# Files API¶
¶
---¶
¶
The Files API lets you upload and manage files to use with the Claude API without re-uploading content with each request. This is particularly useful when using the [code execution tool](/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/code-execution-tool) to provide inputs (e.g. datasets and documents) and then download outputs (e.g. charts). You can also use the Files API to prevent having to continually re-upload frequently used documents and images across multiple API calls. You can [explore the API reference directly](/docs/en/api/files-create), in addition to this guide.¶
¶
<Note>¶
The Files API is currently in beta. Please rReach out through ourthe [feedback form](https://forms.gle/tisHyierGwgN4DUE9) to share your experience with the Files API.¶
</Note>¶
¶
<Note>¶
This feature is in beta and is **not** covered by [Zero Data Retention (ZDR)](/docs/en/build-with-claude/zero-data-retention) arrangements. Beta features are excluded from ZDR.¶
</Note>¶
¶
## Supported models¶
¶
Referencing a `file_id` in a Messages request is supported in all models that support the given file type. For example, [images](/docs/en/build-with-claude/vision) are supported in all Claude 3+ models, [PDFs](/docs/en/build-with-claude/pdf-support) in all Claude 3.5+ models, and [various other file types](/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/code-execution-tool#supported-file-types) for the code execution tool in Claude Haiku 4.5 plus all Claude 3.7+ models.¶
¶
The Files API is currently not supported on Amazon Bedrock or Google Vertex AI.¶
¶
## How the Files API works¶
¶
The Files API provides a simple create-once, use-many-times approach for working with files:¶
¶
- **Upload files** to our secure storage and receive a unique `file_id`¶
- **Download files** that are created from skills or the code execution tool¶
- **Reference files** in [Messages](/docs/en/api/messages) requests using the `file_id` instead of re-uploading content¶
- **Manage your files** with list, retrieve, and delete operations¶
¶
## How to use the Files API¶
¶
<Note>¶
To use the Files API, you'll need to include the beta feature header: `anthropic-beta: files-api-2025-04-14`.¶
</Note>¶
¶
### Uploading a file¶
¶
Upload a file to be referenced in future API calls:¶
¶
<CodeGroup>¶
```bash Shell¶
curl -X POST https://api.anthropic.com/v1/files \¶
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \¶
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \¶
-H "anthropic-beta: files-api-2025-04-14" \¶
-F "file=@/path/to/document.pdf"¶
```¶
¶
```python Python¶
import anthropic¶
¶
client = anthropic.Anthropic()¶
client.beta.files.upload(¶
file=("document.pdf", open("/path/to/document.pdf", "rb"), "application/pdf"),¶
)¶
```¶
¶
```typescript TypeScript¶
import Anthropic, { toFile } from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";¶
import fs from "fs";¶
¶
const anthropic = new Anthropic();¶
¶
await anthropic.beta.files.upload(¶
{¶
file: await toFile(fs.createReadStream("/path/to/document.pdf"), undefined, {¶
type: "application/pdf"¶
})¶
},¶
{ betas: ["files-api-2025-04-14"] }¶
);¶
```¶
¶
```java Java¶
import com.anthropic.client.AnthropicClient;¶
import com.anthropic.client.okhttp.AnthropicOkHttpClient;¶
import java.nio.file.Path;¶
¶
AnthropicClient client = AnthropicOkHttpClient.fromEnv();¶
¶
var file = client.beta().files().upload(¶
Path.of("/path/to/document.pdf")¶
);¶
¶
System.out.println(file.id());¶
```¶
¶
```go Go¶
package main¶
¶
import (¶
"context"¶
"fmt"¶
"os"¶
¶
"github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-go"¶
)¶
¶
func main() {¶
client := anthropic.NewClient()¶
¶
file, _ := os.Open("/path/to/document.pdf")¶
defer file.Close()¶
¶
response, _ := client.Beta.Files.Upload(context.Background(),¶
anthropic.BetaFileUploadParams{¶
File: file,¶
})¶
¶
fmt.Println(response.ID)¶
}¶
```¶
¶
```ruby Ruby¶
require "anthropic"¶
¶
client = Anthropic::Client.new¶
¶
file = client.beta.files.upload(¶
