> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.projectreal.gg/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# readfile

> Reads an existing regular file inside the workspace in binary mode and returns its bytes as a Lua string.

Reads an existing regular file inside the workspace in binary mode and returns its bytes as a Lua string.

## Syntax

```lua theme={null}
readfile(path: string): string
```

## Aliases

* `readfileasync`

## Arguments

| Name   | Type     | Required | Description                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| ------ | -------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `path` | `string` | Yes      | File path resolved inside the workspace after separator normalization, workspace-boundary checks, and filename/extension checks. Absolute paths are accepted only if they resolve inside the workspace. |

## Returns

| Name      | Type     | Description                                                                                                                                            |
| --------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `content` | `string` | File contents returned as a Lua string with an explicit length. Bytes such as null bytes, line endings, and BOM bytes are not transformed by readfile. |

## Example

Read bytes from an existing workspace file.

```lua theme={null}
local path = "examples/config.json"
writefile(path, '{"enabled":true}')

local content = readfile(path)
print(content)
print(#content)
```