dotnet-file-io

dotnet-file-io

File I/O patterns for .NET applications. Covers FileStream construction with async flags, RandomAccess API for thread-safe offset-based I/O, File convenience methods, FileSystemWatcher event handling and debouncing, MemoryMappedFile for large files and IPC, path handling security (Combine vs Join), secure temp file creation, cross-platform considerations, IOException hierarchy, and buffer sizing guidance.

Out of scope: PipeReader/PipeWriter and network I/O -- see [skill:dotnet-io-pipelines]. Async/await fundamentals -- see [skill:dotnet-csharp-async-patterns]. Span/Memory/ArrayPool deep patterns -- see [skill:dotnet-performance-patterns]. JSON and Protobuf serialization -- see [skill:dotnet-serialization]. BackgroundService lifecycle -- see [skill:dotnet-background-services]. Channel producer/consumer -- see [skill:dotnet-channels]. GC implications of pinned/memory-mapped backing arrays -- see [skill:dotnet-gc-memory]. File upload validation (IFormFile) -- see [skill:dotnet-input-validation].

For testable file system access, consider System.IO.Abstractions -- see [skill:dotnet-testing-strategy] for test isolation patterns.

Cross-references: [skill:dotnet-io-pipelines] for PipeReader/PipeWriter network I/O, [skill:dotnet-gc-memory] for POH and memory-mapped backing array GC implications, [skill:dotnet-performance-patterns] for Span/Memory basics and ArrayPool usage, [skill:dotnet-csharp-async-patterns] for async/await patterns used with file streams.

---

FileStream

Async Flag Requirement

FileStream async methods (ReadAsync, WriteAsync) silently block the calling thread unless the stream is opened with the async flag. This is the most common file I/O mistake in .NET code.

// CORRECT: async-capable FileStream
await using var fs = new FileStream(
    path,
    FileMode.Open,
    FileAccess.Read,
    FileShare.Read,
    bufferSize: 4096,
    useAsync: true);  // Required for true async I/O

byte[] buffer = new byte[4096];
int bytesRead = await fs.ReadAsync(buffer, cancellationToken);

// ALSO CORRECT: FileOptions overload
await using var fs = new FileStream(
    path,
    FileMode.Create,
    FileAccess.Write,
    FileShare.None,
    bufferSize: 4096,
    FileOptions.Asynchronous | FileOptions.SequentialScan);

Without useAsync: true or FileOptions.Asynchronous, the runtime emulates async by dispatching synchronous I/O to the thread pool -- wasting a thread and adding overhead.

FileStreamOptions (.NET 6+)

await using var fs = new FileStream(path, new FileStreamOptions
{
    Mode = FileMode.Open,
    Access = FileAccess.Read,
    Share = FileShare.Read,
    Options = FileOptions.Asynchronous | FileOptions.SequentialScan,
    BufferSize = 4096,
    PreallocationSize = 1_048_576  // Hint for write: reduces fragmentation
});

PreallocationSize reserves disk space upfront when creating or overwriting files, reducing filesystem fragmentation on writes.

---

RandomAccess API (.NET 6+)

RandomAccess provides static, offset-based, thread-safe file I/O. Unlike FileStream, it has no internal position state, so multiple threads can read/write different offsets concurrently without synchronization.

using var handle = File.OpenHandle(
    path,
    FileMode.Open,
    FileAccess.Read,
    FileShare.Read,
    FileOptions.Asynchronous);

// Thread-safe: offset is explicit, no shared position
byte[] buffer = new byte[4096];
int bytesRead = await RandomAccess.ReadAsync(
    handle, buffer, fileOffset: 0, cancellationToken);

// Read from a different offset concurrently -- no locking needed
byte[] buffer2 = new byte[4096];
int bytesRead2 = await RandomAccess.ReadAsync(
    handle, buffer2, fileOffset: 8192, cancellationToken);

Scatter/Gather I/O

// Read into multiple buffers in a single syscall
IReadOnlyList<Memory<byte>> buffers = new[]
{
    new byte[4096].AsMemory(),
    new byte[4096].AsMemory()
};
long totalRead = await RandomAccess.ReadAsync(
    handle, buffers, fileOffset: 0, cancellationToken);

When to Use RandomAccess vs FileStream

Scenario	Use
Concurrent reads from different offsets	RandomAccess
Sequential streaming reads/writes	FileStream
Index files, database pages, memory-mapped alternatives	RandomAccess
Integration with Stream-based APIs	FileStream

---

File Convenience Methods

For small files where streaming is unnecessary, the File static methods are simpler and correct.

