830140157d
* website: remove obselete sidebar_title frontmatter from docs * website: bump to latest docs-page * website: update plugin creation and registration docs * website: fix broken links
38 lines
1.0 KiB
Plaintext
38 lines
1.0 KiB
Plaintext
---
|
|
page_title: file - Functions - Configuration Language
|
|
description: |-
|
|
The file function reads the contents of the file at the given path and
|
|
returns them as a string.
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
# `file` Function
|
|
|
|
`file` reads the contents of a file at the given path and returns them as
|
|
a string.
|
|
|
|
```hcl
|
|
file(path)
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
Strings in the Packer language are sequences of Unicode characters, so
|
|
this function will interpret the file contents as UTF-8 encoded text and
|
|
return the resulting Unicode characters. If the file contains invalid UTF-8
|
|
sequences then this function will produce an error.
|
|
|
|
This function can be used only with files that already exist on disk
|
|
at the beginning of a Packer run. Functions do not participate in the
|
|
dependency graph, so this function cannot be used with files that are generated
|
|
dynamically during a Packer operation.
|
|
|
|
## Examples
|
|
|
|
```shell-session
|
|
> file("${path.folder}/hello.txt")
|
|
Hello World
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
## Related Functions
|
|
|
|
- [`fileexists`](/docs/templates/hcl_templates/functions/file/fileexists) determines whether a file exists
|
|
at a given path.
|