Path input widget

A Shiny module that provides a text input with server-side file/directory autocomplete. Used by the read and write blocks to replace shinyFiles browser widgets.

Usage

path_input_ui(
  id,
  prefix = NULL,
  upload_id = NULL,
  placeholder = NULL,
  required = FALSE
)

path_input_server(
  id,
  data_dir = reactive(""),
  mode = c("file", "directory"),
  extensions = NULL,
  policy = NULL,
  value = NULL
)

Arguments

id

Module namespace ID.

prefix

Optional initial prefix text shown before the input (typically the data directory path).

upload_id

Optional ID of a hidden Shiny fileInput to wire up for upload-icon click and drag-and-drop. When non-NULL, an upload icon button is rendered inside the input field and the container gets a data-upload-target attribute pointing to this ID.

placeholder

Placeholder text for the input. Defaults to an upload-aware file hint; pass e.g. "Enter directory path..." for directory-mode inputs.

required

Whether the field must be filled. When TRUE, an empty field carries a soft amber "needs a value" cue via the canonical .blockr-field--required-empty class (mirroring blockr.viz's required-empty mapping affordance) that clears once a value is entered.

data_dir

Reactive returning the current data directory path (from board options). Empty string means no data directory.

mode

Either "file" or "directory". Controls which entries are selectable in the autocomplete dropdown.

extensions

Optional character vector of file extensions (without dots) to show in autocomplete. Defaults to NULL, which shows all rio-supported formats. Use e.g. "rtf" to restrict to RTF files only.

policy

Which deployment file-access verifier applies to the directory-listing endpoint: "read" or "write" (see file_policy). Defaults to "read" for file mode and "write" for directory mode.

value

Optional reactive giving the path the field should show. Supply it and the module keeps the widget in step with it – including after a dock panel mounts, which is the case a caller pushing on its own cannot get right (see the note in the body).

Value

path_input_ui() returns a tagList with the widget HTML. path_input_server() returns a reactive containing the committed path text value.

Commit model

Typing never commits: keystrokes only drive the autocomplete dropdown. The reactive value returned by path_input_server() updates when the user commits — by pressing Enter, leaving the field (blur), or selecting a dropdown entry. While the typed text differs from the committed value, the field shows an "Enter ↵" chip; committing collapses it to a faded check mark. This follows the blockr design-system text-commit convention (decided 2026-07-02) and keeps half-typed paths from reaching the pipeline.