How to access file included in app bundle in Swift?

Question

I know there are a few questions pertaining to this, but they\'re in Objective-C.

How can I access a .txt file included in my app using Swift on

Answer 1

Swift 3, based on Karim’s answer.

Reading

You can read files included in an app’s bundle through the bundle’s resource:

let fileURL = Bundle.main.url(forResource:"filename", withExtension: "txt")

Writing

However, you can’t write there. You will need to create a copy, preferably in the Documents directory:

func makeWritableCopy(named destFileName: String, ofResourceFile originalFileName: String) throws -> URL {
    // Get Documents directory in app bundle
    guard let documentsDirectory = FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).last else {
        fatalError("No document directory found in application bundle.")
    }

    // Get URL for dest file (in Documents directory)
    let writableFileURL = documentsDirectory.appendingPathComponent(destFileName)

    // If dest file doesn’t exist yet
    if (try? writableFileURL.checkResourceIsReachable()) == nil {
        // Get original (unwritable) file’s URL
        guard let originalFileURL = Bundle.main.url(forResource: originalFileName, withExtension: nil) else {
            fatalError("Cannot find original file “\(originalFileName)” in application bundle’s resources.")
        }

        // Get original file’s contents
        let originalContents = try Data(contentsOf: originalFileURL)

        // Write original file’s contents to dest file
        try originalContents.write(to: writableFileURL, options: .atomic)
        print("Made a writable copy of file “\(originalFileName)” in “\(documentsDirectory)\\\(destFileName)”.")

    } else { // Dest file already exists
        // Print dest file contents
        let contents = try String(contentsOf: writableFileURL, encoding: String.Encoding.utf8)
        print("File “\(destFileName)” already exists in “\(documentsDirectory)”.\nContents:\n\(contents)")
    }

    // Return dest file URL
    return writableFileURL
}

Example usage:

let stuffFileURL = try makeWritableCopy(named: "Stuff.txt", ofResourceFile: "Stuff.txt")
try "New contents".write(to: stuffFileURL, atomically: true, encoding: String.Encoding.utf8)