hugo/docs/content/en/functions/readfile.md

title	description	godocref	date	publishdate	lastmod	categories	menu	keywords	signature	workson	hugoversion	relatedfuncs	deprecated	aliases
readFile	Reads a file from disk relative to the current project working directory and returns a string.		2017-02-01	2017-02-01	2017-04-30	functions	docs parent functions	files	readFile PATH			readDir	false

Note that the filename must be relative to the current project working directory, or the project's /content folder.

So, if you have a file with the name README.txt in the root of your project with the content Hugo Rocks!:

{{readFile "README.txt"}} → "Hugo Rocks!"

If you receive a "file doesn't exist" error with a path listed, do take note that the path is the last one checked by the function, and may not accurately reflect your target. You should generally double-check your path for mistakes.

For more information on using readDir and readFile in your templates, see Local File Templates.