VirtualFS not storing files correctly.

[JKincorperated]

VirtualFS reacts badly to files that are not UTF-8 encoded.

Example:

Upload a file containing one byte 0x98.
Download the file again and view in hex editor.
The file now contains 0xEFBFBD

[harshitsuthar77731]

It appears that VirtualFS encounters issues with non-UTF-8 encoding. As a result, it replaces such files with UTF-8 replacement characters, represented as 0xEF 0xBF 0xBD in hexadecimal. To address this, it's advisable to first convert these files to UTF-8 encoding before uploading them to VirtualFS.

[datkat21]

VirtualFS should be used for storing text as it uses JSON strings for file content. Please use UTF-8 as per the JSON string requirements. Large files will use Blobs to store binary content which is how the file system handles larger binary files such as images, audio, and video. Large binary files should store fine if they are saved as a Blob.

pluto/pkgs/lib/VirtualFS.js

Lines 197 to 208 in 43ac095

	// if file is bigger than 8kb then put it into the special bin
	if (contents.length > 8192) {
	const vfsImportPath = Math.random().toString(36).substring(2);
	if (vfsImportPath === "fs") return "vfsImportError:not-allowed";
	// save link to file
	await localforage.setItem(vfsImportPath, contents);
	current[filename] = `vfsImport:${vfsImportPath}`;
	} else {
	// save normally
	current[filename] = contents;
	}

[JKincorperated]

A potential solution could be in the file manager when uploading files, checking if the MIME type is not text other than checking if it is an image, video, etc.

pluto/pkgs/apps/FileManager.js

Lines 167 to 171 in 43ac095

	if (
	file.type.startsWith("image") ||
	file.type.startsWith("audio") ||
	file.type.startsWith("video")
	) {

[datkat21]

Binary file upload was only originally intended for uploading those file types, as binary files were never tested

[JKincorperated]

I'll give it a test locally.

[JKincorperated]

Check #35 for info on changes