SDL 3.0
SDL_filesystem.h File Reference
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Data Structures

struct  SDL_PathInfo
 

Macros

#define SDL_GLOB_CASEINSENSITIVE   (1u << 0)
 

Typedefs

typedef Uint32 SDL_GlobFlags
 
typedef SDL_EnumerationResult(* SDL_EnumerateDirectoryCallback) (void *userdata, const char *dirname, const char *fname)
 

Enumerations

enum  SDL_Folder {
  SDL_FOLDER_HOME ,
  SDL_FOLDER_DESKTOP ,
  SDL_FOLDER_DOCUMENTS ,
  SDL_FOLDER_DOWNLOADS ,
  SDL_FOLDER_MUSIC ,
  SDL_FOLDER_PICTURES ,
  SDL_FOLDER_PUBLICSHARE ,
  SDL_FOLDER_SAVEDGAMES ,
  SDL_FOLDER_SCREENSHOTS ,
  SDL_FOLDER_TEMPLATES ,
  SDL_FOLDER_VIDEOS ,
  SDL_FOLDER_COUNT
}
 
enum  SDL_PathType {
  SDL_PATHTYPE_NONE ,
  SDL_PATHTYPE_FILE ,
  SDL_PATHTYPE_DIRECTORY ,
  SDL_PATHTYPE_OTHER
}
 
enum  SDL_EnumerationResult {
  SDL_ENUM_CONTINUE ,
  SDL_ENUM_SUCCESS ,
  SDL_ENUM_FAILURE
}
 

Functions

const char * SDL_GetBasePath (void)
 
char * SDL_GetPrefPath (const char *org, const char *app)
 
const char * SDL_GetUserFolder (SDL_Folder folder)
 
bool SDL_CreateDirectory (const char *path)
 
bool SDL_EnumerateDirectory (const char *path, SDL_EnumerateDirectoryCallback callback, void *userdata)
 
bool SDL_RemovePath (const char *path)
 
bool SDL_RenamePath (const char *oldpath, const char *newpath)
 
bool SDL_CopyFile (const char *oldpath, const char *newpath)
 
bool SDL_GetPathInfo (const char *path, SDL_PathInfo *info)
 
char ** SDL_GlobDirectory (const char *path, const char *pattern, SDL_GlobFlags flags, int *count)
 

Macro Definition Documentation

◆ SDL_GLOB_CASEINSENSITIVE

#define SDL_GLOB_CASEINSENSITIVE   (1u << 0)

Definition at line 249 of file SDL_filesystem.h.

Typedef Documentation

◆ SDL_EnumerateDirectoryCallback

typedef SDL_EnumerationResult(* SDL_EnumerateDirectoryCallback) (void *userdata, const char *dirname, const char *fname)

Callback for directory enumeration.

Enumeration of directory entries will continue until either all entries have been provided to the callback, or the callback has requested a stop through its return value.

Returning SDL_ENUM_CONTINUE will let enumeration proceed, calling the callback with further entries. SDL_ENUM_SUCCESS and SDL_ENUM_FAILURE will terminate the enumeration early, and dictate the return value of the enumeration function itself.

Parameters
userdataan app-controlled pointer that is passed to the callback.
dirnamethe directory that is being enumerated.
fnamethe next entry in the enumeration.
Returns
how the enumeration should proceed.
Since
This datatype is available since SDL 3.1.3.
See also
SDL_EnumerateDirectory

Definition at line 302 of file SDL_filesystem.h.

◆ SDL_GlobFlags

Flags for path matching

Since
This datatype is available since SDL 3.1.3.
See also
SDL_GlobDirectory
SDL_GlobStorageDirectory

Definition at line 247 of file SDL_filesystem.h.

Enumeration Type Documentation

◆ SDL_EnumerationResult

Possible results from an enumeration callback.

Since
This enum is available since SDL 3.1.3.
See also
SDL_EnumerateDirectoryCallback
Enumerator
SDL_ENUM_CONTINUE 

Value that requests that enumeration continue.

