files.md (2955B)
1 ---
2 title: Local File Templates
3 linktitle: Local File Templates
4 description: Hugo's `readDir` and `readFile` functions make it easy to traverse your project's directory structure and write file contents to your templates.
5 date: 2017-02-01
6 publishdate: 2017-02-01
7 lastmod: 2017-02-01
8 categories: [templates]
9 keywords: [files,directories]
10 menu:
11 docs:
12 parent: "templates"
13 weight: 110
14 weight: 110
15 sections_weight: 110
16 draft: false
17 aliases: [/extras/localfiles/,/templates/local-files/]
18 toc: true
19 ---
20
21 ## Traverse Local Files
22
23 With Hugo's [`readDir`][readDir] and [`readFile`][readFile] template functions, you can traverse your website's files on your server.
24
25 ## Use `readDir`
26
27 The [`readDir` function][readDir] returns an array of [`os.FileInfo`][osfileinfo]. It takes the file's `path` as a single string argument. This path can be to any directory of your website (i.e., as found on your server's file system).
28
29 Whether the path is absolute or relative does not matter because---at least for `readDir`---the root of your website (typically `./public/`) in effect becomes both:
30
31 1. The file system root
32 2. The current working directory
33
34 ## Use `readFile`
35
36 The [`readfile` function][readFile] reads a file from disk and converts it into a string to be manipulated by other Hugo functions or added as-is. `readFile` takes the file, including path, as an argument passed to the function.
37
38 To use the `readFile` function in your templates, make sure the path is relative to your *Hugo project's root directory*:
39
40 ```
41 {{ readFile "/content/templates/local-file-templates" }}
42 ```
43
44 ### `readFile` Example: Add a Project File to Content
45
46 As `readFile` is a function, it is only available to you in your templates and not your content. However, we can create a simple [shortcode template][sct] that calls `readFile`, passes the first argument through the function, and then allows an optional second argument to send the file through the markdown processor. The pattern for adding this shortcode to your content will be as follows:
47
48 ```
49 {{</* readfile file="/path/to/local/file.txt" markdown="true" */>}}
50 ```
51
52 {{% warning %}}
53 If you are going to create [custom shortcodes](/templates/shortcode-templates/) with `readFile` for a theme, note that usage of the shortcode will refer to the project root and *not* your `themes` directory.
54 {{% /warning %}}
55
56
57
58 [called directly in the Hugo docs]: https://github.com/gohugoio/hugoDocs/blob/master/content/en/templates/files.md
59 [dirindex]: https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/blob/master/docs/layouts/shortcodes/directoryindex.html
60 [osfileinfo]: https://golang.org/pkg/os/#FileInfo
61 [readDir]: /functions/readdir/
62 [readFile]: /functions/readfile/
63 [sc]: /content-management/shortcodes/
64 [sct]: /templates/shortcode-templates/
65 [readfilesource]: https://github.com/gohugoio/hugoDocs/blob/master/layouts/shortcodes/readfile.html
66 [testfile]: https://github.com/gohugoio/hugoDocs/blob/master/content/en/readfiles/testing.txt