diff --git a/mmengine/__init__.py b/mmengine/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..916c3628
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mmengine/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# Copyright (c) OpenMMLab. All rights reserved.
+# flake8: noqa
+from .utils import *
diff --git a/mmengine/utils/__init__.py b/mmengine/utils/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b830b224
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mmengine/utils/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+# Copyright (c) OpenMMLab. All rights reserved.
+# type: ignore
+from .fileio import (FileClient, dict_from_file, dump, list_from_file, load,
+                     register_handler)
+from .misc import (check_prerequisites, concat_list, deprecated_api_warning,
+                   has_method, import_modules_from_strings, is_list_of,
+                   is_method_overridden, is_seq_of, is_str, is_tuple_of,
+                   iter_cast, list_cast, requires_executable, requires_package,
+                   slice_list, to_1tuple, to_2tuple, to_3tuple, to_4tuple,
+                   to_ntuple, tuple_cast)
+from .path import (check_file_exist, fopen, is_filepath, mkdir_or_exist,
+                   scandir, symlink)
+
+__all__ = [
+    'is_str', 'iter_cast', 'list_cast', 'tuple_cast', 'is_seq_of',
+    'is_list_of', 'is_tuple_of', 'slice_list', 'concat_list',
+    'check_prerequisites', 'requires_package', 'requires_executable',
+    'is_filepath', 'fopen', 'check_file_exist', 'mkdir_or_exist', 'symlink',
+    'scandir', 'deprecated_api_warning', 'import_modules_from_strings',
+    'to_1tuple', 'to_2tuple', 'to_3tuple', 'to_4tuple', 'to_ntuple',
+    'is_method_overridden', 'has_method', 'dict_from_file', 'list_from_file',
+    'register_handler', 'dump', 'load', 'FileClient'
+]
diff --git a/mmengine/utils/fileio/__init__.py b/mmengine/utils/fileio/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..77c35a1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mmengine/utils/fileio/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# Copyright (c) OpenMMLab. All rights reserved.
+# type: ignore
+from .file_client import BaseStorageBackend, FileClient
+from .handlers import BaseFileHandler, JsonHandler, PickleHandler, YamlHandler
+from .io import dump, load, register_handler
+from .parse import dict_from_file, list_from_file
+
+__all__ = [
+    'BaseStorageBackend', 'FileClient', 'load', 'dump', 'register_handler',
+    'BaseFileHandler', 'JsonHandler', 'PickleHandler', 'YamlHandler',
+    'list_from_file', 'dict_from_file'
+]
diff --git a/mmengine/utils/fileio/file_client.py b/mmengine/utils/fileio/file_client.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..af2e5f09
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mmengine/utils/fileio/file_client.py
@@ -0,0 +1,1149 @@
+# Copyright (c) OpenMMLab. All rights reserved.
+# type: ignore
+import inspect
+import os
+import os.path as osp
+import re
+import tempfile
+import warnings
+from abc import ABCMeta, abstractmethod
+from contextlib import contextmanager
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Iterable, Iterator, Optional, Tuple, Union
+from urllib.request import urlopen
+
+import mmengine
+from mmengine.utils import has_method, is_filepath
+
+
+class BaseStorageBackend(metaclass=ABCMeta):
+    """Abstract class of storage backends.
+
+    All backends need to implement two apis: ``get()`` and ``get_text()``.
+    ``get()`` reads the file as a byte stream and ``get_text()`` reads the file
+    as texts.
+    """
+
+    # a flag to indicate whether the backend can create a symlink for a file
+    _allow_symlink = False
+
+    @property
+    def name(self):
+        return self.__class__.__name__
+
+    @property
+    def allow_symlink(self):
+        return self._allow_symlink
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def get(self, filepath):
+        pass
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def get_text(self, filepath):
+        pass
+
+
+class CephBackend(BaseStorageBackend):
+    """Ceph storage backend (for internal use).
+
+    Args:
+        path_mapping (dict|None): path mapping dict from local path to Petrel
+            path. When ``path_mapping={'src': 'dst'}``, ``src`` in ``filepath``
+            will be replaced by ``dst``. Default: None.
+
+    .. warning::
+        :class:`mmcv.fileio.file_client.CephBackend` will be deprecated,
+        please use :class:`mmcv.fileio.file_client.PetrelBackend` instead.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, path_mapping=None):
+        try:
+            import ceph
+        except ImportError:
+            raise ImportError('Please install ceph to enable CephBackend.')
+
+        warnings.warn(
+            'CephBackend will be deprecated, please use PetrelBackend instead',
+            DeprecationWarning)
+        self._client = ceph.S3Client()
+        assert isinstance(path_mapping, dict) or path_mapping is None
+        self.path_mapping = path_mapping
+
+    def get(self, filepath):
+        filepath = str(filepath)
+        if self.path_mapping is not None:
+            for k, v in self.path_mapping.items():
+                filepath = filepath.replace(k, v)
+        value = self._client.Get(filepath)
+        value_buf = memoryview(value)
+        return value_buf
+
+    def get_text(self, filepath, encoding=None):
+        raise NotImplementedError
+
+
+class PetrelBackend(BaseStorageBackend):
+    """Petrel storage backend (for internal use).
+
+    PetrelBackend supports reading and writing data to multiple clusters.
+    If the file path contains the cluster name, PetrelBackend will read data
+    from specified cluster or write data to it. Otherwise, PetrelBackend will
+    access the default cluster.
+
+    Args:
+        path_mapping (dict, optional): Path mapping dict from local path to
+            Petrel path. When ``path_mapping={'src': 'dst'}``, ``src`` in
+            ``filepath`` will be replaced by ``dst``. Default: None.
+        enable_mc (bool, optional): Whether to enable memcached support.
+            Default: True.
+
+    Examples:
+        >>> filepath1 = 's3://path/of/file'
+        >>> filepath2 = 'cluster-name:s3://path/of/file'
+        >>> client = PetrelBackend()
+        >>> client.get(filepath1)  # get data from default cluster
+        >>> client.get(filepath2)  # get data from 'cluster-name' cluster
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self,
+                 path_mapping: Optional[dict] = None,
+                 enable_mc: bool = True):
+        try:
+            from petrel_client import client
+        except ImportError:
+            raise ImportError('Please install petrel_client to enable '
+                              'PetrelBackend.')
+
+        self._client = client.Client(enable_mc=enable_mc)
+        assert isinstance(path_mapping, dict) or path_mapping is None
+        self.path_mapping = path_mapping
+
+    def _map_path(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> str:
+        """Map ``filepath`` to a string path whose prefix will be replaced by
+        :attr:`self.path_mapping`.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str): Path to be mapped.
+        """
+        filepath = str(filepath)
+        if self.path_mapping is not None:
+            for k, v in self.path_mapping.items():
+                filepath = filepath.replace(k, v)
+        return filepath
+
+    def _format_path(self, filepath: str) -> str:
+        """Convert a ``filepath`` to standard format of petrel oss.
+
+        If the ``filepath`` is concatenated by ``os.path.join``, in a Windows
+        environment, the ``filepath`` will be the format of
+        's3://bucket_name\\image.jpg'. By invoking :meth:`_format_path`, the
+        above ``filepath`` will be converted to 's3://bucket_name/image.jpg'.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str): Path to be formatted.
+        """
+        return re.sub(r'\\+', '/', filepath)
+
+    def get(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> memoryview:
+        """Read data from a given ``filepath`` with 'rb' mode.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to read data.
+
+        Returns:
+            memoryview: A memory view of expected bytes object to avoid
+                copying. The memoryview object can be converted to bytes by
+                ``value_buf.tobytes()``.
+        """
+        filepath = self._map_path(filepath)
+        filepath = self._format_path(filepath)
+        value = self._client.Get(filepath)
+        value_buf = memoryview(value)
+        return value_buf
+
+    def get_text(self,
+                 filepath: Union[str, Path],
+                 encoding: str = 'utf-8') -> str:
+        """Read data from a given ``filepath`` with 'r' mode.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to read data.
+            encoding (str): The encoding format used to open the ``filepath``.
+                Default: 'utf-8'.
+
+        Returns:
+            str: Expected text reading from ``filepath``.
+        """
+        return str(self.get(filepath), encoding=encoding)
+
+    def put(self, obj: bytes, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> None:
+        """Save data to a given ``filepath``.
+
+        Args:
+            obj (bytes): Data to be saved.
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to write data.
