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File and FileReader

Read files from the user's system using File and FileReader APIs

Abhishek Sharma 2026-06-10 Web Development / Frontend / JavaScript DOM / Binary-Data
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File and FileReader

The File API lets users select files from their device. FileReader reads the contents - as text, data URL, or ArrayBuffer.

The File Object

A File is a Blob with additional metadata:

file.name          // "photo.jpg"
file.size          // 102400 (bytes)
file.type          // "image/jpeg"
file.lastModified  // timestamp

Getting Files from Input

<input type="file" id="file-input" multiple>
document.getElementById('file-input').addEventListener('change', function(e) {
  const files = e.target.files; // FileList
  for (const file of files) {
    console.log(file.name, file.size, file.type);
  }
});
Demo: File Input Info
HTML 
<div>
<input type='file' id='file-input' multiple style='margin-bottom:8px;'>
<pre id='file-info' style='background:#f1f5f9;padding:12px;border-radius:6px;min-height:60px;'></pre>
</div>
JavaScript 
document.getElementById('file-input').addEventListener('change', function(e) {
const out = document.getElementById('file-info');
const files = e.target.files;

if (files.length === 0) {
out.textContent = 'No files selected';
return;
}

let info = 'Selected ' + files.length + ' file(s):\\n';
for (const file of files) {
const sizeKB = (file.size / 1024).toFixed(1);
const date = new Date(file.lastModified).toLocaleDateString();
info += '\\n  ' + file.name + '\\n' +
'  Size: ' + sizeKB + ' KB\\n' +
'  Type: ' + (file.type || 'unknown') + '\\n' +
'  Modified: ' + date + '\\n';
}
out.textContent = info;
});
Live Output Window

Reading Files with FileReader

FileReader reads the content asynchronously:

const reader = new FileReader();

reader.onload = function(e) {
  console.log(e.target.result); // the file contents
};

reader.onerror = function(e) {
  console.error('Error reading file');
};

reader.readAsText(file);   // as string
reader.readAsDataURL(file); // as base64 data URL
reader.readAsArrayBuffer(file); // as ArrayBuffer
Demo: FileReader Methods
HTML 
<div>
<input type='file' id='reader-file' style='margin-bottom:8px;'>
<div style='display:flex;gap:8px;margin-bottom:8px;'>
<button id='read-text'>Read as Text</button>
<button id='read-dataurl'>Read as Data URL</button>
</div>
<pre id='reader-out' style='background:#f1f5f9;padding:12px;border-radius:6px;min-height:60px;word-break:break-all;'></pre>
</div>
JavaScript 
const fileInput = document.getElementById('reader-file');
const out = document.getElementById('reader-out');

function readFile(method) {
const file = fileInput.files[0];
if (!file) {
out.textContent = 'Please select a file first';
return;
}

const reader = new FileReader();

reader.onload = function(e) {
const result = e.target.result;
if (method === 'text') {
out.textContent = 'Text content (' + result.length + ' chars):\\n' + result;
} else {
out.textContent = 'Data URL (' + result.length + ' chars):\\n' + result.substring(0, 200) + '...';
}
};

reader.onerror = function() {
out.textContent = 'Error reading file';
};

if (method === 'text') reader.readAsText(file);
else reader.readAsDataURL(file);

out.textContent = 'Reading file...';
}

document.getElementById('read-text').onclick = () => readFile('text');
document.getElementById('read-dataurl').onclick = () => readFile('dataurl');
Live Output Window

Drag and Drop Files

Files can also be obtained via drag and drop:

dropZone.addEventListener('dragover', function(e) {
  e.preventDefault();
});

dropZone.addEventListener('drop', function(e) {
  e.preventDefault();
  const files = e.dataTransfer.files;
  // process files
});
Demo: Drag & Drop Files
HTML 
<style>
#drop-zone { width: 100%; height: 150px; border: 2px dashed #6366f1; border-radius: 8px; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; background: #f1f5f9; transition: all 0.3s; }
#drop-zone.dragover { background: #eef2ff; border-color: #4f46e5; transform: scale(1.02); }
</style>
<div id='drop-zone'>Drop files here</div>
<pre id='drop-info' style='background:#f1f5f9;padding:12px;border-radius:6px;'></pre>
JavaScript 
const zone = document.getElementById('drop-zone');
const out = document.getElementById('drop-info');

zone.addEventListener('dragover', function(e) {
e.preventDefault();
this.classList.add('dragover');
});

zone.addEventListener('dragleave', function() {
this.classList.remove('dragover');
});

zone.addEventListener('drop', function(e) {
e.preventDefault();
this.classList.remove('dragover');
const files = e.dataTransfer.files;

if (files.length === 0) {
out.textContent = 'No files dropped';
return;
}

let info = 'Dropped ' + files.length + ' file(s):\\n';
for (const file of files) {
info += '\\n  ' + file.name + ' (' + (file.size / 1024).toFixed(1) + ' KB)';
}
out.textContent = info;
});
Live Output Window

FileReader Events

Event When
loadstart Read starts
progress During read (for large files)
load Read complete
error Read failed
abort Read cancelled
loadend Read finished (success or fail)

Reading Images as DataURL

Display a user-selected image:

const reader = new FileReader();
reader.onload = function(e) {
  img.src = e.target.result; // data URL
};
reader.readAsDataURL(file);

Key Takeaways

  • File extends Blob - has name, size, type, lastModified
  • Get files from <input type="file"> or drag-and-drop
  • FileReader reads files as text, data URL, or ArrayBuffer
  • FileReader is async - use onload / onerror callbacks
  • For images, use readAsDataURL() and set as img.src
  • Modern alternative: file.text(), file.arrayBuffer(), file.stream()
  • Always handle onerror - files can fail to read (corrupted, permissions)

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