File¶
Reads a file that has been uploaded to the current workflow and provides both its absolute path and, when applicable, its UTF-8 text contents. For non-text or binary file types, the text output is suppressed to avoid unreadable data.
Usage¶
Use this node at the start of a workflow when you need to select a previously uploaded file. Route the file path to nodes that consume files (e.g., image/audio processors) and use the text output for text-processing steps when the file is a readable text format.
Inputs¶
| Field | Required | Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| file | True | STRING | Select a file from the workflow's uploaded files list. The UI also allows uploading a new file for selection. | notes.txt |
Outputs¶
| Field | Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| file_path | STRING | Absolute path to the selected file. Use this for downstream nodes that need to read the file directly. | /workspace/inputs/notes.txt |
| text_contents | STRING | UTF-8 decoded contents of the file if it is a text-readable type; empty for many binary formats or if decoding fails. | Meeting notes for Q3... |
Important Notes¶
- Text output behavior: The node attempts to read text using UTF-8. If the file extension indicates a likely binary/non-text file, the text output is left empty to avoid unreadable content.
- Blocklisted file types for text extraction: .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .webp, .heic, .heif, .hevc, .avif, .tiff, .bmp, .ico, .svg, .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .zip, .gzip, .7z
- File source: Only files present in the workflow's input directory (including those uploaded via the UI) will be listed.
- Encoding expectation: Text extraction assumes UTF-8 encoding. Non-UTF-8 text files may result in empty or garbled text output.
- Downstream usage: Prefer the file_path output for non-text processing (e.g., image/audio/video) and use text_contents only when the file is known to be text-readable.
Troubleshooting¶
- File not listed: Ensure the file is uploaded to the current workflow or placed in the input directory. Refresh the file list if needed.
- Empty text output for a text file: The file may be on the blocklist or not UTF-8 encoded. Convert the file to UTF-8 or rename with an appropriate extension and retry.
- Unreadable characters in text_contents: The file likely uses a different encoding. Convert to UTF-8 and re-upload.
- Errors reading file: Confirm the file path is valid and the file is accessible. Re-upload the file if it may be corrupted.
- Binary file text expected: For formats like images, PDFs, or Office documents, the node does not extract text. Use a specialized OCR or document parsing node.
Example Pipelines¶