// Read entire file as string (small files only)
string content = await File.ReadAllTextAsync(path, cancellationToken);

// Read all lines
string[] lines = await File.ReadAllLinesAsync(path, cancellationToken);

// Stream lines without loading entire file (.NET 8+)
await foreach (string line in File.ReadLinesAsync(path, cancellationToken))
{
    ProcessLine(line);
}

// Write text atomically (write-then-rename pattern not built-in)
await File.WriteAllTextAsync(path, content, cancellationToken);

// Read all bytes
byte[] data = await File.ReadAllBytesAsync(path, cancellationToken);

When Convenience Methods Are Appropriate

File size	Approach
< 1 MB	File.ReadAllTextAsync / File.ReadAllBytesAsync
1--100 MB	File.ReadLinesAsync or FileStream with buffered reading
> 100 MB	FileStream or RandomAccess with explicit buffer management

---

FileSystemWatcher

Basic Setup

using var watcher = new FileSystemWatcher(directoryPath)
{
    Filter = "*.json",
    NotifyFilter = NotifyFilters.FileName
                 | NotifyFilters.LastWrite
                 | NotifyFilters.Size,
    IncludeSubdirectories = true,
    EnableRaisingEvents = true
};

watcher.Changed += OnChanged;
watcher.Created += OnCreated;
watcher.Deleted += OnDeleted;
watcher.Renamed += OnRenamed;
watcher.Error += OnError;

Debouncing Duplicate Events

FileSystemWatcher fires duplicate events for a single logical change (editors write temp file, rename, delete old). Debounce with a timer.

public sealed class DebouncedFileWatcher : IDisposable
{
    private readonly FileSystemWatcher _watcher;
    private readonly Channel<string> _channel;
    private readonly CancellationTokenSource _cts = new();

    public DebouncedFileWatcher(string path, string filter)
    {
        _channel = Channel.CreateBounded<string>(
            new BoundedChannelOptions(100)
            {
                FullMode = BoundedChannelFullMode.DropOldest
            });

        _watcher = new FileSystemWatcher(path, filter)
        {
            EnableRaisingEvents = true
        };
        _watcher.Changed += (_, e) =>
            _channel.Writer.TryWrite(e.FullPath);
    }

    // requires: using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
    public async IAsyncEnumerable<string> WatchAsync(
        TimeSpan debounce,
        [EnumeratorCancellation] CancellationToken ct = default)
    {
        using var linked = CancellationTokenSource
            .CreateLinkedTokenSource(ct, _cts.Token);
        var seen = new Dictionary<string, DateTime>();

        await foreach (var path in
            _channel.Reader.ReadAllAsync(linked.Token))
        {
            var now = DateTime.UtcNow;
            if (seen.TryGetValue(path, out var last)
                && now - last < debounce)
                continue;

            seen[path] = now;
            yield return path;
        }
    }

    public void Dispose()
    {
        _cts.Cancel();
        _watcher.Dispose();
        _cts.Dispose();
    }
}

Buffer Overflow

The internal buffer defaults to 8 KB. When many changes occur rapidly, the buffer overflows and events are lost. Increase with InternalBufferSize (max 64 KB on Windows) and handle the Error event.

watcher.InternalBufferSize = 65_536;  // 64 KB
watcher.Error += (_, e) =>
{
    if (e.GetException() is InternalBufferOverflowException)
    {
        logger.LogWarning("FileSystemWatcher buffer overflow -- events lost");
        // Trigger full directory rescan
    }
};

Platform Differences

Platform	Backend	Notable behavior
Windows	ReadDirectoryChangesW	Most reliable; supports InternalBufferSize up to 64 KB
Linux	inotify	Watch limit per user (/proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_user_watches); recursive watches add one inotify watch per subdirectory
macOS	FSEvents (kqueue fallback)	Coarser event granularity; may batch events with slight delay

---

MemoryMappedFile

Persisted (Large File Access)

Map a file into virtual memory for random access without explicit read/write calls. Efficient for large files that do not fit in memory -- the OS pages data in and out as needed.

using var mmf = MemoryMappedFile.CreateFromFile(
    path,
    FileMode.Open,
    mapName: null,
    capacity: 0,  // Use file's actual size
    MemoryMappedFileAccess.Read);

using var accessor = mmf.CreateViewAccessor(
    offset: 0,
    size: 0,  // Map entire file
    MemoryMappedFileAccess.Read);