file: File.open("/path/to/document.pdf", "rb")¶
)¶
¶
puts file.id¶
```¶
¶
```csharp C#¶
using Anthropic;¶
¶
var client = new AnthropicClient();¶
¶
var file = await client.Beta.Files.UploadAsync(¶
new FileUploadParams¶
{¶
File = File.OpenRead("/path/to/document.pdf")¶
});¶
¶
Console.WriteLine(file.Id);¶
```¶
¶
```php PHP¶
<?php¶
¶
use Anthropic\Client;¶
¶
$client = new Client(¶
apiKey: getenv("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY")¶
);¶
¶
$file = $client->beta->files->upload([¶
'file' => fopen('/path/to/document.pdf', 'r')¶
]);¶
¶
echo $file->id;¶
```¶
</CodeGroup>¶
¶
The response from uploading a file will include:¶
¶
```json¶
{¶
"id": "file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w",¶
"type": "file",¶
"filename": "document.pdf",¶
"mime_type": "application/pdf",¶
"size_bytes": 1024000,¶
"created_at": "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z",¶
"downloadable": false¶
}¶
```¶
¶
### Using a file in messages¶
¶
Once uploaded, reference the file using its `file_id`:¶
¶
<CodeGroup>¶
```bash Shell¶
curl -X POST https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \¶
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \¶
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \¶
-H "anthropic-beta: files-api-2025-04-14" \¶
-H "content-type: application/json" \¶
-d '{¶
"model": "claude-opus-4-6",¶
"max_tokens": 1024,¶
"messages": [¶
{¶
"role": "user",¶
"content": [¶
{¶
"type": "text",¶
"text": "Please summarize this document for me."¶
},¶
{¶
"type": "document",¶
"source": {¶
"type": "file",¶
"file_id": "file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w"¶
}¶
}¶
]¶
}¶
]¶
}'¶
```¶
¶
```python Python¶
import anthropic¶
¶
client = anthropic.Anthropic()¶
¶
response = client.beta.messages.create(¶
model="claude-opus-4-6",¶
max_tokens=1024,¶
messages=[¶
{¶
"role": "user",¶
"content": [¶
{"type": "text", "text": "Please summarize this document for me."},¶
{¶
"type": "document",¶
"source": {¶
"type": "file",¶
"file_id": "file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w",¶
},¶
},¶
],¶
}¶
],¶
betas=["files-api-2025-04-14"],¶
)¶
print(response)¶
```¶
¶
```typescript TypeScript¶
import { Anthropic } from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";¶
¶
const anthropic = new Anthropic();¶
¶
const response = await anthropic.beta.messages.create({¶
model: "claude-opus-4-6",¶
max_tokens: 1024,¶
messages: [¶
{¶
role: "user",¶
content: [¶
{¶
type: "text",¶
text: "Please summarize this document for me."¶
},¶
{¶
type: "document",¶
source: {¶
type: "file",¶
file_id: "file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w"¶
}¶
}¶
]¶
}¶
],¶
betas: ["files-api-2025-04-14"]¶
});¶
¶
console.log(response);¶
```¶
¶
```java Java¶
import com.anthropic.client.AnthropicClient;¶
import com.anthropic.client.okhttp.AnthropicOkHttpClient;¶
import com.anthropic.models.messages.*;¶
¶
AnthropicClient client = AnthropicOkHttpClient.fromEnv();¶
¶
MessageCreateParams params = MessageCreateParams.builder()¶
.model(Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_6)¶
.maxTokens(1024)¶
.addMessage(MessageParam.builder()¶
.role(Role.USER)¶
.content(ContentBlockParam.ofText("Please summarize this document for me."))¶
.content(ContentBlockParam.ofDocument(DocumentBlockParam.builder()¶
.source(DocumentBlockParam.Source.ofFile(¶
DocumentBlockParam.Source.File.builder()¶
.fileId("file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w")¶
.build()))¶
.build()))¶
.build())¶
.build();¶
¶
Message message = client.beta().messages().create(params);¶
System.out.println(message);¶
```¶
¶
```go Go¶
package main¶
¶
import (¶
"context"¶
"fmt"¶
¶
"github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-go"¶
)¶
¶
func main() {¶
client := anthropic.NewClient()¶
¶
response, _ := client.Beta.Messages.New(context.Background(),¶
anthropic.BetaMessageNewParams{¶
Model: anthropic.ModelClaudeOpus4_6,¶
MaxTokens: 1024,¶
Betas: []anthropic.AnthropicBeta{anthropic.AnthropicBetaFilesAPI2025_04_14},¶