SDL_ENUM_SUCCESS 

Value that requests that enumeration stop, successfully.

SDL_ENUM_FAILURE 

Value that requests that enumeration stop, as a failure.

Definition at line 274 of file SDL_filesystem.h.

275{
276 SDL_ENUM_CONTINUE, /**< Value that requests that enumeration continue. */
277 SDL_ENUM_SUCCESS, /**< Value that requests that enumeration stop, successfully. */
278 SDL_ENUM_FAILURE /**< Value that requests that enumeration stop, as a failure. */
SDL_EnumerationResult
@ SDL_ENUM_CONTINUE
@ SDL_ENUM_SUCCESS
@ SDL_ENUM_FAILURE

◆ SDL_Folder

enum SDL_Folder

The type of the OS-provided default folder for a specific purpose.

Note that the Trash folder isn't included here, because trashing files usually involves extra OS-specific functionality to remember the file's original location.

The folders supported per platform are:

Windows macOS/iOS tvOS Unix (XDG) Haiku Emscripten
HOME X X X X X
DESKTOP X X X X
DOCUMENTS X X X
DOWNLOADS Vista+ X X
MUSIC X X X
PICTURES X X X
PUBLICSHARE X X
SAVEDGAMES Vista+
SCREENSHOTS Vista+
TEMPLATES X X X
VIDEOS X X* X

Note that on macOS/iOS, the Videos folder is called "Movies".

Since
This enum is available since SDL 3.1.3.
See also
SDL_GetUserFolder
Enumerator
SDL_FOLDER_HOME 

The folder which contains all of the current user's data, preferences, and documents. It usually contains most of the other folders. If a requested folder does not exist, the home folder can be considered a safe fallback to store a user's documents.

SDL_FOLDER_DESKTOP 

The folder of files that are displayed on the desktop. Note that the existence of a desktop folder does not guarantee that the system does show icons on its desktop; certain GNU/Linux distros with a graphical environment may not have desktop icons.

SDL_FOLDER_DOCUMENTS 

User document files, possibly application-specific. This is a good place to save a user's projects.

SDL_FOLDER_DOWNLOADS 

Standard folder for user files downloaded from the internet.

SDL_FOLDER_MUSIC 

Music files that can be played using a standard music player (mp3, ogg...).

SDL_FOLDER_PICTURES 

Image files that can be displayed using a standard viewer (png, jpg...).

SDL_FOLDER_PUBLICSHARE 

Files that are meant to be shared with other users on the same computer.

SDL_FOLDER_SAVEDGAMES 

Save files for games.

SDL_FOLDER_SCREENSHOTS 

Application screenshots.

SDL_FOLDER_TEMPLATES 

Template files to be used when the user requests the desktop environment to create a new file in a certain folder, such as "New Text File.txt". Any file in the Templates folder can be used as a starting point for a new file.

SDL_FOLDER_VIDEOS 

Video files that can be played using a standard video player (mp4, webm...).

SDL_FOLDER_COUNT 

Total number of types in this enum, not a folder type by itself.

Definition at line 166 of file SDL_filesystem.h.