// Read a struct at a specific offset
accessor.Read<MyHeader>(position: 0, out var header);

// Or use a view stream for sequential access
using var stream = mmf.CreateViewStream(
    offset: 0,
    size: 4096,
    MemoryMappedFileAccess.Read);

Non-Persisted (IPC Shared Memory)

// Process A: create shared memory region
using var mmf = MemoryMappedFile.CreateNew(
    "SharedRegion",
    capacity: 1_048_576,  // 1 MB
    MemoryMappedFileAccess.ReadWrite);

using var accessor = mmf.CreateViewAccessor();
accessor.Write(0, 42);

// Process B: open existing shared memory region
using var mmf2 = MemoryMappedFile.OpenExisting(
    "SharedRegion",
    MemoryMappedFileRights.Read);

using var accessor2 = mmf2.CreateViewAccessor(
    0, 0, MemoryMappedFileAccess.Read);
int value = accessor2.ReadInt32(0);  // 42

For GC implications of memory-mapped backing arrays and POH usage, see [skill:dotnet-gc-memory].

---

Path Handling

Path.Combine vs Path.Join Security

Path.Combine silently discards the first argument when the second argument is a rooted path. This enables path traversal attacks when user input is passed as the second argument.

// DANGEROUS: Path.Combine drops basePath when userInput is rooted
string basePath = "/app/uploads";
string userInput = "/etc/passwd";
string result = Path.Combine(basePath, userInput);
// result = "/etc/passwd"  -- basePath is silently ignored

// SAFER: Path.Join does not discard on rooted paths (.NET Core 2.1+)
string result2 = Path.Join(basePath, userInput);
// result2 = "/app/uploads//etc/passwd"  -- preserves basePath

Path Traversal Prevention

public static string SafeResolvePath(string basePath, string userPath)
{
    // Resolve to absolute, resolving ../ and symlinks
    string fullBase = Path.GetFullPath(basePath);
    string fullPath = Path.GetFullPath(
        Path.Join(fullBase, userPath));

    // OrdinalIgnoreCase: safe cross-platform default.
    // On Linux-only deployments, Ordinal is more precise.
    if (!fullPath.StartsWith(fullBase + Path.DirectorySeparatorChar,
            StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)
        && !fullPath.Equals(fullBase, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
    {
        throw new UnauthorizedAccessException(
            "Path traversal detected");
    }

    return fullPath;
}

Cross-Platform Path Separators

Use Path.DirectorySeparatorChar (platform-specific) and Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar instead of hardcoded / or \\. Path.Join and Path.Combine handle separator normalization automatically.

---

Secure Temp Files

Path.GetTempFileName() creates a zero-byte file with a predictable name pattern and throws when the temp directory contains 65,535 .tmp files. Use Path.GetRandomFileName() instead.

// INSECURE: predictable name, may throw IOException
// string tempFile = Path.GetTempFileName();

// SECURE: cryptographically random name, explicit creation
string tempPath = Path.Join(
    Path.GetTempPath(),
    Path.GetRandomFileName());

// CreateNew ensures atomic creation -- fails if file exists
await using var fs = new FileStream(
    tempPath,
    FileMode.CreateNew,
    FileAccess.Write,
    FileShare.None,
    bufferSize: 4096,
    FileOptions.Asynchronous | FileOptions.DeleteOnClose);

await fs.WriteAsync(data, cancellationToken);

FileOptions.DeleteOnClose ensures the temp file is removed when the stream is closed. On Windows, the OS guarantees deletion when the last handle closes. On Linux/macOS, deletion happens during Dispose and may not occur if the process is killed abruptly (SIGKILL).

---

Cross-Platform Considerations

Case Sensitivity

Platform	Default filesystem	Case behavior
Windows	NTFS	Case-preserving, case-insensitive
macOS	APFS	Case-preserving, case-insensitive (default)
Linux	ext4/xfs	Case-sensitive

Use StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase for path comparisons that must work cross-platform. Do not assume case sensitivity behavior -- check at runtime if needed.

UnixFileMode (.NET 7+)

// Set POSIX permissions on file creation (Linux/macOS only)
await using var fs = new FileStream(path, new FileStreamOptions
{
    Mode = FileMode.Create,
    Access = FileAccess.Write,
    UnixCreateMode = UnixFileMode.UserRead | UnixFileMode.UserWrite
    // 0600 -- owner read/write only
});

On Windows, UnixCreateMode is silently ignored. Do not use it as a security control on Windows -- use ACLs or Windows security APIs instead.

