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How to find the user's documents directory

Swift version: 5.6

Paul Hudson    @twostraws   

Every iOS app gets a slice of storage just for itself, meaning that you can read and write your app's files there without worrying about colliding with other apps. This is called the user's documents directory, and it's exposed both in code (as you'll see in a moment) and also through iTunes file sharing.

Unfortunately, the code to find the user's documents directory isn't very memorable, so I nearly always use this helpful function – and now you can too!

func getDocumentsDirectory() -> URL {
    let paths = FileManager.default.urls(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask)
    let documentsDirectory = paths[0]
    return documentsDirectory
}

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Available from iOS 2.0 – see Hacking with Swift tutorial 10

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This is part of the Swift Knowledge Base, a free, searchable collection of solutions for common iOS questions.

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