Browser_io. An extension for HTML5 copying ,pasting, saving, opening and drag and drop

The Defoldmine
1

I’ve been using the clipboard extension in Defold, but didn’t realize it doesn’t work on HTML5 builds.

My initial attempt was a bit messy, involving Lua modules and modifications to the index.html file. So I went back to the drawing board and created my own extension. Hopefully, it will be useful to others as well.

https://github.com/alfowler1976/defold_browser_io

It provides asynchronous, callback-based functionality with the following commands:

  • browser_io.copy() — copy text to the clipboard

  • browser_io.paste() — read text from the clipboard

  • browser_io.open_file() — open a browser file picker and read a file

  • browser_io.save_file() — download/save data as a file

  • browser_io.set_drop_listener() — receive files dropped onto the browser window

  • browser_io.cancel_drop_listener() — remove the active drop listener

The extension handles the JavaScript/browser interaction internally via Emscripten, so no manual index.html changes are required.

Typical usage is:

browser_io.open_file({ accept = ".txt" }, function(self, result)
    if result.success then
        print(result.name, result.data)
    end
end)

Note: Drag-and-drop events are desktop-only, and some browsers (like Firefox) enforce strict permission prompts for reading the clipboard.

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