167{
168 SDL_FOLDER_HOME, /**< The folder which contains all of the current user's data, preferences, and documents. It usually contains most of the other folders. If a requested folder does not exist, the home folder can be considered a safe fallback to store a user's documents. */
169
170 SDL_FOLDER_DESKTOP, /**< The folder of files that are displayed on the desktop. Note that the existence of a desktop folder does not guarantee that the system does show icons on its desktop; certain GNU/Linux distros with a graphical environment may not have desktop icons. */
171
172 SDL_FOLDER_DOCUMENTS, /**< User document files, possibly application-specific. This is a good place to save a user's projects. */
173
174 SDL_FOLDER_DOWNLOADS, /**< Standard folder for user files downloaded from the internet. */
175
176 SDL_FOLDER_MUSIC, /**< Music files that can be played using a standard music player (mp3, ogg...). */
177
178 SDL_FOLDER_PICTURES, /**< Image files that can be displayed using a standard viewer (png, jpg...). */
179
180 SDL_FOLDER_PUBLICSHARE, /**< Files that are meant to be shared with other users on the same computer. */
181
182 SDL_FOLDER_SAVEDGAMES, /**< Save files for games. */
183
184 SDL_FOLDER_SCREENSHOTS, /**< Application screenshots. */
185
186 SDL_FOLDER_TEMPLATES, /**< Template files to be used when the user requests the desktop environment to create a new file in a certain folder, such as "New Text File.txt". Any file in the Templates folder can be used as a starting point for a new file. */
187
188 SDL_FOLDER_VIDEOS, /**< Video files that can be played using a standard video player (mp4, webm...). */
189
190 SDL_FOLDER_COUNT /**< Total number of types in this enum, not a folder type by itself. */
191
192} SDL_Folder;
SDL_Folder
@ SDL_FOLDER_COUNT
@ SDL_FOLDER_DOCUMENTS
@ SDL_FOLDER_TEMPLATES
@ SDL_FOLDER_DOWNLOADS
@ SDL_FOLDER_HOME
@ SDL_FOLDER_SAVEDGAMES
@ SDL_FOLDER_DESKTOP
@ SDL_FOLDER_PICTURES
@ SDL_FOLDER_PUBLICSHARE
@ SDL_FOLDER_SCREENSHOTS
@ SDL_FOLDER_VIDEOS
@ SDL_FOLDER_MUSIC

◆ SDL_PathType

Enumerator
SDL_PATHTYPE_NONE 

path does not exist

SDL_PATHTYPE_FILE 

a normal file

SDL_PATHTYPE_DIRECTORY 

a directory

SDL_PATHTYPE_OTHER 

something completely different like a device node (not a symlink, those are always followed)

Definition at line 222 of file SDL_filesystem.h.

223{
224 SDL_PATHTYPE_NONE, /**< path does not exist */
225 SDL_PATHTYPE_FILE, /**< a normal file */
226 SDL_PATHTYPE_DIRECTORY, /**< a directory */
227 SDL_PATHTYPE_OTHER /**< something completely different like a device node (not a symlink, those are always followed) */
SDL_PathType
@ SDL_PATHTYPE_FILE
@ SDL_PATHTYPE_NONE
@ SDL_PATHTYPE_DIRECTORY
@ SDL_PATHTYPE_OTHER

Function Documentation

◆ SDL_CopyFile()

bool SDL_CopyFile ( const char *  oldpath,
const char *  newpath 
)
extern

Copy a file.

If the file at newpath already exists, it will be overwritten with the contents of the file at oldpath.

This function will block until the copy is complete, which might be a significant time for large files on slow disks. On some platforms, the copy can be handed off to the OS itself, but on others SDL might just open both paths, and read from one and write to the other.

Note that this is not an atomic operation! If something tries to read from newpath while the copy is in progress, it will see an incomplete copy of the data, and if the calling thread terminates (or the power goes out) during the copy, newpath's previous contents will be gone, replaced with an incomplete copy of the data. To avoid this risk, it is recommended that the app copy to a temporary file in the same directory as newpath, and if the copy is successful, use SDL_RenamePath() to replace newpath with the temporary file. This will ensure that reads of newpath will either see a complete copy of the data, or it will see the pre-copy state of newpath.

This function attempts to synchronize the newly-copied data to disk before returning, if the platform allows it, so that the renaming trick will not have a problem in a system crash or power failure, where the file could be renamed but the contents never made it from the system file cache to the physical disk.

If the copy fails for any reason, the state of newpath is undefined. It might be half a copy, it might be the untouched data of what was already there, or it might be a zero-byte file, etc.

Parameters
oldpaththe old path.
newpaththe new path.
Returns
true on success or false on failure; call SDL_GetError() for more information.
Since
This function is available since SDL 3.1.3.

◆ SDL_CreateDirectory()

bool SDL_CreateDirectory ( const char *  path)
extern

Create a directory, and any missing parent directories.

This reports success if path already exists as a directory.

