Filesystem ========== Flash layout ------------ Even though file system is stored on the same flash chip as the program, programming new sketch will not modify file system contents. This allows to use file system to store sketch data, configuration files, or content for Web server. The following diagram illustrates flash layout used in Arduino environment: :: |--------------|-------|---------------|--|--|--|--|--| ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Sketch OTA update File system EEPROM WiFi config (SDK) File system size depends on the flash chip size. Depending on the board which is selected in IDE, you have the following options for flash size: +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ | Board | Flash chip size, bytes | File system size, bytes | +=================================+==========================+===========================+ | Generic module | 512k | 64k, 128k | +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ | Generic module | 1M | 64k, 128k, 256k, 512k | +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ | Generic module | 2M | 1M | +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ | Generic module | 4M | 1M, 2M, 3M | +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ | Adafruit HUZZAH | 4M | 1M, 2M, 3M | +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ | ESPresso Lite 1.0 | 4M | 1M, 2M, 3M | +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ | ESPresso Lite 2.0 | 4M | 1M, 2M, 3M | +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ | NodeMCU 0.9 | 4M | 1M, 2M, 3M | +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ | NodeMCU 1.0 | 4M | 1M, 2M, 3M | +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ | Olimex MOD-WIFI-ESP8266(-DEV) | 2M | 1M | +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ | SparkFun Thing | 512k | 64k | +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ | SweetPea ESP-210 | 4M | 1M, 2M, 3M | +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ | WeMos D1 R1, R2 & mini | 4M | 1M, 2M, 3M | +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ | ESPDuino | 4M | 1M, 2M, 3M | +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ | WiFiduino | 4M | 1M, 2M, 3M | +---------------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------------+ **Note:** to use any of file system functions in the sketch, add the following include to the sketch: .. code:: cpp #include "FS.h" File system limitations ----------------------- The filesystem implementation for ESP8266 had to accomodate the constraints of the chip, among which its limited RAM. `SPIFFS `__ was selected because it is designed for small systems, but that comes at the cost of some simplifications and limitations. First, behind the scenes, SPIFFS does not support directories, it just stores a "flat" list of files. But contrary to traditional filesystems, the slash character ``'/'`` is allowed in filenames, so the functions that deal with directory listing (e.g. ``openDir("/website")``) basically just filter the filenames and keep the ones that start with the requested prefix (``/website/``). Practically speaking, that makes little difference though. Second, there is a limit of 32 chars in total for filenames. One ``'\0'`` char is reserved for C string termination, so that leaves us with 31 usable characters. Combined, that means it is advised to keep filenames short and not use deeply nested directories, as the full path of each file (including directories, ``'/'`` characters, base name, dot and extension) has to be 31 chars at a maximum. For example, the filename ``/website/images/bird_thumbnail.jpg`` is 34 chars and will cause some problems if used, for example in ``exists()`` or in case another file starts with the same first 31 characters. **Warning**: That limit is easily reached and if ignored, problems might go unnoticed because no error message will appear at compilation nor runtime. For more details on the internals of SPIFFS implementation, see the `SPIFFS readme file `__. Uploading files to file system ------------------------------ *ESP8266FS* is a tool which integrates into the Arduino IDE. It adds a menu item to *Tools* menu for uploading the contents of sketch data directory into ESP8266 flash file system. - Download the tool: https://github.com/esp8266/arduino-esp8266fs-plugin/releases/download/0.3.0/ESP8266FS-0.3.0.zip. - In your Arduino sketchbook directory, create ``tools`` directory if it doesn't exist yet - Unpack the tool into ``tools`` directory (the path will look like ``/Arduino/tools/ESP8266FS/tool/esp8266fs.jar``) - Restart Arduino IDE - Open a sketch (or create a new one and save it) - Go to sketch directory (choose Sketch > Show Sketch Folder) - Create a directory named ``data`` and any files you want in the file system there - Make sure you have selected a board, port, and closed Serial Monitor - Select Tools > ESP8266 Sketch Data Upload. This should start uploading the files into ESP8266 flash file system. When done, IDE status bar will display ``SPIFFS Image Uploaded`` message. File system object (SPIFFS) --------------------------- begin ~~~~~ .. code:: cpp SPIFFS.begin() This method mounts SPIFFS file system. It must be called before any other FS APIs are used. Returns *true* if file system was mounted successfully, false otherwise. end ~~~ .. code:: cpp SPIFFS.end() This method unmounts SPIFFS file system. Use this method before updating SPIFFS using OTA. format ~~~~~~ .. code:: cpp SPIFFS.format() Formats the file system. May be called either before or after calling ``begin``. Returns *true* if formatting was successful. open ~~~~ .. code:: cpp SPIFFS.open(path, mode) Opens a file. ``path`` should be an absolute path starting with a slash (e.g. ``/dir/filename.txt``). ``mode`` is a string specifying access mode. It can be one of "r", "w", "a", "r+", "w+", "a+". Meaning of these modes is the same as for ``fopen`` C function. :: r Open text file for reading. The stream is positioned at the beginning of the file. r+ Open for reading and writing. The stream is positioned at the beginning of the file. w Truncate file to zero length or create text file for writing. The stream is positioned at the beginning of the file. w+ Open for reading and writing. The file is created if it does not exist, otherwise it is truncated. The stream is positioned at the beginning of the file. a Open for appending (writing at end of file). The file is created if it does not exist. The stream is positioned at the end of the file. a+ Open for reading and appending (writing at end of file). The file is created if it does not exist. The initial file position for reading is at the beginning of the file, but output is always appended to the end of the file. Returns *File* object. To check whether the file was opened successfully, use the boolean operator. .. code:: cpp File f = SPIFFS.open("/f.txt", "w"); if (!f) { Serial.println("file open failed"); } exists ~~~~~~ .. code:: cpp SPIFFS.exists(path) Returns *true* if a file with given path exists, *false* otherwise. openDir ~~~~~~~ .. code:: cpp SPIFFS.openDir(path) Opens a directory given its absolute path. Returns a *Dir* object. remove ~~~~~~ .. code:: cpp SPIFFS.remove(path) Deletes the file given its absolute path. Returns *true* if file was deleted successfully. rename ~~~~~~ .. code:: cpp SPIFFS.rename(pathFrom, pathTo) Renames file from ``pathFrom`` to ``pathTo``. Paths must be absolute. Returns *true* if file was renamed successfully. info ~~~~ .. code:: cpp FSInfo fs_info; SPIFFS.info(fs_info); Fills `FSInfo structure <#filesystem-information-structure>`__ with information about the file system. Returns ``true`` is successful, ``false`` otherwise. Filesystem information structure -------------------------------- .. code:: cpp struct FSInfo { size_t totalBytes; size_t usedBytes; size_t blockSize; size_t pageSize; size_t maxOpenFiles; size_t maxPathLength; }; This is the structure which may be filled using FS::info method. - ``totalBytes`` — total size of useful data on the file system - ``usedBytes`` — number of bytes used by files - ``blockSize`` — SPIFFS block size - ``pageSize`` — SPIFFS logical page size - ``maxOpenFiles`` — max number of files which may be open simultaneously - ``maxPathLength`` — max file name length (including one byte for zero termination) Directory object (Dir) ---------------------- The purpose of *Dir* object is to iterate over files inside a directory. It provides three methods: ``next()``, ``fileName()``, and ``openFile(mode)``. The following example shows how it should be used: .. code:: cpp Dir dir = SPIFFS.openDir("/data"); while (dir.next()) { Serial.print(dir.fileName()); File f = dir.openFile("r"); Serial.println(f.size()); } ``dir.next()`` returns true while there are files in the directory to iterate over. It must be called before calling ``fileName`` and ``openFile`` functions. ``openFile`` method takes *mode* argument which has the same meaning as for ``SPIFFS.open`` function. File object ----------- ``SPIFFS.open`` and ``dir.openFile`` functions return a *File* object. This object supports all the functions of *Stream*, so you can use ``readBytes``, ``findUntil``, ``parseInt``, ``println``, and all other *Stream* methods. There are also some functions which are specific to *File* object. seek ~~~~ .. code:: cpp file.seek(offset, mode) This function behaves like ``fseek`` C function. Depending on the value of ``mode``, it moves current position in a file as follows: - if ``mode`` is ``SeekSet``, position is set to ``offset`` bytes from the beginning. - if ``mode`` is ``SeekCur``, current position is moved by ``offset`` bytes. - if ``mode`` is ``SeekEnd``, position is set to ``offset`` bytes from the end of the file. Returns *true* if position was set successfully. position ~~~~~~~~ .. code:: cpp file.position() Returns the current position inside the file, in bytes. size ~~~~ .. code:: cpp file.size() Returns file size, in bytes. name ~~~~ .. code:: cpp String name = file.name(); Returns file name, as ``const char*``. Convert it to *String* for storage. close ~~~~~ .. code:: cpp file.close() Close the file. No other operations should be performed on *File* object after ``close`` function was called.