+        """
+        filepath = self._map_path(filepath)
+        filepath = self._format_path(filepath)
+        self._client.put(filepath, obj)
+
+    def put_text(self,
+                 obj: str,
+                 filepath: Union[str, Path],
+                 encoding: str = 'utf-8') -> None:
+        """Save data to a given ``filepath``.
+
+        Args:
+            obj (str): Data to be written.
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to write data.
+            encoding (str): The encoding format used to encode the ``obj``.
+                Default: 'utf-8'.
+        """
+        self.put(bytes(obj, encoding=encoding), filepath)
+
+    def remove(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> None:
+        """Remove a file.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to be removed.
+        """
+        if not has_method(self._client, 'delete'):
+            raise NotImplementedError(
+                ('Current version of Petrel Python SDK has not supported '
+                 'the `delete` method, please use a higher version or dev'
+                 ' branch instead.'))
+
+        filepath = self._map_path(filepath)
+        filepath = self._format_path(filepath)
+        self._client.delete(filepath)
+
+    def exists(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> bool:
+        """Check whether a file path exists.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to be checked whether exists.
+
+        Returns:
+            bool: Return ``True`` if ``filepath`` exists, ``False`` otherwise.
+        """
+        if not (has_method(self._client, 'contains')
+                and has_method(self._client, 'isdir')):
+            raise NotImplementedError(
+                ('Current version of Petrel Python SDK has not supported '
+                 'the `contains` and `isdir` methods, please use a higher'
+                 'version or dev branch instead.'))
+
+        filepath = self._map_path(filepath)
+        filepath = self._format_path(filepath)
+        return self._client.contains(filepath) or self._client.isdir(filepath)
+
+    def isdir(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> bool:
+        """Check whether a file path is a directory.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to be checked whether it is a
+                directory.
+
+        Returns:
+            bool: Return ``True`` if ``filepath`` points to a directory,
+            ``False`` otherwise.
+        """
+        if not has_method(self._client, 'isdir'):
+            raise NotImplementedError(
+                ('Current version of Petrel Python SDK has not supported '
+                 'the `isdir` method, please use a higher version or dev'
+                 ' branch instead.'))
+
+        filepath = self._map_path(filepath)
+        filepath = self._format_path(filepath)
+        return self._client.isdir(filepath)
+
+    def isfile(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> bool:
+        """Check whether a file path is a file.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to be checked whether it is a file.
+
+        Returns:
+            bool: Return ``True`` if ``filepath`` points to a file, ``False``
+            otherwise.
+        """
+        if not has_method(self._client, 'contains'):
+            raise NotImplementedError(
+                ('Current version of Petrel Python SDK has not supported '
+                 'the `contains` method, please use a higher version or '
+                 'dev branch instead.'))
+
+        filepath = self._map_path(filepath)
+        filepath = self._format_path(filepath)
+        return self._client.contains(filepath)
+
+    def join_path(self, filepath: Union[str, Path],
+                  *filepaths: Union[str, Path]) -> str:
+        """Concatenate all file paths.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to be concatenated.
+
+        Returns:
+            str: The result after concatenation.
+        """
+        filepath = self._format_path(self._map_path(filepath))
+        if filepath.endswith('/'):
+            filepath = filepath[:-1]
+        formatted_paths = [filepath]
+        for path in filepaths:
+            formatted_paths.append(self._format_path(self._map_path(path)))
+        return '/'.join(formatted_paths)
+
+    @contextmanager
+    def get_local_path(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> Iterable[str]:
+        """Download a file from ``filepath`` and return a temporary path.
+
+        ``get_local_path`` is decorated by :meth:`contxtlib.contextmanager`. It
+        can be called with ``with`` statement, and when exists from the
+        ``with`` statement, the temporary path will be released.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str | Path): Download a file from ``filepath``.
+
+        Examples:
+            >>> client = PetrelBackend()
+            >>> # After existing from the ``with`` clause,
+            >>> # the path will be removed
+            >>> with client.get_local_path('s3://path/of/your/file') as path:
+            ...     # do something here
+
+        Yields:
+            Iterable[str]: Only yield one temporary path.
+        """
+        filepath = self._map_path(filepath)
+        filepath = self._format_path(filepath)
+        assert self.isfile(filepath)
+        try:
+            f = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(delete=False)
+            f.write(self.get(filepath))
+            f.close()
+            yield f.name
+        finally:
+            os.remove(f.name)
+
+    def list_dir_or_file(self,
+                         dir_path: Union[str, Path],
+                         list_dir: bool = True,
+                         list_file: bool = True,
+                         suffix: Optional[Union[str, Tuple[str]]] = None,
+                         recursive: bool = False) -> Iterator[str]:
+        """Scan a directory to find the interested directories or files in
+        arbitrary order.
+
+        Note:
+            Petrel has no concept of directories but it simulates the directory
+            hierarchy in the filesystem through public prefixes. In addition,
+            if the returned path ends with '/', it means the path is a public
+            prefix which is a logical directory.
+
+        Note:
+            :meth:`list_dir_or_file` returns the path relative to ``dir_path``.
+            In addition, the returned path of directory will not contains the
+            suffix '/' which is consistent with other backends.
+
+        Args:
+            dir_path (str | Path): Path of the directory.
+            list_dir (bool): List the directories. Default: True.
+            list_file (bool): List the path of files. Default: True.
+            suffix (str or tuple[str], optional):  File suffix
+                that we are interested in. Default: None.
+            recursive (bool): If set to True, recursively scan the
+                directory. Default: False.
+
+        Yields:
+            Iterable[str]: A relative path to ``dir_path``.
+        """
+        if not has_method(self._client, 'list'):
+            raise NotImplementedError(
+                ('Current version of Petrel Python SDK has not supported '
+                 'the `list` method, please use a higher version or dev'
+                 ' branch instead.'))
+
+        dir_path = self._map_path(dir_path)
+        dir_path = self._format_path(dir_path)
+        if list_dir and suffix is not None:
+            raise TypeError(
+                '`list_dir` should be False when `suffix` is not None')
+
+        if (suffix is not None) and not isinstance(suffix, (str, tuple)):
+            raise TypeError('`suffix` must be a string or tuple of strings')
+
+        # Petrel's simulated directory hierarchy assumes that directory paths
+        # should end with `/`
+        if not dir_path.endswith('/'):
+            dir_path += '/'
+
+        root = dir_path
+
+        def _list_dir_or_file(dir_path, list_dir, list_file, suffix,
+                              recursive):
+            for path in self._client.list(dir_path):
+                # the `self.isdir` is not used here to determine whether path
+                # is a directory, because `self.isdir` relies on
+                # `self._client.list`
+                if path.endswith('/'):  # a directory path
+                    next_dir_path = self.join_path(dir_path, path)
+                    if list_dir:
+                        # get the relative path and exclude the last
+                        # character '/'
+                        rel_dir = next_dir_path[len(root):-1]
+                        yield rel_dir
+                    if recursive:
+                        yield from _list_dir_or_file(next_dir_path, list_dir,
+                                                     list_file, suffix,
+                                                     recursive)
+                else:  # a file path
+                    absolute_path = self.join_path(dir_path, path)
+                    rel_path = absolute_path[len(root):]
+                    if (suffix is None
+                            or rel_path.endswith(suffix)) and list_file:
+                        yield rel_path
+
+        return _list_dir_or_file(dir_path, list_dir, list_file, suffix,
+                                 recursive)
+
+
+class MemcachedBackend(BaseStorageBackend):
+    """Memcached storage backend.
+
+    Attributes:
+        server_list_cfg (str): Config file for memcached server list.
+        client_cfg (str): Config file for memcached client.
+        sys_path (str | None): Additional path to be appended to `sys.path`.
+            Default: None.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, server_list_cfg, client_cfg, sys_path=None):
+        if sys_path is not None:
+            import sys
+            sys.path.append(sys_path)
+        try:
+            import mc
+        except ImportError:
+            raise ImportError(
+                'Please install memcached to enable MemcachedBackend.')
+
+        self.server_list_cfg = server_list_cfg
+        self.client_cfg = client_cfg
+        self._client = mc.MemcachedClient.GetInstance(self.server_list_cfg,
+                                                      self.client_cfg)
+        # mc.pyvector servers as a point which points to a memory cache
+        self._mc_buffer = mc.pyvector()
+
+    def get(self, filepath):
+        filepath = str(filepath)
+        import mc
+        self._client.Get(filepath, self._mc_buffer)
+        value_buf = mc.ConvertBuffer(self._mc_buffer)
+        return value_buf
+
+    def get_text(self, filepath, encoding=None):
+        raise NotImplementedError
+
+
+class LmdbBackend(BaseStorageBackend):
+    """Lmdb storage backend.
