Actions

The actions module provides high-level file system operations like create, copy, move, rename, trash, import, and export. Because they involve user interaction (dialogs, confirmations, file pickers), these actions are typically used by Explorer and context menus.

caution

Are you sure actions is the right module for your use case?

If you're looking to manipulate files programmatically without user interaction, you probably want the fs module instead.
If you're looking for a managed file explorer component, you probably want explorer instead.

Usage

import { actions } from "/42/api/os/actions.js"
// Or
const { actions } = sys42

Creating

createFile(path, options?)

Opens a name prompt and creates an empty file. Returns the created filename, or undefined if cancelled.

const name = await actions.createFile("/desktop/")

Meta
Shortcut	F9

createFolder(path, options?)

Opens a name prompt and creates a new directory. Returns the created folder name, or undefined if cancelled.

const name = await actions.createFolder("/desktop/")

Meta
Shortcut	F10

createShortcut(path, options?)

Opens an app picker and creates a .desktop shortcut for the selected application.

await actions.createShortcut("/desktop/")

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Shortcut	F8

createPath(path, options?)

Low-level helper used by createFile and createFolder. Handles name generation, collision avoidance, and the prompt dialog. You'll rarely need to call this directly.

Deleting

deleteFile(selection)

Permanently deletes files after showing a confirmation dialog.

await actions.deleteFile("/temp/notes.txt")
await actions.deleteFile(["/temp/a.txt", "/temp/b.txt"])

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Shortcut	Shift+Del

deleteFolder(selection)

Alias for deleteFile.

deletePaths(selection)

Low-level helper that permanently deletes paths without a confirmation dialog. Used internally.

Trash

moveFileToTrash(selection)

Moves files to the trash. Unlike deleteFile, this is not permanent and can be undone.

await actions.moveFileToTrash("/desktop/old-file.txt")

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Shortcut	Del

moveFolderToTrash(selection)

Alias for moveFileToTrash.

Moving & Copying

movePath(selection, dest, options?)

Moves one or more files or folders to a destination directory. Returns an array of new paths.

const moved = await actions.movePath("/docs/report.txt", "/backup/")

copyPath(selection, dest, options?)

Copies one or more files or folders to a destination directory. Automatically increments filenames to avoid collisions when copying within the same directory. Returns an array of new paths.

const copied = await actions.copyPath("/docs/report.txt", "/backup/")

cutFile(selection)

Cuts files to the internal clipboard for a subsequent paste operation.

await actions.cutFile(["/docs/a.txt", "/docs/b.txt"])

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Shortcut	Ctrl+X

copyFile(selection)

Copies files to the internal clipboard for a subsequent paste operation.

await actions.copyFile(["/docs/a.txt", "/docs/b.txt"])

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Shortcut	Ctrl+C

pasteTo(path, folderEl)

Pastes the contents of the file clipboard into the given directory. Handles both cut and copy states, with collision avoidance for same-directory operations.

await actions.pasteTo("/backup/", folderComponent)

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Shortcut	Ctrl+V

Renaming

renameFile(selection)

Opens a rename prompt for the first item in the selection. Uses fileIndex.move() to update the in-memory file tree.

await actions.renameFile(["/docs/old-name.txt"])

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Shortcut	F2

renameFolder(selection)

Alias for renameFile.

Opening & Navigating

tip

You probably would rather use the exec() function if you need to open files or folders programmatically.

launchFile(selection)

Opens files with their associated application via appsManager.open().

await actions.launchFile("/docs/readme")

launchFolder(selection)

Opens folders via appsManager.open().

await actions.launchFolder("/documents/")

openContainingFolder(selection)

Opens the parent directory of each selected item in the file explorer.

await actions.openContainingFolder(["/docs/report.txt"])

Import & Export

importFile(path, options?)

Opens a native file picker and writes selected files to the virtual filesystem. Returns an array of imported paths.

const files = await actions.importFile("/desktop/", {
  multiple: true,
})

exportFile(selection, options?)

Exports files to the user's real filesystem via a browser download/save dialog.

await actions.exportFile(["/docs/report.txt"])

exportFolder(selection, options?)

Exports folders as .tar archives. Shows a progress dialog with a cancel option.

await actions.exportFolder(["/projects/my-app/"])

Clipboard (Text)

copyLocation(selection, options?)

Copies the path string(s) of the selected item(s) to the system clipboard. Shows a toast notification by default.

await actions.copyLocation(["/docs/report.txt"])

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Picto	copy