Write files to the pod

How to write text, binary files, and full projects into a pod

This page explains how to write files into the BrowserPod filesystem using the API. It covers:

Creating project folders
Copying a full project
Writing text files
Writing binary files

Create the `/project` folder

Pods start with a minimal filesystem, so create a project directory first:

await pod.createDirectory("/project");

If you need intermediate folders, pass { recursive: true }.

Copy a whole project into a pod

A common pattern is to keep your runnable project inside your web app (for example in public/project/), then copy those files into /project at runtime:

async function copyFile(pod, path) {
  const f = await pod.createFile("/" + path, "binary");
  const resp = await fetch(path);
  const buf = await resp.arrayBuffer();
  await f.write(buf);
  await f.close();
}

await pod.createDirectory("/project");
await copyFile(pod, "project/main.js");
await copyFile(pod, "project/package.json");

Write a text file

Text files are for plain text (ASCII or UTF-8), such as .js, .json, .txt, .md, and .csv.

const file = await pod.createFile("/project/main.js", "utf-8");
await file.write("console.log('Hello BrowserPod')");
await file.close();

Write a binary file

Binary files are for raw bytes like images, ZIPs, PDFs, or Wasm files.

const file = await pod.createFile("/project/image.png", "binary");
const resp = await fetch("/image.png");
const bytes = await resp.arrayBuffer();
await file.write(bytes);
await file.close();

Write text as binary (optional)

If you prefer to write text as raw bytes, encode the string and pass an ArrayBuffer:

const content = "console.log('Hello BrowserPod')
";
const encoder = new TextEncoder();
const encoded = encoder.encode(content);
const buffer = encoded.buffer.slice(
  encoded.byteOffset,
  encoded.byteOffset + encoded.byteLength
);

const file = await pod.createFile('/project/main.js', 'binary');
await file.write(buffer);
await file.close();