Skip to content

Get Started

André Leite

2025-07-18

webdav.Rmd

This overview introduces the webdav R package, which provides an interface for managing files on WebDAV-compliant servers, enabling file operations such as uploading, downloading, copying, moving, and deleting resources.

Functions

1. Creating a WebDAV Request 

webdav_create_request(base_url, username, password, verbose = FALSE)

This function creates a basic authenticated WebDAV request for the given resource path on a WebDAV server. It sets up authentication using the provided username and password and returns a request object.

Parameters:

  1. base_url: Base URL of the WebDAV server (e.g., https://drive.expresso.pe.gov.br).
  2. username: Username for authentication.
  3. password: Password for authentication.
  4. verbose: Whether to print debug information (default is FALSE).

Example:

# Example usage with a public WebDAV server.
# Visit test_server$url link to view the results of the operation.
library(magrittr)
library(httr2)
test_server <- "https://www.webdavserver.com/" %>%
  request() %>%
  req_retry(max_tries = 3, max_seconds = 4, backoff =  ~ 1) %>%
  req_perform() %>%
  try(silent = TRUE)

# Create a request
if (class(test_server) != "try-error")
  req <- webdav_create_request(base_url = test_server$url, verbose = TRUE)

2. Copying Files 

webdav_copy_file(base_url, from_path, to_path, username, password)

This function copies a file or directory from one path to another on a WebDAV server.

Parameters:

  1. base_url: Base URL of the WebDAV server.
  2. from_path: The source file path to copy.
  3. to_path: The destination path where the file will be copied.
  4. username: Username for authentication.
  5. password: Password for authentication.

Example:

# Example usage with a public WebDAV server.
# Visit test_server$url link to view the results of the operation.
library(magrittr)
library(httr2)
test_server <- "https://www.webdavserver.com/" %>%
  request() %>%
  req_retry(max_tries = 3, max_seconds = 4, backoff =  ~ 1) %>%
  req_perform() %>%
  try(silent = TRUE)

# Copy a file from one path to another
if (class(test_server) != "try-error")
  webdav_copy_file(base_url = test_server$url,
    from_path = "Project.pdf",
    to_path = "New_Project.pdf",
    verbose = TRUE)

3. Creating a Directory 

webdav_create_directory(base_url, folder_path, username, password)

This function creates a new directory (or collection) on the WebDAV server using the MKCOL method.

Parameters:

  1. base_url: Base URL of the WebDAV server.
  2. folder_path: Path to the directory to be created.
  3. username: Username for authentication.
  4. password: Password for authentication.

Example:

# Example usage with a public WebDAV server.
# Visit test_server$url link to view the results of the operation.
library(magrittr)
library(httr2)
test_server <- "https://www.webdavserver.com/" %>%
  request() %>%
  req_retry(max_tries = 3, max_seconds = 4, backoff =  ~ 1) %>%
  req_perform() %>%
  try(silent = TRUE)

# Create a directory on the WebDAV server
if (class(test_server) != "try-error")
  webdav_create_directory(
    base_url = test_server$url, 
    folder_path = "Test_Folder", 
    verbose = TRUE)

4. Deleting a File or Directory 

webdav_delete_resource(
  base_url, 
  resource_path, 
  username, 
  password, 
  verbose = FALSE
  )

This function deletes a file or directory from the WebDAV server using the DELETE method.

Parameters: 1. base_url: Base URL of the WebDAV server. 1. resource_path: The path to the file or directory to delete. 1. username: Username for authentication. 1. password: Password for authentication.

Example:

# Example usage with a public WebDAV server.
# Visit test_server$url link to view the results of the operation.
library(magrittr)
library(httr2)
test_server <- "https://www.webdavserver.com/" %>%
  request() %>%
  req_retry(max_tries = 3, max_seconds = 4, backoff =  ~ 1) %>%
  req_perform() %>%
  try(silent = TRUE)

# Delete a file or directory
if (class(test_server) != "try-error")
  webdav_delete_resource(base_url = test_server$url, 
  resource_path = "Notes.txt",
  verbose = TRUE)

5. Listing Files in a Directory 

webdav_list_files(
  base_url, 
  folder_path, 
  username, 
  password, 
  depth = 1, 
  verbose = FALSE
  )

This function lists the files within a directory on the WebDAV server using the PROPFIND method.