Messages: []anthropic.BetaMessageParam{¶
{¶
Role: "user",¶
Content: []anthropic.BetaContentBlockParam{¶
anthropic.NewBetaTextBlock("Please summarize this document for me."),¶
{¶
Type: "document",¶
Source: &anthropic.BetaDocumentSourceParam{¶
Type: "file",¶
FileID: "file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w",¶
},¶
},¶
},¶
},¶
},¶
})¶
¶
fmt.Println(response)¶
}¶
```¶
¶
```ruby Ruby¶
require "anthropic"¶
¶
client = Anthropic::Client.new¶
¶
response = client.beta.messages.create(¶
model: "claude-opus-4-6",¶
max_tokens: 1024,¶
betas: ["files-api-2025-04-14"],¶
messages: [¶
{¶
role: "user",¶
content: [¶
{ type: "text", text: "Please summarize this document for me." },¶
{¶
type: "document",¶
source: {¶
type: "file",¶
file_id: "file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w"¶
}¶
}¶
]¶
}¶
]¶
)¶
¶
puts response¶
```¶
¶
```csharp C#¶
using Anthropic;¶
¶
var client = new AnthropicClient();¶
¶
var response = await client.Beta.Messages.CreateAsync(¶
new BetaMessageCreateParams¶
{¶
Model = "claude-opus-4-6",¶
MaxTokens = 1024,¶
Betas = new[] { "files-api-2025-04-14" },¶
Messages = new[]¶
{¶
new BetaMessageParam¶
{¶
Role = "user",¶
Content = new object[]¶
{¶
new { type = "text", text = "Please summarize this document for me." },¶
new¶
{¶
type = "document",¶
source = new¶
{¶
type = "file",¶
file_id = "file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w"¶
}¶
}¶
}¶
}¶
}¶
});¶
¶
Console.WriteLine(response);¶
```¶
¶
```php PHP¶
<?php¶
¶
use Anthropic\Client;¶
¶
$client = new Client(¶
apiKey: getenv("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY")¶
);¶
¶
$response = $client->beta->messages->create([¶
'model' => 'claude-opus-4-6',¶
'max_tokens' => 1024,¶
'betas' => ['files-api-2025-04-14'],¶
'messages' => [¶
[¶
'role' => 'user',¶
'content' => [¶
['type' => 'text', 'text' => 'Please summarize this document for me.'],¶
[¶
'type' => 'document',¶
'source' => [¶
'type' => 'file',¶
'file_id' => 'file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w'¶
]¶
]¶
]¶
]¶
]¶
]);¶
¶
print_r($response);¶
```¶
</CodeGroup>¶
¶
### File types and content blocks¶
¶
The Files API supports different file types that correspond to different content block types:¶
¶
| File Type | MIME Type | Content Block Type | Use Case |¶
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |¶
| PDF | `application/pdf` | `document` | Text analysis, document processing |¶
| Plain text | `text/plain` | `document` | Text analysis, processing |¶
| Images | `image/jpeg`, `image/png`, `image/gif`, `image/webp` | `image` | Image analysis, visual tasks |¶
| [Datasets, others](/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/code-execution-tool#supported-file-types) | Varies | `container_upload` | Analyze data, create visualizations |¶
¶
### Working with other file formats¶
¶
For file types that are not supported as `document` blocks (.csv, .txt, .md, .docx, .xlsx), convert the files to plain text, and include the content directly in your message:¶
¶
<CodeGroup>¶
```bash Shell¶
# Example: Reading a text file and sending it as plain text¶
# Note: For files with special characters, consider base64 encoding¶
TEXT_CONTENT=$(cat document.txt | jq -Rs .)¶
¶
curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \¶
-H "content-type: application/json" \¶
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \¶
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \¶
-d @- <<EOF¶
{¶
"model": "claude-opus-4-6",¶
"max_tokens": 1024,¶
"messages": [¶
{¶
"role": "user",¶
"content": [¶
{¶
"type": "text",¶
"text": "Here's the document content:\n\n${TEXT_CONTENT}\n\nPlease summarize this document."¶
}¶
]¶
}¶
]¶
}¶
EOF¶
```¶
¶
```python Python¶
import pandas as pd¶
import anthropic¶
¶
client = anthropic.Anthropic()¶
¶
# Example: Reading a CSV file¶
df = pd.read_csv("data.csv")¶
csv_content = df.to_string()¶
¶
# Send as plain text in the message¶
response = client.messages.create(¶
model="claude-opus-4-6",¶
max_tokens=1024,¶
messages=[¶