+
+    Args:
+        db_path (str): Lmdb database path.
+        readonly (bool, optional): Lmdb environment parameter. If True,
+            disallow any write operations. Default: True.
+        lock (bool, optional): Lmdb environment parameter. If False, when
+            concurrent access occurs, do not lock the database. Default: False.
+        readahead (bool, optional): Lmdb environment parameter. If False,
+            disable the OS filesystem readahead mechanism, which may improve
+            random read performance when a database is larger than RAM.
+            Default: False.
+
+    Attributes:
+        db_path (str): Lmdb database path.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self,
+                 db_path,
+                 readonly=True,
+                 lock=False,
+                 readahead=False,
+                 **kwargs):
+        try:
+            import lmdb
+        except ImportError:
+            raise ImportError('Please install lmdb to enable LmdbBackend.')
+
+        self.db_path = str(db_path)
+        self._client = lmdb.open(
+            self.db_path,
+            readonly=readonly,
+            lock=lock,
+            readahead=readahead,
+            **kwargs)
+
+    def get(self, filepath):
+        """Get values according to the filepath.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str | obj:`Path`): Here, filepath is the lmdb key.
+        """
+        filepath = str(filepath)
+        with self._client.begin(write=False) as txn:
+            value_buf = txn.get(filepath.encode('ascii'))
+        return value_buf
+
+    def get_text(self, filepath, encoding=None):
+        raise NotImplementedError
+
+
+class HardDiskBackend(BaseStorageBackend):
+    """Raw hard disks storage backend."""
+
+    _allow_symlink = True
+
+    def get(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> bytes:
+        """Read data from a given ``filepath`` with 'rb' mode.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to read data.
+
+        Returns:
+            bytes: Expected bytes object.
+        """
+        with open(filepath, 'rb') as f:
+            value_buf = f.read()
+        return value_buf
+
+    def get_text(self,
+                 filepath: Union[str, Path],
+                 encoding: str = 'utf-8') -> str:
+        """Read data from a given ``filepath`` with 'r' mode.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to read data.
+            encoding (str): The encoding format used to open the ``filepath``.
+                Default: 'utf-8'.
+
+        Returns:
+            str: Expected text reading from ``filepath``.
+        """
+        with open(filepath, 'r', encoding=encoding) as f:
+            value_buf = f.read()
+        return value_buf
+
+    def put(self, obj: bytes, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> None:
+        """Write data to a given ``filepath`` with 'wb' mode.
+
+        Note:
+            ``put`` will create a directory if the directory of ``filepath``
+            does not exist.
+
+        Args:
+            obj (bytes): Data to be written.
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to write data.
+        """
+        mmengine.mkdir_or_exist(osp.dirname(filepath))
+        with open(filepath, 'wb') as f:
+            f.write(obj)
+
+    def put_text(self,
+                 obj: str,
+                 filepath: Union[str, Path],
+                 encoding: str = 'utf-8') -> None:
+        """Write data to a given ``filepath`` with 'w' mode.
+
+        Note:
+            ``put_text`` will create a directory if the directory of
+            ``filepath`` does not exist.
+
+        Args:
+            obj (str): Data to be written.
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to write data.
+            encoding (str): The encoding format used to open the ``filepath``.
+                Default: 'utf-8'.
+        """
+        mmengine.mkdir_or_exist(osp.dirname(filepath))
+        with open(filepath, 'w', encoding=encoding) as f:
+            f.write(obj)
+
+    def remove(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> None:
+        """Remove a file.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to be removed.
+        """
+        os.remove(filepath)
+
+    def exists(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> bool:
+        """Check whether a file path exists.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to be checked whether exists.
+
+        Returns:
+            bool: Return ``True`` if ``filepath`` exists, ``False`` otherwise.
+        """
+        return osp.exists(filepath)
+
+    def isdir(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> bool:
+        """Check whether a file path is a directory.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to be checked whether it is a
+                directory.
+
+        Returns:
+            bool: Return ``True`` if ``filepath`` points to a directory,
+            ``False`` otherwise.
+        """
+        return osp.isdir(filepath)
+
+    def isfile(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> bool:
+        """Check whether a file path is a file.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to be checked whether it is a file.
+
+        Returns:
+            bool: Return ``True`` if ``filepath`` points to a file, ``False``
+            otherwise.
+        """
+        return osp.isfile(filepath)
+
+    def join_path(self, filepath: Union[str, Path],
+                  *filepaths: Union[str, Path]) -> str:
+        """Concatenate all file paths.
+
+        Join one or more filepath components intelligently. The return value
+        is the concatenation of filepath and any members of *filepaths.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to be concatenated.
+
+        Returns:
+            str: The result of concatenation.
+        """
+        return osp.join(filepath, *filepaths)
+
+    @contextmanager
+    def get_local_path(
+            self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> Iterable[Union[str, Path]]:
+        """Only for unified API and do nothing."""
+        yield filepath
+
+    def list_dir_or_file(self,
+                         dir_path: Union[str, Path],
+                         list_dir: bool = True,
+                         list_file: bool = True,
+                         suffix: Optional[Union[str, Tuple[str]]] = None,
+                         recursive: bool = False) -> Iterator[str]:
+        """Scan a directory to find the interested directories or files in
+        arbitrary order.
+
+        Note:
+            :meth:`list_dir_or_file` returns the path relative to ``dir_path``.
+
+        Args:
+            dir_path (str | Path): Path of the directory.
+            list_dir (bool): List the directories. Default: True.
+            list_file (bool): List the path of files. Default: True.
+            suffix (str or tuple[str], optional):  File suffix
+                that we are interested in. Default: None.
+            recursive (bool): If set to True, recursively scan the
+                directory. Default: False.
+
+        Yields:
+            Iterable[str]: A relative path to ``dir_path``.
+        """
+        if list_dir and suffix is not None:
+            raise TypeError('`suffix` should be None when `list_dir` is True')
+
+        if (suffix is not None) and not isinstance(suffix, (str, tuple)):
+            raise TypeError('`suffix` must be a string or tuple of strings')
+
+        root = dir_path
+
+        def _list_dir_or_file(dir_path, list_dir, list_file, suffix,
+                              recursive):
+            for entry in os.scandir(dir_path):
+                if not entry.name.startswith('.') and entry.is_file():
+                    rel_path = osp.relpath(entry.path, root)
+                    if (suffix is None
+                            or rel_path.endswith(suffix)) and list_file:
+                        yield rel_path
+                elif osp.isdir(entry.path):
+                    if list_dir:
+                        rel_dir = osp.relpath(entry.path, root)
+                        yield rel_dir
+                    if recursive:
+                        yield from _list_dir_or_file(entry.path, list_dir,
+                                                     list_file, suffix,
+                                                     recursive)
+
+        return _list_dir_or_file(dir_path, list_dir, list_file, suffix,
+                                 recursive)
+
+
+class HTTPBackend(BaseStorageBackend):
+    """HTTP and HTTPS storage bachend."""
+
+    def get(self, filepath):
+        value_buf = urlopen(filepath).read()
+        return value_buf
+
+    def get_text(self, filepath, encoding='utf-8'):
+        value_buf = urlopen(filepath).read()
+        return value_buf.decode(encoding)
+
+    @contextmanager
+    def get_local_path(self, filepath: str) -> Iterable[str]:
+        """Download a file from ``filepath``.
+
+        ``get_local_path`` is decorated by :meth:`contxtlib.contextmanager`. It
+        can be called with ``with`` statement, and when exists from the
+        ``with`` statement, the temporary path will be released.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str): Download a file from ``filepath``.
+
+        Examples:
+            >>> client = HTTPBackend()
+            >>> # After existing from the ``with`` clause,
+            >>> # the path will be removed
+            >>> with client.get_local_path('http://path/of/your/file') as path:
+            ...     # do something here
+        """
+        try:
+            f = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(delete=False)
+            f.write(self.get(filepath))
+            f.close()
+            yield f.name
+        finally:
+            os.remove(f.name)
+
+
+class FileClient:
+    """A general file client to access files in different backends.
+
+    The client loads a file or text in a specified backend from its path
+    and returns it as a binary or text file. There are two ways to choose a
+    backend, the name of backend and the prefix of path. Although both of them
+    can be used to choose a storage backend, ``backend`` has a higher priority
+    that is if they are all set, the storage backend will be chosen by the
+    backend argument. If they are all `None`, the disk backend will be chosen.