Parameters:

  1. base_url: Base URL of the WebDAV server.
  2. folder_path: Path to the folder to list files.
  3. username: Username for authentication.
  4. password: Password for authentication.
  5. depth: Depth of the PROPFIND request (default is 1).

Example:

# Example usage with a public WebDAV server.
# Visit test_server$url link to view the results of the operation.
library(magrittr)
library(httr2)
test_server <- "https://www.webdavserver.com/" %>%
  request() %>%
  req_retry(max_tries = 3, max_seconds = 4, backoff =  ~ 1) %>%
  req_perform() %>%
  try(silent = TRUE)

# List files in a directory
if (class(test_server) != "try-error")
  webdav_list_files(
    base_url = test_server$url, 
    folder_path = "Sales/", 
    verbose = TRUE)

6. Uploading a File 

webdav_upload_file(
  base_url, 
  local_path, 
  server_path, 
  username, 
  password, 
  timeout = 300,
  verbose = FALSE
  )

This function uploads a local file to the WebDAV server.

Parameters:

  1. base_url: Base URL of the WebDAV server.
  2. local_path: Local path to the file.
  3. server_path: Path on the WebDAV server where the file will be uploaded.
  4. username: Username for authentication.
  5. password: Password for authentication.
  6. timeout: Time limit for the upload operation (default is 300 seconds).

Example:

# Example usage with a public WebDAV server.
# Visit test_server$url link to view the results of the operation.
library(magrittr)
library(httr2)
test_server <- "https://www.webdavserver.com/" %>%
  request() %>%
  req_retry(max_tries = 3, max_seconds = 4, backoff =  ~ 1) %>%
  req_perform() %>%
  try(silent = TRUE)

# Upload a file
file_test <- tempfile(pattern = "teste_", fileext = ".txt")
cat("Text file content", file = file_test)
if (class(test_server) != "try-error")
  webdav_upload_file(base_url = test_server$url, local_path = file_test, verbose = TRUE)

7. Download a file 

webdav_download_file(base_url, file_path, destination_path, username, password, verbose)

This function downloads a file from the WebDAV server and saves it to a local directory. It validates the provided parameters, handles errors, and optionally prints detailed logs if requested.

Parameters:

  1. base_url: The base URL of the WebDAV server.
  2. file_path: The path of the file on the WebDAV server to download (relative to the ‘base_url’).
  3. destination_path: The local directory where the downloaded file will be saved. Defaults to the current directory.
  4. username: The username for WebDAV authentication. Defaults to the “WEBDAV_USERNAME” environment variable.
  5. password: The password for WebDAV authentication. Defaults to the “WEBDAV_PASSWORD” environment variable.
  6. verbose: Logical. If TRUE, prints detailed messages during the download process.

Example:

# Example usage with a public WebDAV server.
library(magrittr)
library(httr2)
test_server <- "https://www.webdavserver.com/" %>%
  request() %>%
  req_retry(max_tries = 3, max_seconds = 4, backoff =  ~ 1) %>%
  req_perform()

# Download a file from the WebDAV server
if (class(test_server) != "try-error")
  webdav_download_file(base_url = test_server$url,
    file_path = "Project.pdf",
    destination_path = tempdir(),
    verbose = TRUE)
# Visit test_server$url to view the results of the operation.

Conclusion

The webdav R package provides a interface for managing files and directories on WebDAV-enabled servers. With basic file management (uploading, downloading, deleting, copying), directory management, and resource locking, the package simplifies interactions with platforms like OwnCloud, NextCloud, and other WebDAV-compliant systems.