{¶
"role": "user",¶
"content": [¶
{¶
"type": "text",¶
"text": f"Here's the CSV data:\n\n{csv_content}\n\nPlease analyze this data.",¶
}¶
],¶
}¶
],¶
)¶
¶
print(response.content[0].text)¶
```¶
¶
```typescript TypeScript¶
import { Anthropic } from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";¶
import fs from "fs/promises";¶
¶
const anthropic = new Anthropic();¶
¶
async function analyzeDocument() {¶
// Example: Reading a text file¶
const textContent = await fs.readFile("document.txt", "utf-8");¶
¶
// Send as plain text in the message¶
const response = await anthropic.messages.create({¶
model: "claude-opus-4-6",¶
max_tokens: 1024,¶
messages: [¶
{¶
role: "user",¶
content: [¶
{¶
type: "text",¶
text: `Here's the document content:\n\n${textContent}\n\nPlease summarize this document.`¶
}¶
]¶
}¶
]¶
});¶
¶
console.log(response.content[0].text);¶
}¶
¶
analyzeDocument();¶
```¶
</CodeGroup>¶
¶
<Note>¶
For .docx files containing images, convert them to PDF format first, then use [PDF support](/docs/en/build-with-claude/pdf-support) to take advantage of the built-in image parsing. This allows using citations from the PDF document.¶
</Note>¶
¶
#### Document blocks¶
¶
For PDFs and text files, use the `document` content block:¶
¶
```json¶
{¶
"type": "document",¶
"source": {¶
"type": "file",¶
"file_id": "file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w"¶
},¶
"title": "Document Title", // Optional¶
"context": "Context about the document", // Optional¶
"citations": { "enabled": true } // Optional, enables citations¶
}¶
```¶
¶
#### Image blocks¶
¶
For images, use the `image` content block:¶
¶
```json¶
{¶
"type": "image",¶
"source": {¶
"type": "file",¶
"file_id": "file_011CPMxVD3fHLUhvTqtsQA5w"¶
}¶
}¶
```¶
¶
### Managing files¶
¶
#### List files¶
¶
Retrieve a list of your uploaded files:¶
¶
<CodeGroup>¶
```bash Shell¶
curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/files \¶
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \¶
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \¶
-H "anthropic-beta: files-api-2025-04-14"¶
```¶
¶
```python Python¶
import anthropic¶
¶
client = anthropic.Anthropic()¶
files = client.beta.files.list()¶
```¶
¶
```typescript TypeScript¶
import { Anthropic } from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";¶
¶
const anthropic = new Anthropic();¶
const files = await anthropic.beta.files.list({¶
betas: ["files-api-2025-04-14"]¶
});¶
```¶
</CodeGroup>¶
¶
#### Get file metadata¶
¶
Retrieve information about a specific file:¶
¶
<CodeGroup>¶
```bash Shell¶
curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/files/file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w \¶
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \¶
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \¶
-H "anthropic-beta: files-api-2025-04-14"¶
```¶
¶
```python Python¶
import anthropic¶
¶
client = anthropic.Anthropic()¶
file = client.beta.files.retrieve_metadata("file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w")¶
```¶
¶
```typescript TypeScript¶
import { Anthropic } from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";¶
¶
const anthropic = new Anthropic();¶
const file = await anthropic.beta.files.retrieveMetadata("file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w", {¶
betas: ["files-api-2025-04-14"]¶
});¶
```¶
</CodeGroup>¶
¶
#### Delete a file¶
¶
Remove a file from your workspace:¶
¶
<CodeGroup>¶
```bash Shell¶
curl -X DELETE https://api.anthropic.com/v1/files/file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w \¶
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \¶
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \¶
-H "anthropic-beta: files-api-2025-04-14"¶
```¶
¶
```python Python¶
import anthropic¶
¶
client = anthropic.Anthropic()¶
result = client.beta.files.delete("file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w")¶
```¶
¶
```typescript TypeScript¶
import { Anthropic } from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";¶
