---
title: "write(to:options:originalContentsURL:)"
framework: foundation
role: symbol
role_heading: Instance Method
path: "foundation/filewrapper/write(to:options:originalcontentsurl:)"
---

# write(to:options:originalContentsURL:)

Recursively writes the entire contents of a file wrapper to a given file-system URL.

## Declaration

```swift
func write(to url: URL, options: FileWrapper.WritingOptions = [], originalContentsURL: URL?) throws
```

## Parameters

- `url`: URL of the file-system node to which the file wrapper’s contents are written.
- `options`: Option flags for writing to the node located at url. See doc://com.apple.foundation/documentation/Foundation/FileWrapper/WritingOptions for possible values.
- `originalContentsURL`: The location of a previous revision of the contents being written. The default implementation of this method attempts to avoid unnecessary I/O by writing hard links to regular files instead of actually writing out their contents when the contents have not changed. The child file wrappers must return accurate values when its doc://com.apple.foundation/documentation/Foundation/FileWrapper/filename property is accessed for this to work. Use the NSFileWrapperWritingWithNameUpdating writing option to increase the likelihood of that. Specify nil for this parameter if there is no earlier version of the contents or if you want to ensure that all the contents are written to files.

## Discussion

Discussion note: In Swift, this method returns Void and is marked with the throws keyword to indicate that it throws an error in cases of failure. You call this method in a try expression and handle any errors in the catch clauses of a do statement, as described in Error Handling in The Swift Programming Language and About Imported Cocoa Error Parameters.

## See Also

### Related Documentation

- [read(from:options:)](foundation/filewrapper/read(from:options:).md)
- [filename](foundation/filewrapper/filename.md)

### Writing Files

- [write(toFile:atomically:updateFilenames:)](foundation/filewrapper/write(tofile:atomically:updatefilenames:).md)