esp8266/doc/filesystem.rst

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 <https://github.com/pellepl/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 <https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino/blob/master/cores/esp8266/spiffs/README.md>`__.

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
   ``<home_dir>/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)
---------------------------

setConfig
~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: cpp

    SPIFFSConfig cfg;
    cfg.setAutoFormat(false);
    SPIFFS.setConfig(cfg);

This method allows you to configure the parameters of a filesystem
before mounting.  All filesystems have their own ``*Config`` (i.e.
``SDFSConfig`` or ``SPIFFSConfig`` with their custom set of options.
All filesystems allow explicitly enabling/disabling formatting when
mounts fail.  If you do not call this ``setConfig`` method before
perforing ``begin()``, you will get the filesystem's default
behavior and configuration. By default, SPIFFS will autoformat the
filesystem if it cannot mount it, while SDFS will not.

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.  With no options it will format SPIFFS
if it is unable to mount it on the first try.

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 the methods: ``next()``, ``fileName()``, ``fileSize()`` , 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());
        if(dir.fileSize()) {
            File f = dir.openFile("r");
            Serial.println(f.size());
        }
    }

next
~~~~

Returns true while there are files in the directory to
iterate over. It must be called before calling ``fileName()``, ``fileSize()``,
and ``openFile()`` functions.

fileName
~~~~~~~~~

Returns the name of the current file pointed to
by the internal iterator.

fileSize
~~~~~~~~

Returns the size of the current file pointed to
by the internal iterator.

openFile
~~~~~~~~

This 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.