How to check if a directory exists in Objective-C
Solution 1
Take a look in the documentation for this method signature:
- (BOOL)fileExistsAtPath:(NSString *)path isDirectory:(BOOL *)isDirectory
You need a pointer to a BOOL var as argument, not a BOOL itself. NSFileManager will record if the file is a directory or not in that variable. For example:
BOOL isDir;
BOOL exists = [fm fileExistsAtPath:path isDirectory:&isDir];
if (exists) {
/* file exists */
if (isDir) {
/* file is a directory */
}
}
Solution 2
Just in case somebody needs a getter, that creates a folder in Documents, if it doesn't exist:
- (NSString *)folderPath
{
if (! _folderPath) {
NSString *folderName = @"YourFolderName";
NSArray *documentPaths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectoryPath = [documentPaths objectAtIndex:0];
_folderPath = [documentsDirectoryPath stringByAppendingPathComponent:folderName];
// if folder doesn't exist, create it
NSError *error = nil;
NSFileManager *fileManager = [NSFileManager defaultManager];
BOOL isDir;
if (! [fileManager fileExistsAtPath:_folderPath isDirectory:&isDir]) {
BOOL success = [fileManager createDirectoryAtPath:_folderPath withIntermediateDirectories:NO attributes:nil error:&error];
if (!success || error) {
NSLog(@"Error: %@", [error localizedDescription]);
}
NSAssert(success, @"Failed to create folder at path:%@", _folderPath);
}
}
return _folderPath;
}
Solution 3
I have a Utility singleton class that I use for things like this. Since I can’t update my database if it remains in Documents, I copy my .sqlite files from Documents to /Library/Private Documents using this code. The first method finds the Library. The second creates the Private Documents folder if it doesn’t exist and returns the location as a string. The second method uses the same file manager method that @wzboson used.
+ (NSString *)applicationLibraryDirectory {
return [NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSLibraryDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES) lastObject];
}
+ (NSString *)applicationLibraryPrivateDocumentsDirectory {
NSError *error;
NSString *PrivateDocumentsDirectory = [[self applicationLibraryDirectory] stringByAppendingPathComponent:@"Private Documents"];
BOOL isDir;
if (! [[NSFileManager defaultManager] fileExistsAtPath:PrivateDocumentsDirectory isDirectory:&isDir]) {
if (![[NSFileManager defaultManager] createDirectoryAtPath:PrivateDocumentsDirectory
withIntermediateDirectories:NO
attributes:nil
error:&error]) {
NSLog(@"Create directory error: %@", error);
}
}
return PrivateDocumentsDirectory;
}
I use it like this in my persistent store coordinator initialization. The same principal applies to any files though.
NSString *libraryDirectory = [Utilities applicationLibraryPrivateDocumentsDirectory];
NSString *sourcePath = [[[NSBundle mainBundle] resourcePath] stringByAppendingPathComponent:sqliteName];
NSString *destinationPath = [libraryDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:sqliteName];
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n.evermind
I speak: Copy-and-paste, Basic, Objective-C, Python, Django and have recently learned how to use the very retro but stylish terminal. Otherwise: Creator of digital-analog-but-stunningly beautiful notebooks in love with beautiful UIs
Updated on October 10, 2020Comments
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n.evermind over 3 years
I guess this is a beginner's problem, but I was trying to check if a directory exists in my Documents folder on the iPhone. I read the documentation and came up with this code which unfortunately crashed with EXC_BAD_ACCESS in the BOOL fileExists line:
-(void)checkIfDirectoryAlreadyExists:(NSString *)name { NSFileManager *fileManager = [[NSFileManager alloc] init]; NSString *path = [[self documentsDirectory] stringByAppendingPathComponent:name]; BOOL fileExists = [fileManager fileExistsAtPath:path isDirectory:YES]; if (fileExists) { NSLog(@"Folder already exists..."); } }
I don't understand what I've done wrong? It looks all perfect to me and it certainly complies with the docs, not? Any revelations as to where I went wrong would be highly appreciated! Thanks.
UPDATED:
Still not working...
-(void)checkIfDirectoryAlreadyExists:(NSString *)name { NSFileManager *fileManager = [[NSFileManager alloc] init]; NSString *path = [[self documentsDirectory] stringByAppendingPathComponent:name]; BOOL isDir; BOOL fileExists = [fileManager fileExistsAtPath:path isDirectory:&isDir]; if (fileExists) { if (isDir) { NSLog(@"Folder already exists..."); } } }
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n.evermind over 12 years@Legolas it checks if it is a directory according to the docs. But I guess this is where I went wrong.
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EricLeaf over 12 yearsThe second is not working in what sense, still a bad access? Also wanted to point out, from the docs:
Note: Attempting to predicate behavior based on the current state of the file system or a particular file on the file system is not recommended. Doing so can cause odd behavior or race conditions. It's far better to attempt an operation (such as loading a file or creating a directory), check for errors, and handle those errors gracefully than it is to try to figure out ahead of time whether the operation will succeed.
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n.evermind over 12 yearsthanks so much. I think apple should put your example in their docs- I didn't understand them, but now they are clear - through your example! Thanks again, really appreciated.
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n.evermind over 12 yearsActually, just tried to implement this, but it still crashed my app. I updated the code above. Any ideas? Thanks for your help.
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sidyll over 12 years@n.evermind: glad to help. Yes, examples are important but may take too much space :-) don't worry, you'll end up accustomed with extracting the exact information from the documentation. Also, note that Apple gave an example for this method which touches the directory part. Back to the problem, I can't see errors here, apart for the unusual way of creating the file manager object (didn't notice it before). Do you have any special reason not to use
[NSFileManager defaultManager]
? It may save you some trouble. -
sidyll over 12 years@n.evermind It should work anyway. Try placing a break point right before
BOOL isDir;
line, and once the program stops there typepo path
in your debugger. Does it print the correct value? -
EricLeaf over 12 years@sidyll Good point, especially since in this case it would prevent the memory leak.