+    Note that It can also register other backend accessor with a given name,
+    prefixes, and backend class. In addition, We use the singleton pattern to
+    avoid repeated object creation. If the arguments are the same, the same
+    object will be returned.
+
+    Args:
+        backend (str, optional): The storage backend type. Options are "disk",
+            "ceph", "memcached", "lmdb", "http" and "petrel". Default: None.
+        prefix (str, optional): The prefix of the registered storage backend.
+            Options are "s3", "http", "https". Default: None.
+
+    Examples:
+        >>> # only set backend
+        >>> file_client = FileClient(backend='petrel')
+        >>> # only set prefix
+        >>> file_client = FileClient(prefix='s3')
+        >>> # set both backend and prefix but use backend to choose client
+        >>> file_client = FileClient(backend='petrel', prefix='s3')
+        >>> # if the arguments are the same, the same object is returned
+        >>> file_client1 = FileClient(backend='petrel')
+        >>> file_client1 is file_client
+        True
+
+    Attributes:
+        client (:obj:`BaseStorageBackend`): The backend object.
+    """
+
+    _backends = {
+        'disk': HardDiskBackend,
+        'ceph': CephBackend,
+        'memcached': MemcachedBackend,
+        'lmdb': LmdbBackend,
+        'petrel': PetrelBackend,
+        'http': HTTPBackend,
+    }
+    # This collection is used to record the overridden backends, and when a
+    # backend appears in the collection, the singleton pattern is disabled for
+    # that backend, because if the singleton pattern is used, then the object
+    # returned will be the backend before overwriting
+    _overridden_backends = set()
+    _prefix_to_backends = {
+        's3': PetrelBackend,
+        'http': HTTPBackend,
+        'https': HTTPBackend,
+    }
+    _overridden_prefixes = set()
+
+    _instances = {}
+
+    def __new__(cls, backend=None, prefix=None, **kwargs):
+        if backend is None and prefix is None:
+            backend = 'disk'
+        if backend is not None and backend not in cls._backends:
+            raise ValueError(
+                f'Backend {backend} is not supported. Currently supported ones'
+                f' are {list(cls._backends.keys())}')
+        if prefix is not None and prefix not in cls._prefix_to_backends:
+            raise ValueError(
+                f'prefix {prefix} is not supported. Currently supported ones '
+                f'are {list(cls._prefix_to_backends.keys())}')
+
+        # concatenate the arguments to a unique key for determining whether
+        # objects with the same arguments were created
+        arg_key = f'{backend}:{prefix}'
+        for key, value in kwargs.items():
+            arg_key += f':{key}:{value}'
+
+        # if a backend was overridden, it will create a new object
+        if (arg_key in cls._instances
+                and backend not in cls._overridden_backends
+                and prefix not in cls._overridden_prefixes):
+            _instance = cls._instances[arg_key]
+        else:
+            # create a new object and put it to _instance
+            _instance = super().__new__(cls)
+            if backend is not None:
+                _instance.client = cls._backends[backend](**kwargs)
+            else:
+                _instance.client = cls._prefix_to_backends[prefix](**kwargs)
+
+            cls._instances[arg_key] = _instance
+
+        return _instance
+
+    @property
+    def name(self):
+        return self.client.name
+
+    @property
+    def allow_symlink(self):
+        return self.client.allow_symlink
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def parse_uri_prefix(uri: Union[str, Path]) -> Optional[str]:
+        """Parse the prefix of a uri.
+
+        Args:
+            uri (str | Path): Uri to be parsed that contains the file prefix.
+
+        Examples:
+            >>> FileClient.parse_uri_prefix('s3://path/of/your/file')
+            's3'
+
+        Returns:
+            str | None: Return the prefix of uri if the uri contains '://' else
+            ``None``.
+        """
+        assert is_filepath(uri)
+        uri = str(uri)
+        if '://' not in uri:
+            return None
+        else:
+            prefix, _ = uri.split('://')
+            # In the case of PetrelBackend, the prefix may contains the cluster
+            # name like clusterName:s3
+            if ':' in prefix:
+                _, prefix = prefix.split(':')
+            return prefix
+
+    @classmethod
+    def infer_client(cls,
+                     file_client_args: Optional[dict] = None,
+                     uri: Optional[Union[str, Path]] = None) -> 'FileClient':
+        """Infer a suitable file client based on the URI and arguments.
+
+        Args:
+            file_client_args (dict, optional): Arguments to instantiate a
+                FileClient. Default: None.
+            uri (str | Path, optional): Uri to be parsed that contains the file
+                prefix. Default: None.
+
+        Examples:
+            >>> uri = 's3://path/of/your/file'
+            >>> file_client = FileClient.infer_client(uri=uri)
+            >>> file_client_args = {'backend': 'petrel'}
+            >>> file_client = FileClient.infer_client(file_client_args)
+
+        Returns:
+            FileClient: Instantiated FileClient object.
+        """
+        assert file_client_args is not None or uri is not None
+        if file_client_args is None:
+            file_prefix = cls.parse_uri_prefix(uri)  # type: ignore
+            return cls(prefix=file_prefix)
+        else:
+            return cls(**file_client_args)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def _register_backend(cls, name, backend, force=False, prefixes=None):
+        if not isinstance(name, str):
+            raise TypeError('the backend name should be a string, '
+                            f'but got {type(name)}')
+        if not inspect.isclass(backend):
+            raise TypeError(
+                f'backend should be a class but got {type(backend)}')
+        if not issubclass(backend, BaseStorageBackend):
+            raise TypeError(
+                f'backend {backend} is not a subclass of BaseStorageBackend')
+        if not force and name in cls._backends:
+            raise KeyError(
+                f'{name} is already registered as a storage backend, '
+                'add "force=True" if you want to override it')
+
+        if name in cls._backends and force:
+            cls._overridden_backends.add(name)
+        cls._backends[name] = backend
+
+        if prefixes is not None:
+            if isinstance(prefixes, str):
+                prefixes = [prefixes]
+            else:
+                assert isinstance(prefixes, (list, tuple))
+            for prefix in prefixes:
+                if prefix not in cls._prefix_to_backends:
+                    cls._prefix_to_backends[prefix] = backend
+                elif (prefix in cls._prefix_to_backends) and force:
+                    cls._overridden_prefixes.add(prefix)
+                    cls._prefix_to_backends[prefix] = backend
+                else:
+                    raise KeyError(
+                        f'{prefix} is already registered as a storage backend,'
+                        ' add "force=True" if you want to override it')
+
+    @classmethod
+    def register_backend(cls, name, backend=None, force=False, prefixes=None):
+        """Register a backend to FileClient.
+
+        This method can be used as a normal class method or a decorator.
+
+        .. code-block:: python
+
+            class NewBackend(BaseStorageBackend):
+
+                def get(self, filepath):
+                    return filepath
+
+                def get_text(self, filepath):
+                    return filepath
+
+            FileClient.register_backend('new', NewBackend)
+
+        or
+
+        .. code-block:: python
+
+            @FileClient.register_backend('new')
+            class NewBackend(BaseStorageBackend):
+
+                def get(self, filepath):
+                    return filepath
+
+                def get_text(self, filepath):
+                    return filepath
+
+        Args:
+            name (str): The name of the registered backend.
+            backend (class, optional): The backend class to be registered,
+                which must be a subclass of :class:`BaseStorageBackend`.
+                When this method is used as a decorator, backend is None.
+                Defaults to None.
+            force (bool, optional): Whether to override the backend if the name
+                has already been registered. Defaults to False.
+            prefixes (str or list[str] or tuple[str], optional): The prefixes
+                of the registered storage backend. Default: None.
+                `New in version 1.3.15.`
+        """
+        if backend is not None:
+            cls._register_backend(
+                name, backend, force=force, prefixes=prefixes)
+            return
+
+        def _register(backend_cls):
+            cls._register_backend(
+                name, backend_cls, force=force, prefixes=prefixes)
+            return backend_cls
+
+        return _register
+
+    def get(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> Union[bytes, memoryview]:
+        """Read data from a given ``filepath`` with 'rb' mode.
+
+        Note:
+            There are two types of return values for ``get``, one is ``bytes``
+            and the other is ``memoryview``. The advantage of using memoryview
+            is that you can avoid copying, and if you want to convert it to
+            ``bytes``, you can use ``.tobytes()``.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to read data.
