dart:io

Directory class

A reference to a directory (or folder) on the file system.

A Directory is an object holding a path on which operations can be performed. The path to the directory can be absolute or relative. It allows access to the parent directory, since it is a FileSystemEntity.

The Directory also provides static access to the system's temporary file directory, systemTemp, and the ability to access and change the current directory.

Create a new Directory to give access the directory with the specified path:

var myDir = Directory('myDir');

Most instance methods of Directory exist in both synchronous and asynchronous variants, for example, create and createSync. Unless you have a specific reason for using the synchronous version of a method, prefer the asynchronous version to avoid blocking your program.

Create a directory

The following code sample creates a directory using the create method. By setting the recursive parameter to true, you can create the named directory and all its necessary parent directories, if they do not already exist.

import 'dart:io';

void main() async {
  // Creates dir/ and dir/subdir/.
  var directory = await Directory('dir/subdir').create(recursive: true);
  print(directory.path);
}

List the entries of a directory

Use the list or listSync methods to get the files and directories contained in a directory. Set recursive to true to recursively list all subdirectories. Set followLinks to true to follow symbolic links. The list method returns a Stream of FileSystemEntity objects. Listen on the stream to access each object as it is found:

import 'dart:io';

void main() async {
  // Get the system temp directory.
  var systemTempDir = Directory.systemTemp;

  // List directory contents, recursing into sub-directories,
  // but not following symbolic links.
  await for (var entity in
      systemTempDir.list(recursive: true, followLinks: false)) {
    print(entity.path);
  }
}

The use of asynchronous methods

I/O operations can block a program for some period of time while it waits for the operation to complete. To avoid this, all methods involving I/O have an asynchronous variant which returns a Future. This future completes when the I/O operation finishes. While the I/O operation is in progress, the Dart program is not blocked, and can perform other operations.

For example, the exists method, which determines whether the directory exists, returns a boolean value asynchronously using a Future.

import 'dart:io';

void main() async {
  final myDir = Directory('dir');
  var isThere = await myDir.exists();
  print(isThere ? 'exists' : 'non-existent');
}

In addition to exists, the stat, rename, and other methods are also asynchronous.

Other resources

• The Files and directories section of the library tour.

• Write Command-Line Apps, a tutorial about writing command-line apps, includes information about files and directories.

Implemented types

• FileSystemEntity

Constructors

Directory(String path)

factory

Creates a Directory object.

Directory.fromRawPath(Uint8List path)

factory

Directory.fromUri(Uri uri)

factory

Create a Directory from a URI.

Properties

absolute → Directory

read-only, override

A Directory whose path is the absolute path of this.

hashCode → int

read-only, inherited

The hash code for this object.

isAbsolute → bool

read-only, inherited

Whether this object's path is absolute.

parent → Directory

read-only, inherited

The parent directory of this entity.

path → String

read-only, override

Gets the path of this directory.

runtimeType → Type

read-only, inherited

A representation of the runtime type of the object.

uri → Uri

read-only, override

A Uri representing the directory's location.

Methods

create({bool recursive = false}) → Future<Directory>

Creates the directory if it doesn't exist.

createSync({bool recursive = false}) → void

Synchronously creates the directory if it doesn't exist.

createTemp([String? prefix]) → Future<Directory>

Creates a temporary directory in this directory.

createTempSync([String? prefix]) → Directory

Synchronously creates a temporary directory in this directory.

delete({bool recursive = false}) → Future<FileSystemEntity>

inherited

Deletes this FileSystemEntity.

deleteSync({bool recursive = false}) → void

inherited

Synchronously deletes this FileSystemEntity.

exists() → Future<bool>

inherited

Checks whether the file system entity with this path exists.

existsSync() → bool

inherited

Synchronously checks whether the file system entity with this path exists.

list({bool recursive = false, bool followLinks = true}) → Stream<FileSystemEntity>

Lists the sub-directories and files of this Directory.

listSync({bool recursive = false, bool followLinks = true}) → List<FileSystemEntity>

Lists the sub-directories and files of this Directory. Optionally recurses into sub-directories.

noSuchMethod(Invocation invocation) → dynamic

inherited

Invoked when a non-existent method or property is accessed.

rename(String newPath) → Future<Directory>

override

Renames this directory.

renameSync(String newPath) → Directory

override

Synchronously renames this directory.

resolveSymbolicLinks() → Future<String>

override

Resolves the path of a file system object relative to the current working directory.

resolveSymbolicLinksSync() → String

override

Resolves the path of a file system object relative to the current working directory.

stat() → Future<FileStat>

inherited

Calls the operating system's stat() function on path.

statSync() → FileStat

inherited

Synchronously calls the operating system's stat() function on path.

toString() → String

override

Returns a human readable representation of this Directory.

watch({int events = FileSystemEvent.all, bool recursive = false}) → Stream<FileSystemEvent>

inherited

Start watching the FileSystemEntity for changes.

Operators

operator ==(Object other) → bool

inherited

The equality operator.

Static Properties

current ↔ Directory

read / write

Creates a directory object pointing to the current working directory.

systemTemp → Directory

read-only

The system temp directory.