How to Read File Stream Data to String in Go (Golang) – Complete Guide 2025
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Summary
Reading files and converting their content to strings is a common task in Go development.
This can be achieved in multiple ways, depending on the context and requirements.
For small text files, one can use os.ReadFile() to read the entire file into a string, assuming the content is in UTF-8 format.
For large text files or when line-by-line processing is needed, bufio.NewReader() allows more memory-efficient reading.
For very large files or streaming content, io.Reader with byte chunks is recommended.
When dealing with non-UTF-8 encoded files, golang.org/x/text/encoding provides necessary transformations.
While it is possible to read binary files as strings, it might not be human-readable due to non-printable characters.
Proper error handling and awareness of UTF-8 encoding are essential when dealing with file I/O tasks.
Go provides various efficient and robust methods for reading file stream data to string that developers can utilise to effectively and reliably construct modern Go programmes.