+
+        Returns:
+            bytes | memoryview: Expected bytes object or a memory view of the
+            bytes object.
+        """
+        return self.client.get(filepath)
+
+    def get_text(self, filepath: Union[str, Path], encoding='utf-8') -> str:
+        """Read data from a given ``filepath`` with 'r' mode.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to read data.
+            encoding (str): The encoding format used to open the ``filepath``.
+                Default: 'utf-8'.
+
+        Returns:
+            str: Expected text reading from ``filepath``.
+        """
+        return self.client.get_text(filepath, encoding)
+
+    def put(self, obj: bytes, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> None:
+        """Write data to a given ``filepath`` with 'wb' mode.
+
+        Note:
+            ``put`` should create a directory if the directory of ``filepath``
+            does not exist.
+
+        Args:
+            obj (bytes): Data to be written.
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to write data.
+        """
+        self.client.put(obj, filepath)
+
+    def put_text(self, obj: str, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> None:
+        """Write data to a given ``filepath`` with 'w' mode.
+
+        Note:
+            ``put_text`` should create a directory if the directory of
+            ``filepath`` does not exist.
+
+        Args:
+            obj (str): Data to be written.
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to write data.
+            encoding (str, optional): The encoding format used to open the
+                `filepath`. Default: 'utf-8'.
+        """
+        self.client.put_text(obj, filepath)
+
+    def remove(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> None:
+        """Remove a file.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str, Path): Path to be removed.
+        """
+        self.client.remove(filepath)
+
+    def exists(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> bool:
+        """Check whether a file path exists.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to be checked whether exists.
+
+        Returns:
+            bool: Return ``True`` if ``filepath`` exists, ``False`` otherwise.
+        """
+        return self.client.exists(filepath)
+
+    def isdir(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> bool:
+        """Check whether a file path is a directory.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to be checked whether it is a
+                directory.
+
+        Returns:
+            bool: Return ``True`` if ``filepath`` points to a directory,
+            ``False`` otherwise.
+        """
+        return self.client.isdir(filepath)
+
+    def isfile(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> bool:
+        """Check whether a file path is a file.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to be checked whether it is a file.
+
+        Returns:
+            bool: Return ``True`` if ``filepath`` points to a file, ``False``
+            otherwise.
+        """
+        return self.client.isfile(filepath)
+
+    def join_path(self, filepath: Union[str, Path],
+                  *filepaths: Union[str, Path]) -> str:
+        """Concatenate all file paths.
+
+        Join one or more filepath components intelligently. The return value
+        is the concatenation of filepath and any members of *filepaths.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to be concatenated.
+
+        Returns:
+            str: The result of concatenation.
+        """
+        return self.client.join_path(filepath, *filepaths)
+
+    @contextmanager
+    def get_local_path(self, filepath: Union[str, Path]) -> Iterable[str]:
+        """Download data from ``filepath`` and write the data to local path.
+
+        ``get_local_path`` is decorated by :meth:`contxtlib.contextmanager`. It
+        can be called with ``with`` statement, and when exists from the
+        ``with`` statement, the temporary path will be released.
+
+        Note:
+            If the ``filepath`` is a local path, just return itself.
+
+        .. warning::
+            ``get_local_path`` is an experimental interface that may change in
+            the future.
+
+        Args:
+            filepath (str or Path): Path to be read data.
+
+        Examples:
+            >>> file_client = FileClient(prefix='s3')
+            >>> with file_client.get_local_path('s3://bucket/abc.jpg') as path:
+            ...     # do something here
+
+        Yields:
+            Iterable[str]: Only yield one path.
+        """
+        with self.client.get_local_path(str(filepath)) as local_path:
+            yield local_path
+
+    def list_dir_or_file(self,
+                         dir_path: Union[str, Path],
+                         list_dir: bool = True,
+                         list_file: bool = True,
+                         suffix: Optional[Union[str, Tuple[str]]] = None,
+                         recursive: bool = False) -> Iterator[str]:
+        """Scan a directory to find the interested directories or files in
+        arbitrary order.
+
+        Note:
+            :meth:`list_dir_or_file` returns the path relative to ``dir_path``.
+
+        Args:
+            dir_path (str | Path): Path of the directory.
+            list_dir (bool): List the directories. Default: True.
+            list_file (bool): List the path of files. Default: True.
+            suffix (str or tuple[str], optional):  File suffix
+                that we are interested in. Default: None.
+            recursive (bool): If set to True, recursively scan the
+                directory. Default: False.
+
+        Yields:
+            Iterable[str]: A relative path to ``dir_path``.
+        """
+        yield from self.client.list_dir_or_file(dir_path, list_dir, list_file,
+                                                suffix, recursive)
diff --git a/mmengine/utils/fileio/handlers/__init__.py b/mmengine/utils/fileio/handlers/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..aa24d919
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mmengine/utils/fileio/handlers/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# Copyright (c) OpenMMLab. All rights reserved.
+from .base import BaseFileHandler
+from .json_handler import JsonHandler
+from .pickle_handler import PickleHandler
+from .yaml_handler import YamlHandler
+
+__all__ = ['BaseFileHandler', 'JsonHandler', 'PickleHandler', 'YamlHandler']
diff --git a/mmengine/utils/fileio/handlers/base.py b/mmengine/utils/fileio/handlers/base.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..288878bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mmengine/utils/fileio/handlers/base.py
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+# Copyright (c) OpenMMLab. All rights reserved.
+from abc import ABCMeta, abstractmethod
+
+
+class BaseFileHandler(metaclass=ABCMeta):
+    # `str_like` is a flag to indicate whether the type of file object is
+    # str-like object or bytes-like object. Pickle only processes bytes-like
+    # objects but json only processes str-like object. If it is str-like
+    # object, `StringIO` will be used to process the buffer.
+    str_like = True
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def load_from_fileobj(self, file, **kwargs):
+        pass
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def dump_to_fileobj(self, obj, file, **kwargs):
+        pass
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def dump_to_str(self, obj, **kwargs):
+        pass
+
+    def load_from_path(self, filepath, mode='r', **kwargs):
+        with open(filepath, mode) as f:
+            return self.load_from_fileobj(f, **kwargs)
+
+    def dump_to_path(self, obj, filepath, mode='w', **kwargs):
+        with open(filepath, mode) as f:
+            self.dump_to_fileobj(obj, f, **kwargs)
diff --git a/mmengine/utils/fileio/handlers/json_handler.py b/mmengine/utils/fileio/handlers/json_handler.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..18d4f15f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mmengine/utils/fileio/handlers/json_handler.py
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+# Copyright (c) OpenMMLab. All rights reserved.
+import json
+
+import numpy as np
+
+from .base import BaseFileHandler
+
+
+def set_default(obj):
+    """Set default json values for non-serializable values.
+
+    It helps convert ``set``, ``range`` and ``np.ndarray`` data types to list.
+    It also converts ``np.generic`` (including ``np.int32``, ``np.float32``,
+    etc.) into plain numbers of plain python built-in types.
+    """
+    if isinstance(obj, (set, range)):
+        return list(obj)
+    elif isinstance(obj, np.ndarray):
+        return obj.tolist()
+    elif isinstance(obj, np.generic):
+        return obj.item()
+    raise TypeError(f'{type(obj)} is unsupported for json dump')
+
+
+class JsonHandler(BaseFileHandler):
+
+    def load_from_fileobj(self, file):
+        return json.load(file)
+
+    def dump_to_fileobj(self, obj, file, **kwargs):
+        kwargs.setdefault('default', set_default)
+        json.dump(obj, file, **kwargs)
+
+    def dump_to_str(self, obj, **kwargs):
+        kwargs.setdefault('default', set_default)
+        return json.dumps(obj, **kwargs)
diff --git a/mmengine/utils/fileio/handlers/pickle_handler.py b/mmengine/utils/fileio/handlers/pickle_handler.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b37c79be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mmengine/utils/fileio/handlers/pickle_handler.py
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+# Copyright (c) OpenMMLab. All rights reserved.