If parent directories are missing, it will also create them. Note that if this fails, it will not remove any parent directories it already made.

Parameters
paththe path of the directory to create.
Returns
true on success or false on failure; call SDL_GetError() for more information.
Since
This function is available since SDL 3.1.3.

◆ SDL_EnumerateDirectory()

bool SDL_EnumerateDirectory ( const char *  path,
SDL_EnumerateDirectoryCallback  callback,
void *  userdata 
)
extern

Enumerate a directory through a callback function.

This function provides every directory entry through an app-provided callback, called once for each directory entry, until all results have been provided or the callback returns either SDL_ENUM_SUCCESS or SDL_ENUM_FAILURE.

This will return false if there was a system problem in general, or if a callback returns SDL_ENUM_FAILURE. A successful return means a callback returned SDL_ENUM_SUCCESS to halt enumeration, or all directory entries were enumerated.

Parameters
paththe path of the directory to enumerate.
callbacka function that is called for each entry in the directory.
userdataa pointer that is passed to callback.
Returns
true on success or false on failure; call SDL_GetError() for more information.
Since
This function is available since SDL 3.1.3.

◆ SDL_GetBasePath()

const char * SDL_GetBasePath ( void  )
extern

CategoryFilesystem

SDL Filesystem API. Get the directory where the application was run from.

SDL caches the result of this call internally, but the first call to this function is not necessarily fast, so plan accordingly.

macOS and iOS Specific Functionality: If the application is in a ".app" bundle, this function returns the Resource directory (e.g. MyApp.app/Contents/Resources/). This behaviour can be overridden by adding a property to the Info.plist file. Adding a string key with the name SDL_FILESYSTEM_BASE_DIR_TYPE with a supported value will change the behaviour.

Supported values for the SDL_FILESYSTEM_BASE_DIR_TYPE property (Given an application in /Applications/SDLApp/MyApp.app):

  • resource: bundle resource directory (the default). For example: /Applications/SDLApp/MyApp.app/Contents/Resources
  • bundle: the Bundle directory. For example: /Applications/SDLApp/MyApp.app/
  • parent: the containing directory of the bundle. For example: /Applications/SDLApp/

Nintendo 3DS Specific Functionality: This function returns "romfs" directory of the application as it is uncommon to store resources outside the executable. As such it is not a writable directory.

The returned path is guaranteed to end with a path separator ('\' on Windows, '/' on most other platforms).

Returns
an absolute path in UTF-8 encoding to the application data directory. NULL will be returned on error or when the platform doesn't implement this functionality, call SDL_GetError() for more information.
Since
This function is available since SDL 3.1.3.
See also
SDL_GetPrefPath

◆ SDL_GetPathInfo()

bool SDL_GetPathInfo ( const char *  path,
SDL_PathInfo info 
)
extern

Get information about a filesystem path.

Parameters
paththe path to query.
infoa pointer filled in with information about the path, or NULL to check for the existence of a file.
Returns
true on success or false if the file doesn't exist, or another failure; call SDL_GetError() for more information.
Since
This function is available since SDL 3.1.3.

◆ SDL_GetPrefPath()

char * SDL_GetPrefPath ( const char *  org,
const char *  app 
)
extern

Get the user-and-app-specific path where files can be written.

Get the "pref dir". This is meant to be where users can write personal files (preferences and save games, etc) that are specific to your application. This directory is unique per user, per application.

This function will decide the appropriate location in the native filesystem, create the directory if necessary, and return a string of the absolute path to the directory in UTF-8 encoding.

On Windows, the string might look like:

C:\\Users\\bob\\AppData\\Roaming\\My Company\\My Program Name\\

On Linux, the string might look like:

/home/bob/.local/share/My Program Name/

On macOS, the string might look like:

/Users/bob/Library/Application Support/My Program Name/

You should assume the path returned by this function is the only safe place to write files (and that SDL_GetBasePath(), while it might be writable, or even the parent of the returned path, isn't where you should be writing things).