File Locking

Platform	Lock type	Behavior
Windows	Mandatory	Other processes cannot read/write locked regions
Linux	Advisory (flock/fcntl)	Locks are cooperative -- processes can ignore them
macOS	Advisory (flock)	Same as Linux -- cooperative

FileShare flags control sharing on Windows. On Linux/macOS, use FileStream.Lock for advisory locking but be aware that non-cooperating processes can bypass it.

---

Error Handling

IOException Hierarchy

IOException
  +-- FileNotFoundException
  +-- DirectoryNotFoundException
  +-- PathTooLongException
  +-- DriveNotFoundException
  +-- EndOfStreamException
  +-- FileLoadException

HResult Codes for Specific Conditions

try
{
    await using var fs = new FileStream(path,
        FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);
    // ...
}
catch (IOException ex) when (ex.HResult == unchecked((int)0x80070070))
{
    // ERROR_DISK_FULL (Windows) -- disk full
    logger.LogError("Disk full: {Path}", path);
}
catch (IOException ex) when (ex.HResult == unchecked((int)0x80070020))
{
    // ERROR_SHARING_VIOLATION -- file locked by another process
    logger.LogWarning("File locked: {Path}", path);
}
catch (UnauthorizedAccessException ex)
{
    // Permission denied (not an IOException subclass)
    logger.LogError("Access denied: {Path}", path);
}

Disk-Full Flush Behavior

Write operations may succeed but buffer data in memory. A disk-full condition can surface at Flush or Dispose time rather than at the Write call. Always check for exceptions on flush.

await using var fs = new FileStream(path,
    FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write,
    FileShare.None, 4096, FileOptions.Asynchronous);

await fs.WriteAsync(data, cancellationToken);

// IOException (disk full) may throw here, not at WriteAsync
await fs.FlushAsync(cancellationToken);

---

Buffer Sizing

Guidance based on dotnet/runtime benchmarks and internal FileStream implementation:

File operation	Recommended buffer	Rationale
Small file sequential read (< 1 MB)	4 KB (default)	Matches OS page size; FileStream default
Large file sequential read (> 1 MB)	64--128 KB	Amortizes syscall overhead; diminishing returns above 128 KB
Network-attached storage (NFS/SMB)	64 KB	Larger buffers amortize network round-trips
SSD random access	4 KB	Matches SSD page size; larger buffers waste read-ahead
FileStream sequential scan	4 KB + FileOptions.SequentialScan	OS read-ahead handles prefetching

FileOptions.SequentialScan hints the OS to prefetch data ahead of the read position. It is beneficial for sequential reads and can degrade performance for random access patterns.

---

Agent Gotchas

1. Do not use FileStream async methods without useAsync: true -- without the async flag, ReadAsync/WriteAsync dispatch synchronous I/O to the thread pool, blocking a thread and adding overhead. Always pass useAsync: true or FileOptions.Asynchronous.
2. Do not use Path.Combine with untrusted input -- Path.Combine silently discards the base path when the second argument is rooted, enabling path traversal. Use Path.Join (.NET Core 2.1+) and validate the resolved path is under the intended base directory.
3. Do not use Path.GetTempFileName() -- it creates predictable filenames and throws at 65,535 files. Use Path.GetRandomFileName() with FileMode.CreateNew for secure, atomic temp file creation.
4. Do not ignore FileSystemWatcher duplicate events -- editors and tools trigger multiple events for a single logical change. Implement debouncing with a timer or Channel throttle.
5. Do not rely on FileSystemWatcher alone for reliable change detection -- buffer overflows lose events silently. Handle the Error event and implement periodic rescan as a fallback.
6. Do not assume file locking is mandatory on Linux/macOS -- FileStream.Lock and FileShare flags use advisory locking on Unix, which non-cooperating processes can bypass. Design protocols accordingly.
7. Do not catch only IOException and ignore UnauthorizedAccessException -- permission errors throw UnauthorizedAccessException, which does not inherit from IOException. Handle both in file access error handling.
8. Do not assume WriteAsync reports disk-full errors immediately -- data may be buffered. Disk-full IOException can surface at FlushAsync or Dispose. Always handle exceptions on flush.

---

References

• File and stream I/O overview
• .NET 6 file I/O improvements
• RandomAccess API
• FileSystemWatcher
• Memory-mapped files
• Path traversal prevention (OWASP)
• Secure temp files