BinaryFile

Binary data, ArrayBuffer, and the BinaryFile API

BinaryFile handles are returned by createFile(path, "binary") and openFile(path, "binary").

What “binary” means here

In BrowserPod, binary does not mean “executable program.” It simply means raw bytes — data that is not plain text.

Examples of binary data:

Images (PNG, JPG)
Zip files
PDFs
Wasm files
Any file you download from the internet that isn’t plain text

What is an ArrayBuffer?

An ArrayBuffer is JavaScript’s standard container for raw bytes. It is the browser’s way of holding binary data in memory.

Think of it like a box of bytes:

Text files → strings
Binary files → ArrayBuffer

Why BrowserPod uses ArrayBuffer

BrowserPod runs in the browser, so it uses the browser’s native binary format (ArrayBuffer) for file data. That keeps things fast and compatible with browser APIs like fetch, Response.arrayBuffer(), and file uploads.

BinaryFile vs TextFile

When you create or open a file, you choose a mode:

TextFile: use when you want to read/write strings (like .js or .json).
BinaryFile: use when you want to read/write raw bytes (like images or ZIPs).

Example: writing text

const file = await pod.createFile("/project/readme.txt", "text");
await file.write("Hello BrowserPod");
await file.close();

Example: writing binary

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();