# Can javascript read/write local files

**URL:** <https://forum.kirupa.com/t/can-javascript-read-write-local-files/285616>\
**Category:** Uncategorized\
**Created:** [April 2, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/can-javascript-read-write-local-files/285616 "2009-04-02T23:41:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mlk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@mlk](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/mlk)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/can-javascript-read-write-local-files/285616/1 "2009-04-02T23:41:18Z")

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Hello peeps

there’s a reason I didn’t put this in client-side nor server-side. Let me state my question here more clearly.

Can javascript read/write local files via some user initiated .exe/activex control ? Or to put it more simply, can I use a browser to edit files via something less complex than launching a full apache war machine (the server software - not the indian)?

I need to have a quick way to edit data on my computer, and coding html/javascript is simple and what I need, but how can I possibly allow javascript write permissions ?