+import pickle
+
+from .base import BaseFileHandler
+
+
+class PickleHandler(BaseFileHandler):
+
+    str_like = False
+
+    def load_from_fileobj(self, file, **kwargs):
+        return pickle.load(file, **kwargs)
+
+    def load_from_path(self, filepath, **kwargs):
+        return super(PickleHandler, self).load_from_path(
+            filepath, mode='rb', **kwargs)
+
+    def dump_to_str(self, obj, **kwargs):
+        kwargs.setdefault('protocol', 2)
+        return pickle.dumps(obj, **kwargs)
+
+    def dump_to_fileobj(self, obj, file, **kwargs):
+        kwargs.setdefault('protocol', 2)
+        pickle.dump(obj, file, **kwargs)
+
+    def dump_to_path(self, obj, filepath, **kwargs):
+        super(PickleHandler, self).dump_to_path(
+            obj, filepath, mode='wb', **kwargs)
diff --git a/mmengine/utils/fileio/handlers/yaml_handler.py b/mmengine/utils/fileio/handlers/yaml_handler.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..22c2607a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mmengine/utils/fileio/handlers/yaml_handler.py
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Copyright (c) OpenMMLab. All rights reserved.
+import yaml
+
+try:
+    from yaml import CDumper as Dumper  # type: ignore
+    from yaml import CLoader as Loader  # type: ignore
+except ImportError:
+    from yaml import Loader, Dumper  # type: ignore
+
+from .base import BaseFileHandler  # isort:skip
+
+
+class YamlHandler(BaseFileHandler):
+
+    def load_from_fileobj(self, file, **kwargs):
+        kwargs.setdefault('Loader', Loader)
+        return yaml.load(file, **kwargs)
+
+    def dump_to_fileobj(self, obj, file, **kwargs):
+        kwargs.setdefault('Dumper', Dumper)
+        yaml.dump(obj, file, **kwargs)
+
+    def dump_to_str(self, obj, **kwargs):
+        kwargs.setdefault('Dumper', Dumper)
+        return yaml.dump(obj, **kwargs)
diff --git a/mmengine/utils/fileio/io.py b/mmengine/utils/fileio/io.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e2226efd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mmengine/utils/fileio/io.py
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+# Copyright (c) OpenMMLab. All rights reserved.
+# type: ignore
+from io import BytesIO, StringIO
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from mmengine import is_list_of, is_str
+from .file_client import FileClient
+from .handlers import BaseFileHandler, JsonHandler, PickleHandler, YamlHandler
+
+file_handlers = {
+    'json': JsonHandler(),
+    'yaml': YamlHandler(),
+    'yml': YamlHandler(),
+    'pickle': PickleHandler(),
+    'pkl': PickleHandler()
+}
+
+
+def load(file, file_format=None, file_client_args=None, **kwargs):
+    """Load data from json/yaml/pickle files.
+
+    This method provides a unified api for loading data from serialized files.
+
+    Note:
+        In v1.3.16 and later, ``load`` supports loading data from serialized
+        files those can be storaged in different backends.
+
+    Args:
+        file (str or :obj:`Path` or file-like object): Filename or a file-like
+            object.
+        file_format (str, optional): If not specified, the file format will be
+            inferred from the file extension, otherwise use the specified one.
+            Currently supported formats include "json", "yaml/yml" and
+            "pickle/pkl".
+        file_client_args (dict, optional): Arguments to instantiate a
+            FileClient. See :class:`mmcv.fileio.FileClient` for details.
+            Default: None.
+
+    Examples:
+        >>> load('/path/of/your/file')  # file is storaged in disk
+        >>> load('https://path/of/your/file')  # file is storaged in Internet
+        >>> load('s3://path/of/your/file')  # file is storaged in petrel
+
+    Returns:
+        The content from the file.
+    """
+    if isinstance(file, Path):
+        file = str(file)
+    if file_format is None and is_str(file):
+        file_format = file.split('.')[-1]
+    if file_format not in file_handlers:
+        raise TypeError(f'Unsupported format: {file_format}')
+
+    handler = file_handlers[file_format]
+    if is_str(file):
+        file_client = FileClient.infer_client(file_client_args, file)
+        if handler.str_like:
+            with StringIO(file_client.get_text(file)) as f:
+                obj = handler.load_from_fileobj(f, **kwargs)
+        else:
+            with BytesIO(file_client.get(file)) as f:
+                obj = handler.load_from_fileobj(f, **kwargs)
+    elif hasattr(file, 'read'):
+        obj = handler.load_from_fileobj(file, **kwargs)
+    else:
+        raise TypeError('"file" must be a filepath str or a file-object')
+    return obj
+
+
+def dump(obj, file=None, file_format=None, file_client_args=None, **kwargs):
+    """Dump data to json/yaml/pickle strings or files.
+
+    This method provides a unified api for dumping data as strings or to files,
+    and also supports custom arguments for each file format.
+
+    Note:
+        In v1.3.16 and later, ``dump`` supports dumping data as strings or to
+        files which is saved to different backends.
+
+    Args:
+        obj (any): The python object to be dumped.
+        file (str or :obj:`Path` or file-like object, optional): If not
+            specified, then the object is dumped to a str, otherwise to a file
+            specified by the filename or file-like object.
+        file_format (str, optional): Same as :func:`load`.
+        file_client_args (dict, optional): Arguments to instantiate a
+            FileClient. See :class:`mmcv.fileio.FileClient` for details.
+            Default: None.
+
+    Examples:
+        >>> dump('hello world', '/path/of/your/file')  # disk
+        >>> dump('hello world', 's3://path/of/your/file')  # ceph or petrel
+
+    Returns:
+        bool: True for success, False otherwise.
+    """
+    if isinstance(file, Path):
+        file = str(file)
+    if file_format is None:
+        if is_str(file):
+            file_format = file.split('.')[-1]
+        elif file is None:
+            raise ValueError(
+                'file_format must be specified since file is None')
+    if file_format not in file_handlers:
+        raise TypeError(f'Unsupported format: {file_format}')
+
+    handler = file_handlers[file_format]
+    if file is None:
+        return handler.dump_to_str(obj, **kwargs)
+    elif is_str(file):
+        file_client = FileClient.infer_client(file_client_args, file)
+        if handler.str_like:
+            with StringIO() as f:
+                handler.dump_to_fileobj(obj, f, **kwargs)
+                file_client.put_text(f.getvalue(), file)
+        else:
+            with BytesIO() as f:
+                handler.dump_to_fileobj(obj, f, **kwargs)
+                file_client.put(f.getvalue(), file)
+    elif hasattr(file, 'write'):
+        handler.dump_to_fileobj(obj, file, **kwargs)
+    else:
+        raise TypeError('"file" must be a filename str or a file-object')
+
+
+def _register_handler(handler, file_formats):
+    """Register a handler for some file extensions.
+
+    Args:
+        handler (:obj:`BaseFileHandler`): Handler to be registered.
+        file_formats (str or list[str]): File formats to be handled by this
+            handler.
+    """
+    if not isinstance(handler, BaseFileHandler):
+        raise TypeError(
+            f'handler must be a child of BaseFileHandler, not {type(handler)}')
+    if isinstance(file_formats, str):
+        file_formats = [file_formats]
+    if not is_list_of(file_formats, str):
+        raise TypeError('file_formats must be a str or a list of str')
+    for ext in file_formats:
+        file_handlers[ext] = handler
+
+
+def register_handler(file_formats, **kwargs):
+
+    def wrap(cls):
+        _register_handler(cls(**kwargs), file_formats)
+        return cls
+
+    return wrap
diff --git a/mmengine/utils/fileio/parse.py b/mmengine/utils/fileio/parse.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fe424594
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mmengine/utils/fileio/parse.py
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+# Copyright (c) OpenMMLab. All rights reserved.
+# type: ignore
+from io import StringIO
+
+from .file_client import FileClient
+
+
+def list_from_file(filename,
+                   prefix='',
+                   offset=0,
+                   max_num=0,
+                   encoding='utf-8',
+                   file_client_args=None):
+    """Load a text file and parse the content as a list of strings.
+
+    Note:
+        In v1.3.16 and later, ``list_from_file`` supports loading a text file
+        which can be storaged in different backends and parsing the content as
+        a list for strings.
+
+    Args:
+        filename (str): Filename.
+        prefix (str): The prefix to be inserted to the beginning of each item.
+        offset (int): The offset of lines.
+        max_num (int): The maximum number of lines to be read,
+            zeros and negatives mean no limitation.
+        encoding (str): Encoding used to open the file. Default utf-8.
+        file_client_args (dict, optional): Arguments to instantiate a
+            FileClient. See :class:`mmcv.fileio.FileClient` for details.
+            Default: None.
+
+    Examples:
+        >>> list_from_file('/path/of/your/file')  # disk
+        ['hello', 'world']
+        >>> list_from_file('s3://path/of/your/file')  # ceph or petrel
+        ['hello', 'world']
+
+    Returns:
+        list[str]: A list of strings.
