The modern way
Using the File Handling API
First, declare the file_handlers
attribute in your web app manifest. The File Handling API
requires you to specify the action
property (a handling URL) and the accept
property, which is
an object with MIME types as keys and arrays of the particularly corresponding file extensions.
{
"file_handlers": [
{
"action": "./",
"accept": {
"image/*": [".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".webp", ".svg"]
}
}
]
}
Next, you need to use the File Handling API to imperatively deal with opened files via the
launchQueue
.
if ('launchQueue' in window && 'files' in LaunchParams.prototype) {
launchQueue.setConsumer((launchParams) => {
if (!launchParams.files.length) {
return;
}
for (const fileHandle of launchParams.files) {
// Handle the file.
}
});
}
The classic way
Using the classic DataTransferItem.getAsFile()
method
If the File Handling API is not supported, you can still drag and drop files from the file explorer
into the app. The DataTransferItem.getAsFile()
method returns the drag data item's File
object.
If the item is not a file, this method returns null
. While you can read the file, there is no way
to write back to it. This method has the disadvantage that it does not support directories.
Progressive enhancement
The snippet below uses the File Handling API when it's available, and additionally registers drag and drop handlers so dragged files can be handled.
Declare the file types that can be handled in the web app manifest. Browsers that don't support the File Handling API will just ignore this.
{
"file_handlers": [
{
"action": "./",
"accept": {
"image/*": [".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".webp", ".svg"]
}
}
]
}
// File Handling API
const handleLaunchFiles = () => {
window.launchQueue.setConsumer((launchParams) => {
if (!launchParams.files.length) {
return;
}
launchParams.files.forEach(async (handle) => {
const file = await handle.getFile();
console.log(`File: ${file.name}`);
// Do something with the file.
});
});
};
if ('launchQueue' in window && 'files' in LaunchParams.prototype) {
handleLaunchFiles();
}
// This is the drag and drop zone.
const elem = document.querySelector('main');
// Prevent navigation.
elem.addEventListener('dragover', (e) => {
e.preventDefault();
});
// Visually highlight the drop zone.
elem.addEventListener('dragenter', (e) => {
elem.style.outline = 'solid red 1px';
});
// Visually unhighlight the drop zone.
elem.addEventListener('dragleave', (e) => {
elem.style.outline = '';
});
// This is where the drop is handled.
elem.addEventListener('drop', async (e) => {
// Prevent navigation.
e.preventDefault();
// Unhighlight the drop zone.
elem.style.outline = '';
// Prepare an array of promises…
const fileHandlesPromises = [...e.dataTransfer.items]
// …by including only files (where file misleadingly means actual file _or_
// directory)…
.filter((item) => item.kind === 'file')
// …and, depending on previous feature detection…
.map((item) => item.getAsFile());
// Loop over the array of promises.
for await (const handle of fileHandlesPromises) {
// This is where we can actually exclusively act on the files.
if (handle.isFile) {
console.log(`File: ${handle.name}`);
// Do something with the file.
}
}
});
Further reading
- Let installed web applications be file handlers
- The File System Access API: simplifying access to local files
Demo
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
<link rel="manifest" href="manifest.json" />
<title>How to handle files opened from the file explorer</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css" />
<!-- TODO: Devsite - Removed inline handlers -->
<!-- <script>
if ('serviceWorker' in navigator) {
window.addEventListener('load', async () => {
const registration = await navigator.serviceWorker.register(
'sw.js',
);
console.log(
'Service worker registered for scope',
registration.scope,
);
});
}
</script>
<script src="script.js" type="module"></script> -->
</head>
<body>
<h1>How to handle files opened from the file explorer</h1>
<p>Install the app. After the installation, try opening an image file from the file explorer with the app.
</body>
</html>
CSS
html {
box-sizing: border-box;
font-family: system-ui, sans-serif;
color-scheme: dark light;
}
*, *:before, *:after {
box-sizing: inherit;
}
body {
margin: 1rem;
}
img {
height: auto;
max-width: 100%;
display: block;
}
JS
if ('launchQueue' in window && 'files' in LaunchParams.prototype) {
launchQueue.setConsumer((launchParams) => {
if (!launchParams.files.length) {
return;
}
for (const fileHandle of launchParams.files) {
document.body.innerHTML += `${fileHandle.name}
`;
}
});
}