# Read a file as a string (/docs/guides/read-file/string)

<!-- agent-signals: reading_time_min: 1 · est_tokens: 115 · updated: 2026-07-28 -->
Related: [Read a file to an ArrayBuffer](/docs/guides/read-file/arraybuffer.md), [Read a file to a Buffer](/docs/guides/read-file/buffer.md), [Check if a file exists](/docs/guides/read-file/exists.md), [Read a JSON file](/docs/guides/read-file/json.md), [Get the MIME type of a file](/docs/guides/read-file/mime.md), [Read a file as a ReadableStream](/docs/guides/read-file/stream.md)

The `Bun.file()` function accepts a path and returns a `BunFile` instance. `BunFile` extends `Blob`, so you can read the file lazily in a variety of formats. Use `.text()` to read the contents as a string.

```ts
const path = "/path/to/file.txt";
const file = Bun.file(path);

const text = await file.text();
// string
```

***

Bun resolves relative paths from the current working directory.

```ts
const path = "./file.txt";
const file = Bun.file(path);
```