Load File

The loadFile() function is a core utility in the Nexo Maker API that allows your expansion to read any file stored within its directory. It’s commonly used to load:

• HTML templates

• CSS stylesheets

• JSON configuration files

• Static text or data files

This function is asynchronous and returns the file contents as a string or buffer, depending on the encoding.

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Syntax

await api.nexomaker.loadFile(path, encoding)

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Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
path	string	✅	The full file path (usually using __dirname)
encoding	string	❌	The file encoding to use (e.g., "utf-8"). If omitted, returns a buffer.

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Returns

• With encoding: Returns a string containing the file’s contents.

• Without encoding: Returns a Buffer (for binary data).

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Example: Reading a JSON File

const jsonString = await api.nexomaker.loadFile(__dirname + "/config.json", "utf-8");
const config = JSON.parse(jsonString);

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Example: Injecting HTML + CSS into a Component

const html = await api.nexomaker.loadFile(__dirname + "/doc.html", "utf-8");
const css = await api.nexomaker.loadFile(__dirname + "/style.css", "utf-8");

const styledComponent = await api.nexomaker.defineStyle({
  htmldoc: html,
  styledoc: css
});

api.nexomaker.postSidebarIcon({
  button: "Docs",
  key: "custom-docs",
  icon: await api.nexomaker.imgconvert(__dirname + "/assets/icon.png"),
  route: "/docs",
  component: styledComponent
});

Notes

• Always use __dirname to ensure compatibility across different systems.

• Make sure the file exists to avoid read errors.

• You must specify "utf-8" encoding if you want to receive the file as a readable string.

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Common Use Cases

• Load custom HTML and CSS for styled components

• Read plugin configuration files

• Access static markdown, JSON, or asset metadata

• Parse external data and templates