Directory

Standard library namespace · Always available, with no import

Directory works with folders: making them, seeing what is inside, and removing them. What is inside a folder is read and written with File.

Directory.create("reports/2026")
File.write("reports/2026/summary.txt", "All good")
File.write("reports/overview.txt", "See 2026")

for path in Directory.list("reports").sort() {
    print(path)
}

Output

reports/2026
reports/overview.txt

A path is a String, and a relative one is looked up from the folder the program was run in. When an operation fails, it raises a FileError.

At a glance

Looking
Directory.exists?(path)	Whether there is a folder at the path
Directory.list(path)	The paths inside a folder

Changing
Directory.create(path)	Make a folder, and any it needs
Directory.delete(path)	Remove an empty folder
Directory.delete_recursive(path)	Remove a folder and everything in it

Looking

Directory.exists?(path: String): Bool

Whether there is a folder at path. A file is not a folder, so for a file this is false; ask File.exists? instead.

Directory.list(path: String): List[String]

The full path of everything directly inside the folder, files and folders alike. Each path starts with the path you gave, so it can be passed straight to File.read or to Directory.list again. It does not look inside the folders it finds.

The order is not specified, and can differ between computers, so sort the list when the order matters, as above.

Raises a FileError when there is no folder at path.

Changing

Directory.create(path: String)

Makes the folder, along with any folders above it that are missing, so Directory.create("a/b/c") works even when a doesn’t exist yet. If the folder is already there, nothing happens.

Raises a FileError when the folder can’t be made, such as when a file already has that name.

Directory.delete(path: String)

Removes a folder, but only an empty one. A folder with something in it is left alone, and the error says so:

Directory.create("old")
File.write("old/keep.txt", "keep me")

try {
    Directory.delete("old")
}
catch error: FileError {
    print(error.message)
}

Output

`old` is not empty, so it cannot be deleted

Raises a FileError when the folder isn’t empty, doesn’t exist, or can’t be removed.

Directory.delete_recursive(path: String)

Removes a folder and everything inside it, folders and files alike. There is no way to undo it, so be sure of the path.

If the folder is already gone, nothing happens, so it is safe to call twice, and a program can use it to clear out a folder without checking first.

Directory.create("scratch/deep")
File.write("scratch/deep/file.txt", "temporary")

Directory.delete_recursive("scratch")
Directory.delete_recursive("scratch")
print(Directory.exists?("scratch"))

Output

false

Raises a FileError when something inside can’t be removed.