¶
const anthropic = new Anthropic();¶
const result = await anthropic.beta.files.delete("file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w", {¶
betas: ["files-api-2025-04-14"]¶
});¶
```¶
</CodeGroup>¶
¶
### Downloading a file¶
¶
Download files that have been created by skills or the code execution tool:¶
¶
<CodeGroup>¶
```bash Shell¶
curl -X GET "https://api.anthropic.com/v1/files/file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w/content" \¶
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \¶
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \¶
-H "anthropic-beta: files-api-2025-04-14" \¶
--output downloaded_file.txt¶
```¶
¶
```python Python¶
import anthropic¶
¶
client = anthropic.Anthropic()¶
file_content = client.beta.files.download("file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w")¶
¶
# Save to file¶
with open("downloaded_file.txt", "w") as f:¶
f.write(file_content.decode("utf-8"))¶
```¶
¶
```typescript TypeScript¶
import { Anthropic } from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";¶
import fs from "fs/promises";¶
¶
const anthropic = new Anthropic();¶
¶
const fileContent = await anthropic.beta.files.download("file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w", {¶
betas: ["files-api-2025-04-14"]¶
});¶
¶
// Save to file¶
await fs.writeFile("downloaded_file.txt", fileContent);¶
```¶
</CodeGroup>¶
¶
<Note>¶
You can only download files that were created by [skills](/docs/en/build-with-claude/skills-guide) or the [code execution tool](/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/code-execution-tool). Files that you uploaded cannot be downloaded.¶
</Note>¶
¶
---¶
¶
## File storage and limits¶
¶
### Storage limits¶
¶
- **Maximum file size:** 500 MB per file¶
- **Total storage:** 100 GB per organization¶
¶
### File lifecycle¶
¶
- Files are scoped to the workspace of the API key. Other API keys can use files created by any other API key associated with the same workspace¶
- Files persist until you delete them¶
- Deleted files cannot be recovered¶
- Files are inaccessible via the API shortly after deletion, but they may persist in active `Messages` API calls and associated tool uses¶
- Files that users delete will be deleted in accordance with our [data retention policy](https://privacy.claude.com/en/articles/7996866-how-long-do-you-store-my-organization-s-data).¶
¶
---¶
¶
## Error handling¶
¶
Common errors when using the Files API include:¶
¶
- **File not found (404):** The specified `file_id` doesn't exist or you don't have access to it¶
- **Invalid file type (400):** The file type doesn't match the content block type (e.g., using an image file in a document block)¶
- **Exceeds context window size (400):** The file is larger than the context window size (e.g. using a 500 MB plaintext file in a `/v1/messages` request)¶
- **Invalid filename (400):** Filename doesn't meet the length requirements (1-255 characters) or contains forbidden characters (`<`, `>`, `:`, `"`, `|`, `?`, `*`, `\`, `/`, or unicode characters 0-31)¶
- **File too large (413):** File exceeds the 500 MB limit¶
- **Storage limit exceeded (403):** Your organization has reached the 100 GB storage limit¶
¶
```json¶
{¶
"type": "error",¶
"error": {¶
"type": "invalid_request_error",¶
"message": "File not found: file_011CNha8iCJcU1wXNR6q4V8w"¶
}¶
}¶
```¶
¶
## Usage and billing¶
¶
File API operations are **free**:¶
- Uploading files¶
- Downloading files¶
- Listing files¶
- Getting file metadata¶
- Deleting files¶
¶
File content used in `Messages` requests are priced as input tokens. You can only download files created by [skills](/docs/en/build-with-claude/skills-guide) or the [code execution tool](/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/code-execution-tool).¶
¶
### Rate limits¶
¶
During the beta period:¶
- File-related API calls are limited to approximately 100 requests per minute¶
- [Contact us](mailto:sales@anthropic.com) if you need higher limits for your use case