+    """
+    cnt = 0
+    item_list = []
+    file_client = FileClient.infer_client(file_client_args, filename)
+    with StringIO(file_client.get_text(filename, encoding)) as f:
+        for _ in range(offset):
+            f.readline()
+        for line in f:
+            if 0 < max_num <= cnt:
+                break
+            item_list.append(prefix + line.rstrip('\n\r'))
+            cnt += 1
+    return item_list
+
+
+def dict_from_file(filename,
+                   key_type=str,
+                   encoding='utf-8',
+                   file_client_args=None):
+    """Load a text file and parse the content as a dict.
+
+    Each line of the text file will be two or more columns split by
+    whitespaces or tabs. The first column will be parsed as dict keys, and
+    the following columns will be parsed as dict values.
+
+    Note:
+        In v1.3.16 and later, ``dict_from_file`` supports loading a text file
+        which can be storaged in different backends and parsing the content as
+        a dict.
+
+    Args:
+        filename(str): Filename.
+        key_type(type): Type of the dict keys. str is user by default and
+            type conversion will be performed if specified.
+        encoding (str): Encoding used to open the file. Default utf-8.
+        file_client_args (dict, optional): Arguments to instantiate a
+            FileClient. See :class:`mmcv.fileio.FileClient` for details.
+            Default: None.
+
+    Examples:
+        >>> dict_from_file('/path/of/your/file')  # disk
+        {'key1': 'value1', 'key2': 'value2'}
+        >>> dict_from_file('s3://path/of/your/file')  # ceph or petrel
+        {'key1': 'value1', 'key2': 'value2'}
+
+    Returns:
+        dict: The parsed contents.
+    """
+    mapping = {}
+    file_client = FileClient.infer_client(file_client_args, filename)
+    with StringIO(file_client.get_text(filename, encoding)) as f:
+        for line in f:
+            items = line.rstrip('\n').split()
+            assert len(items) >= 2
+            key = key_type(items[0])
+            val = items[1:] if len(items) > 2 else items[1]
+            mapping[key] = val
+    return mapping
diff --git a/mmengine/utils/misc.py b/mmengine/utils/misc.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7957ea89
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mmengine/utils/misc.py
@@ -0,0 +1,377 @@
+# Copyright (c) OpenMMLab. All rights reserved.
+import collections.abc
+import functools
+import itertools
+import subprocess
+import warnings
+from collections import abc
+from importlib import import_module
+from inspect import getfullargspec
+from itertools import repeat
+
+
+# From PyTorch internals
+def _ntuple(n):
+
+    def parse(x):
+        if isinstance(x, collections.abc.Iterable):
+            return x
+        return tuple(repeat(x, n))
+
+    return parse
+
+
+to_1tuple = _ntuple(1)
+to_2tuple = _ntuple(2)
+to_3tuple = _ntuple(3)
+to_4tuple = _ntuple(4)
+to_ntuple = _ntuple
+
+
+def is_str(x):
+    """Whether the input is an string instance.
+
+    Note: This method is deprecated since python 2 is no longer supported.
+    """
+    return isinstance(x, str)
+
+
+def import_modules_from_strings(imports, allow_failed_imports=False):
+    """Import modules from the given list of strings.
+
+    Args:
+        imports (list | str | None): The given module names to be imported.
+        allow_failed_imports (bool): If True, the failed imports will return
+            None. Otherwise, an ImportError is raise. Default: False.
+
+    Returns:
+        list[module] | module | None: The imported modules.
+
+    Examples:
+        >>> osp, sys = import_modules_from_strings(
+        ...     ['os.path', 'sys'])
+        >>> import os.path as osp_
+        >>> import sys as sys_
+        >>> assert osp == osp_
+        >>> assert sys == sys_
+    """
+    if not imports:
+        return
+    single_import = False
+    if isinstance(imports, str):
+        single_import = True
+        imports = [imports]
+    if not isinstance(imports, list):
+        raise TypeError(
+            f'custom_imports must be a list but got type {type(imports)}')
+    imported = []
+    for imp in imports:
+        if not isinstance(imp, str):
+            raise TypeError(
+                f'{imp} is of type {type(imp)} and cannot be imported.')
+        try:
+            imported_tmp = import_module(imp)
+        except ImportError:
+            if allow_failed_imports:
+                warnings.warn(f'{imp} failed to import and is ignored.',
+                              UserWarning)
+                imported_tmp = None
+            else:
+                raise ImportError
+        imported.append(imported_tmp)
+    if single_import:
+        imported = imported[0]
+    return imported
+
+
+def iter_cast(inputs, dst_type, return_type=None):
+    """Cast elements of an iterable object into some type.
+
+    Args:
+        inputs (Iterable): The input object.
+        dst_type (type): Destination type.
+        return_type (type, optional): If specified, the output object will be
+            converted to this type, otherwise an iterator.
+
+    Returns:
+        iterator or specified type: The converted object.
+    """
+    if not isinstance(inputs, abc.Iterable):
+        raise TypeError('inputs must be an iterable object')
+    if not isinstance(dst_type, type):
+        raise TypeError('"dst_type" must be a valid type')
+
+    out_iterable = map(dst_type, inputs)
+
+    if return_type is None:
+        return out_iterable
+    else:
+        return return_type(out_iterable)
+
+
+def list_cast(inputs, dst_type):
+    """Cast elements of an iterable object into a list of some type.
+
+    A partial method of :func:`iter_cast`.
+    """
+    return iter_cast(inputs, dst_type, return_type=list)
+
+
+def tuple_cast(inputs, dst_type):
+    """Cast elements of an iterable object into a tuple of some type.
+
+    A partial method of :func:`iter_cast`.
+    """
+    return iter_cast(inputs, dst_type, return_type=tuple)
+
+
+def is_seq_of(seq, expected_type, seq_type=None):
+    """Check whether it is a sequence of some type.
+
+    Args:
+        seq (Sequence): The sequence to be checked.
+        expected_type (type): Expected type of sequence items.
+        seq_type (type, optional): Expected sequence type.
+
+    Returns:
+        bool: Whether the sequence is valid.
+    """
+    if seq_type is None:
+        exp_seq_type = abc.Sequence
+    else:
+        assert isinstance(seq_type, type)
+        exp_seq_type = seq_type
+    if not isinstance(seq, exp_seq_type):
+        return False
+    for item in seq:
+        if not isinstance(item, expected_type):
+            return False
+    return True
+
+
+def is_list_of(seq, expected_type):
+    """Check whether it is a list of some type.
+
+    A partial method of :func:`is_seq_of`.
+    """
+    return is_seq_of(seq, expected_type, seq_type=list)
+
+
+def is_tuple_of(seq, expected_type):
+    """Check whether it is a tuple of some type.
+
+    A partial method of :func:`is_seq_of`.
+    """
+    return is_seq_of(seq, expected_type, seq_type=tuple)
+
+
+def slice_list(in_list, lens):
+    """Slice a list into several sub lists by a list of given length.
+
+    Args:
+        in_list (list): The list to be sliced.
+        lens(int or list): The expected length of each out list.
+
+    Returns:
+        list: A list of sliced list.
+    """
+    if isinstance(lens, int):
+        assert len(in_list) % lens == 0
+        lens = [lens] * int(len(in_list) / lens)
+    if not isinstance(lens, list):
+        raise TypeError('"indices" must be an integer or a list of integers')
+    elif sum(lens) != len(in_list):
+        raise ValueError('sum of lens and list length does not '
+                         f'match: {sum(lens)} != {len(in_list)}')
+    out_list = []
+    idx = 0
+    for i in range(len(lens)):
+        out_list.append(in_list[idx:idx + lens[i]])
+        idx += lens[i]
+    return out_list
+
+
+def concat_list(in_list):
+    """Concatenate a list of list into a single list.
+
+    Args:
+        in_list (list): The list of list to be merged.
+
+    Returns:
+        list: The concatenated flat list.
+    """
+    return list(itertools.chain(*in_list))
+
+
+def check_prerequisites(
+        prerequisites,
+        checker,
+        msg_tmpl='Prerequisites "{}" are required in method "{}" but not '
+        'found, please install them first.'):  # yapf: disable
+    """A decorator factory to check if prerequisites are satisfied.
+
+    Args:
+        prerequisites (str of list[str]): Prerequisites to be checked.
+        checker (callable): The checker method that returns True if a
+            prerequisite is meet, False otherwise.
