Use fileOrBlob.text() as follows:
<input type="file" onchange="this.files[0].text().then(t => console.log(t))">
When user uploads a text file via that input, it will be logged to the console. Here's a working jsbin demo.
Here's a more verbose version:
<input type="file" onchange="loadFile(this.files[0])">
<script>
async function loadFile(file) {
let text = await file.text();
console.log(text);
}
</script>
Currently (January 2020) this only works in Chrome and Firefox, check here for compatibility if you're reading this in the future: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Blob/text
On older browsers, this should work:
<input type="file" onchange="loadFile(this.files[0])">
<script>
async function loadFile(file) {
let text = await (new Response(file)).text();
console.log(text);
}
</script>
Related: As of September 2020 the new Native File System API available in Chrome and Edge in case you want permanent read-access (and even write access) to the user-selected file.