diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 0b7d299..105e53e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
 ## Next Release
 
+### File
+
+- add new (very thin) type `File` for type safe string handling 
+
 <!-- insertion marker -->
 ## [0.2.6](https://github.com/repo/owner/releases/tag/0.2.6) - 2026-09-23
 
diff --git a/include/mstd/file.hpp b/include/mstd/file.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6e6be6e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/mstd/file.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+/*****************************************************************************
+<GPL_HEADER>
+
+    mstd library
+    Copyright (C) 2025-now  Jakob Gamper
+
+    This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+    the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+    (at your option) any later version.
+
+    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+    GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+    along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+<GPL_HEADER>
+******************************************************************************/
+
+#ifndef __MSTD__FILE_HPP__
+#define __MSTD__FILE_HPP__
+
+#include "file/file.hpp"   // IWYU pragma: export
+
+#endif   // __MSTD__FILE_HPP__
diff --git a/include/mstd/file/file.hpp b/include/mstd/file/file.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6839199
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/mstd/file/file.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+/*****************************************************************************
+<GPL_HEADER>
+
+    mstd library
+    Copyright (C) 2025-now  Jakob Gamper
+
+    This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+    the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+    (at your option) any later version.
+
+    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+    GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+    along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+<GPL_HEADER>
+******************************************************************************/
+
+#ifndef __MSTD__FILE__FILE_HPP__
+#define __MSTD__FILE__FILE_HPP__
+
+#include <string>
+
+namespace mstd
+{
+    /**
+     * @brief Represents a file in the filesystem.
+     */
+    class File
+    {
+       private:
+        std::string _fileName;
+
+       public:
+        explicit File(std::string fileName);
+
+        [[nodiscard]]
+        bool exists() const;
+
+        [[nodiscard]]
+        std::string fileName() const;
+
+        [[nodiscard]]
+        constexpr bool operator==(const File &other) const = default;
+    };
+}   // namespace mstd
+
+#ifndef __MSTD__FILE__FILE_IMPL__HPP__
+#include "file_impl.hpp"   // IWYU pragma: export
+#endif
+
+#endif   // __MSTD__FILE__FILE_HPP__
diff --git a/include/mstd/file/file_impl.hpp b/include/mstd/file/file_impl.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..31dab8c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/mstd/file/file_impl.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+/*****************************************************************************
+<GPL_HEADER>
+
+    mstd library
+    Copyright (C) 2025-now  Jakob Gamper
+
+    This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+    the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+    (at your option) any later version.
+
+    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+    GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+    along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+<GPL_HEADER>
+******************************************************************************/
+
+#ifndef __MSTD__FILE__FILE_IMPL_HPP__
+#define __MSTD__FILE__FILE_IMPL_HPP__
+
+#include <filesystem>
+#include <fstream>
+#include <string>
+
+#include "file.hpp"
+
+namespace mstd
+{
+    /**
+     * @brief constructs a File object with the given file name
+     *
+     * @param fileName the name of the file
+     */
+    inline File::File(std::string fileName) : _fileName(std::move(fileName)) {}
+
+    /**
+     * @brief checks if a file exists and can be opened
+     *
+     * @return true if file exists and can be opened
+     * @return false if file does not exist or cannot be opened
+     */
+    inline bool File::exists() const
+    {
+        if (!std::filesystem::is_regular_file(_fileName))
+            return false;
+
+        std::ifstream file(_fileName);
+        return file.good();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @brief returns the file name of the File object
+     *
+     * @return the file name
+     */
+    inline std::string File::fileName() const { return _fileName; }
+}   // namespace mstd
+
+#endif   // __MSTD__FILE__FILE_IMPL_HPP__