How to Check if a File Exists in the Documents Folder

How to Check if a File Exists in the Documents Folder

28 February 2025 Stephan Petzl Leave a comment Xcode

In mobile app development, especially when dealing with in-app purchases, you may need to verify the existence of files within your app’s Documents folder. This is crucial when you want to load a specific HTML file if it exists, or fall back to a default page otherwise. Here’s a guide on how to achieve this in both Swift and Objective-C.

Checking File Existence in Swift

To check if a file exists in the Documents folder using Swift, you can utilize the FileManager class, which provides a straightforward method to verify file existence:

let documentsURL = try! FileManager().url(for: .documentDirectory,
                                          in: .userDomainMask,
                                          appropriateFor: nil,
                                          create: true)

let fooURL = documentsURL.appendingPathComponent("foo.html")
let fileExists = FileManager().fileExists(atPath: fooURL.path)

This code snippet retrieves the URL of the Documents directory and appends the file name foo.html to it. It then checks if the file exists at the specified path.

Checking File Existence in Objective-C

For those working with Objective-C, the process is similar. Here’s how you can achieve the same functionality:

NSString* documentsPath = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES)[0];

NSString* foofile = [documentsPath stringByAppendingPathComponent:@"foo.html"];
BOOL fileExists = [[NSFileManager defaultManager] fileExistsAtPath:foofile];

This code snippet uses NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains to get the Documents directory path, appends the file name, and checks for its existence using fileExistsAtPath:.

Considerations for File Existence Checking

While the methods above are effective, Apple recommends against relying solely on fileExistsAtPath: due to potential race conditions. It’s often better to attempt file operations directly and handle any errors that may occur. For more detailed guidance, refer to Apple’s Secure Coding Guide.

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