Agreed! I used the File System API when building a portfolio tool that needed to handle resume uploads. The ability to read files directly in the browser without sending them to a server first was a game-changer for privacy-conscious users.

One gotcha I ran into: browser support is still spotty. Had to implement fallbacks for Firefox and Safari users (they don't fully support it yet). Ended up with a hybrid approach - File System API for Chrome/Edge, traditional file input for others.

The permission model is also interesting - users have to explicitly grant access, which builds trust but adds friction to UX. Worth it though.

What are you using it for?

It's really possible to build desktop apps with browser tech now, the holy grail for so many years. Proof is in something like Photoshop for the Web. Amazing.

I just let Claude built little native apps instead...

Last time I looked Chrome gave extensive access and Firefox had stingy limits on everything that felt non-native.

Makes sense if you think of all the ChromeOS work Google did.

i'm using it here

https://github.com/gabrielsroka/gabrielsroka.github.io/blob/...

it works on Chrome/Chrome for Android, but Brave requires a flag (brave://flags/#file-system-access-api), and i don't think Brave for Android supports it