+        msg_tmpl (str): The message template with two variables.
+
+    Returns:
+        decorator: A specific decorator.
+    """
+
+    def wrap(func):
+
+        @functools.wraps(func)
+        def wrapped_func(*args, **kwargs):
+            requirements = [prerequisites] if isinstance(
+                prerequisites, str) else prerequisites
+            missing = []
+            for item in requirements:
+                if not checker(item):
+                    missing.append(item)
+            if missing:
+                print(msg_tmpl.format(', '.join(missing), func.__name__))
+                raise RuntimeError('Prerequisites not meet.')
+            else:
+                return func(*args, **kwargs)
+
+        return wrapped_func
+
+    return wrap
+
+
+def _check_py_package(package):
+    try:
+        import_module(package)
+    except ImportError:
+        return False
+    else:
+        return True
+
+
+def _check_executable(cmd):
+    if subprocess.call(f'which {cmd}', shell=True) != 0:
+        return False
+    else:
+        return True
+
+
+def requires_package(prerequisites):
+    """A decorator to check if some python packages are installed.
+
+    Example:
+        >>> @requires_package('numpy')
+        >>> func(arg1, args):
+        >>>     return numpy.zeros(1)
+        array([0.])
+        >>> @requires_package(['numpy', 'non_package'])
+        >>> func(arg1, args):
+        >>>     return numpy.zeros(1)
+        ImportError
+    """
+    return check_prerequisites(prerequisites, checker=_check_py_package)
+
+
+def requires_executable(prerequisites):
+    """A decorator to check if some executable files are installed.
+
+    Example:
+        >>> @requires_executable('ffmpeg')
+        >>> func(arg1, args):
+        >>>     print(1)
+        1
+    """
+    return check_prerequisites(prerequisites, checker=_check_executable)
+
+
+def deprecated_api_warning(name_dict, cls_name=None):
+    """A decorator to check if some arguments are deprecate and try to replace
+    deprecate src_arg_name to dst_arg_name.
+
+    Args:
+        name_dict(dict):
+            key (str): Deprecate argument names.
+            val (str): Expected argument names.
+
+    Returns:
+        func: New function.
+    """
+
+    def api_warning_wrapper(old_func):
+
+        @functools.wraps(old_func)
+        def new_func(*args, **kwargs):
+            # get the arg spec of the decorated method
+            args_info = getfullargspec(old_func)
+            # get name of the function
+            func_name = old_func.__name__
+            if cls_name is not None:
+                func_name = f'{cls_name}.{func_name}'
+            if args:
+                arg_names = args_info.args[:len(args)]
+                for src_arg_name, dst_arg_name in name_dict.items():
+                    if src_arg_name in arg_names:
+                        warnings.warn(
+                            f'"{src_arg_name}" is deprecated in '
+                            f'`{func_name}`, please use "{dst_arg_name}" '
+                            'instead', DeprecationWarning)
+                        arg_names[arg_names.index(src_arg_name)] = dst_arg_name
+            if kwargs:
+                for src_arg_name, dst_arg_name in name_dict.items():
+                    if src_arg_name in kwargs:
+
+                        assert dst_arg_name not in kwargs, (
+                            f'The expected behavior is to replace '
+                            f'the deprecated key `{src_arg_name}` to '
+                            f'new key `{dst_arg_name}`, but got them '
+                            f'in the arguments at the same time, which '
+                            f'is confusing. `{src_arg_name} will be '
+                            f'deprecated in the future, please '
+                            f'use `{dst_arg_name}` instead.')
+
+                        warnings.warn(
+                            f'"{src_arg_name}" is deprecated in '
+                            f'`{func_name}`, please use "{dst_arg_name}" '
+                            'instead', DeprecationWarning)
+                        kwargs[dst_arg_name] = kwargs.pop(src_arg_name)
+
+            # apply converted arguments to the decorated method
+            output = old_func(*args, **kwargs)
+            return output
+
+        return new_func
+
+    return api_warning_wrapper
+
+
+def is_method_overridden(method, base_class, derived_class):
+    """Check if a method of base class is overridden in derived class.
+
+    Args:
+        method (str): the method name to check.
+        base_class (type): the class of the base class.
+        derived_class (type | Any): the class or instance of the derived class.
+    """
+    assert isinstance(base_class, type), \
+        "base_class doesn't accept instance, Please pass class instead."
+
+    if not isinstance(derived_class, type):
+        derived_class = derived_class.__class__
+
+    base_method = getattr(base_class, method)
+    derived_method = getattr(derived_class, method)
+    return derived_method != base_method
+
+
+def has_method(obj: object, method: str) -> bool:
+    """Check whether the object has a method.
+
+    Args:
+        method (str): The method name to check.
+        obj (object): The object to check.
+
+    Returns:
+        bool: True if the object has the method else False.
+    """
+    return hasattr(obj, method) and callable(getattr(obj, method))
diff --git a/mmengine/utils/path.py b/mmengine/utils/path.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..56808183
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mmengine/utils/path.py
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+# Copyright (c) OpenMMLab. All rights reserved.
+import os
+import os.path as osp
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from .misc import is_str
+
+
+def is_filepath(x):
+    return is_str(x) or isinstance(x, Path)
+
+
+def fopen(filepath, *args, **kwargs):
+    if is_str(filepath):
+        return open(filepath, *args, **kwargs)
+    elif isinstance(filepath, Path):
+        return filepath.open(*args, **kwargs)
+    raise ValueError('`filepath` should be a string or a Path')
+
+
+def check_file_exist(filename, msg_tmpl='file "{}" does not exist'):
+    if not osp.isfile(filename):
+        raise FileNotFoundError(msg_tmpl.format(filename))
+
+
+def mkdir_or_exist(dir_name, mode=0o777):
+    if dir_name == '':
+        return
+    dir_name = osp.expanduser(dir_name)
+    os.makedirs(dir_name, mode=mode, exist_ok=True)
+
+
+def symlink(src, dst, overwrite=True, **kwargs):
+    if os.path.lexists(dst) and overwrite:
+        os.remove(dst)
+    os.symlink(src, dst, **kwargs)
+
+
+def scandir(dir_path, suffix=None, recursive=False, case_sensitive=True):
+    """Scan a directory to find the interested files.
+
+    Args:
+        dir_path (str | :obj:`Path`): Path of the directory.
+        suffix (str | tuple(str), optional): File suffix that we are
+            interested in. Default: None.
+        recursive (bool, optional): If set to True, recursively scan the
+            directory. Default: False.
+        case_sensitive (bool, optional) : If set to False, ignore the case of
+            suffix. Default: True.
+
+    Returns:
+        A generator for all the interested files with relative paths.
+    """
+    if isinstance(dir_path, (str, Path)):
+        dir_path = str(dir_path)
+    else:
+        raise TypeError('"dir_path" must be a string or Path object')
+
+    if (suffix is not None) and not isinstance(suffix, (str, tuple)):
+        raise TypeError('"suffix" must be a string or tuple of strings')
+
+    if suffix is not None and not case_sensitive:
+        suffix = suffix.lower() if isinstance(suffix, str) else tuple(
+            item.lower() for item in suffix)
+
+    root = dir_path
+
+    def _scandir(dir_path, suffix, recursive, case_sensitive):
+        for entry in os.scandir(dir_path):
+            if not entry.name.startswith('.') and entry.is_file():
+                rel_path = osp.relpath(entry.path, root)
+                _rel_path = rel_path if case_sensitive else rel_path.lower()
+                if suffix is None or _rel_path.endswith(suffix):
+                    yield rel_path
+            elif recursive and os.path.isdir(entry.path):
+                # scan recursively if entry.path is a directory
+                yield from _scandir(entry.path, suffix, recursive,
+                                    case_sensitive)
+
+    return _scandir(dir_path, suffix, recursive, case_sensitive)
+
+
+def find_vcs_root(path, markers=('.git', )):
+    """Finds the root directory (including itself) of specified markers.
+
+    Args:
+        path (str): Path of directory or file.
+        markers (list[str], optional): List of file or directory names.
+
+    Returns:
+        The directory contained one of the markers or None if not found.
+    """
+    if osp.isfile(path):
+        path = osp.dirname(path)
+
+    prev, cur = None, osp.abspath(osp.expanduser(path))
+    while cur != prev:
+        if any(osp.exists(osp.join(cur, marker)) for marker in markers):
+            return cur
+        prev, cur = cur, osp.split(cur)[0]
+    return None