Effect<void, PlatformError>
  readonly copy: (from: string, to: string, options?) => Effect.Effect<void, PlatformError>
  readonly chmod: (path: string, mode: number) => Effect.Effect<void, PlatformError>
  readonly exists: (path: string) => Effect.Effect<boolean, PlatformError>
  readonly makeDirectory: (path: string, options?) => Effect.Effect<void, PlatformError>
  readonly readFile: (path: string) => Effect.Effect<Uint8Array, PlatformError>
  readonly readFileString: (path: string, encoding?) => Effect.Effect<string, PlatformError>
  readonly stat: (path: string) => Effect.Effect<File.Info, PlatformError>
  readonly writeFile: (path: string, data: Uint8Array, options?) => Effect.Effect<void, PlatformError>
  readonly writeFileString: (path: string, data: string, options?) => Effect.Effect<void, PlatformError>
  readonly stream: (path: string, options?) => Stream.Stream<Uint8Array, PlatformError>
  readonly sink: (path: string, options?) => Sink.Sink<void, Uint8Array, never, PlatformError>
  readonly watch: (path: string) => Stream.Stream<WatchEvent, PlatformError>
  // ... and more
}

​
File.Info

interface File.Info {
  readonly type: "File" | "Directory" | "SymbolicLink" | "BlockDevice" | "CharacterDevice" | "FIFO" | "Socket" | "Unknown"
  readonly mtime: Date | undefined
  readonly atime: Date | undefined
  readonly birthtime: Date | undefined
  readonly dev: number
  readonly ino: number | undefined
  readonly mode: number
  readonly nlink: number | undefined
  readonly uid: number | undefined
  readonly gid: number | undefined
  readonly rdev: number | undefined
  readonly size: Size
  readonly blksize: Size | undefined
  readonly blocks: number | undefined
}

​
See Also

  • Stream - For streaming file operations
  • Effect - Core Effect type and operations
  • Layer - For providing FileSystem implementations