Both the org and app strings may become part of a directory name, so please follow these rules:

  • Try to use the same org string (including case-sensitivity) for all your applications that use this function.
  • Always use a unique app string for each one, and make sure it never changes for an app once you've decided on it.
  • Unicode characters are legal, as long as they are UTF-8 encoded, but...
  • ...only use letters, numbers, and spaces. Avoid punctuation like "Game Name 2: Bad Guy's Revenge!" ... "Game Name 2" is sufficient.

The returned path is guaranteed to end with a path separator ('\' on Windows, '/' on most other platforms).

Parameters
orgthe name of your organization.
appthe name of your application.
Returns
a UTF-8 string of the user directory in platform-dependent notation. NULL if there's a problem (creating directory failed, etc.). This should be freed with SDL_free() when it is no longer needed.
Since
This function is available since SDL 3.1.3.
See also
SDL_GetBasePath

◆ SDL_GetUserFolder()

const char * SDL_GetUserFolder ( SDL_Folder  folder)
extern

Finds the most suitable user folder for a specific purpose.

Many OSes provide certain standard folders for certain purposes, such as storing pictures, music or videos for a certain user. This function gives the path for many of those special locations.

This function is specifically for user folders, which are meant for the user to access and manage. For application-specific folders, meant to hold data for the application to manage, see SDL_GetBasePath() and SDL_GetPrefPath().

The returned path is guaranteed to end with a path separator ('\' on Windows, '/' on most other platforms).

If NULL is returned, the error may be obtained with SDL_GetError().

Parameters
folderthe type of folder to find.
Returns
either a null-terminated C string containing the full path to the folder, or NULL if an error happened.
Since
This function is available since SDL 3.1.3.

◆ SDL_GlobDirectory()

char ** SDL_GlobDirectory ( const char *  path,
const char *  pattern,
SDL_GlobFlags  flags,
int *  count 
)
extern

Enumerate a directory tree, filtered by pattern, and return a list.

Files are filtered out if they don't match the string in pattern, which may contain wildcard characters '*' (match everything) and '?' (match one character). If pattern is NULL, no filtering is done and all results are returned. Subdirectories are permitted, and are specified with a path separator of '/'. Wildcard characters '*' and '?' never match a path separator.

flags may be set to SDL_GLOB_CASEINSENSITIVE to make the pattern matching case-insensitive.

The returned array is always NULL-terminated, for your iterating convenience, but if count is non-NULL, on return it will contain the number of items in the array, not counting the NULL terminator.

Parameters
paththe path of the directory to enumerate.
patternthe pattern that files in the directory must match. Can be NULL.
flagsSDL_GLOB_* bitflags that affect this search.
counton return, will be set to the number of items in the returned array. Can be NULL.
Returns
an array of strings on success or NULL on failure; call SDL_GetError() for more information. This is a single allocation that should be freed with SDL_free() when it is no longer needed.

\threadsafety It is safe to call this function from any thread.

Since
This function is available since SDL 3.1.3.

◆ SDL_RemovePath()

bool SDL_RemovePath ( const char *  path)
extern

Remove a file or an empty directory.

Directories that are not empty will fail; this function will not recursely delete directory trees.

Parameters
paththe path to remove from the filesystem.
Returns
true on success or false on failure; call SDL_GetError() for more information.
Since
This function is available since SDL 3.1.3.

◆ SDL_RenamePath()

bool SDL_RenamePath ( const char *  oldpath,
const char *  newpath 
)
extern

Rename a file or directory.

If the file at newpath already exists, it will replaced.

Note that this will not copy files across filesystems/drives/volumes, as that is a much more complicated (and possibly time-consuming) operation.

Which is to say, if this function fails, SDL_CopyFile() to a temporary file in the same directory as newpath, then SDL_RenamePath() from the temporary file to newpath and SDL_RemovePath() on oldpath might work for files. Renaming a non-empty directory across filesystems is dramatically more complex, however.

Parameters
oldpaththe old path.
newpaththe new path.
Returns
true on success or false on failure; call SDL_GetError() for more information.
Since
This function is available since SDL 3.1.3.