All Filesystem and Path Operations

All Filesystem and Path Operations

A compact index of path manipulation, directory traversal, status queries, and file operations from the standard filesystem library.

How to use this reference page

Use reference pages to confirm names, categories, nearby facilities, and the constraints that matter before writing or reviewing code.

Scan the top of the page first to identify the primary types, functions, or algorithm families involved.
Use the nearby-page links when your question is really about a companion header, related algorithm family, or broader subsystem.
Validate tricky behavior with a small compileable example before relying on memory for details like invalidation, ordering, allocation, or lifetime rules.

All Filesystem and Path Operations

Core types

std::filesystem::path
std::filesystem::directory_entry
std::filesystem::directory_iterator
std::filesystem::recursive_directory_iterator
std::filesystem::file_status
std::filesystem::filesystem_error

Path operations

concatenation and append operations
decomposition into root, parent, filename, stem, and extension
lexically normal, relative, and proximate transformations

Status and query operations

exists
status
symlink_status
is_regular_file, is_directory, is_symlink
file_size
last_write_time

File and directory operations

create_directory, create_directories
remove, remove_all
rename
copy, copy_file
resize_file
permissions
space
temp_directory_path

Practical rules

Prefer path composition through std::filesystem::path instead of manual string joining.
Decide explicitly whether your API should throw or use std::error_code overloads.
Treat symlinks and platform path semantics as real cross-platform concerns.

Example in practice

#include <filesystem>

int main() {
    std::filesystem::path root{"content/tutorials"};
    auto full = root / "getting-started.md";
    return full.extension() == ".md" ? 0 : 1;
}