---
alias: user-guide-automation-task-filedrivers-exists
tags:
- automation tasks
description: "This task verifies file existence, retrying with configurable attempts and intervals"
---

# Exists

![Screenshot showing a large image.](images/file-lg.svg)

When activated the `exists` task checks if a given file exists (the file path can be provided by input or defined on the task settings).

![Screenshot showing a path result with an "O" and "i" in the background.](./images/image2.png)

## Inputs

| Name                 | Data Type | Description                                                        |
|----------------------|-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| path                 | `String`  | Path of the file                                                   |
| attempts             | `Integer` | Number of attempts to perform this operation. Default is 1 attempt |
| sleepBetweenAttempts | `Integer` | Interval of time between the attempts. Default is 1000ms           |
| Activate             | `any`     | Activate the task                                                  |

## Outputs

| Name    | Data Type | Description  |
| ------  | --------- | --------- |
|  result    |        `Boolean`        | Triggered when the task is executed. This is the result of 'file exists' verification |
|  Success  |       `Boolean`         | Triggered when the task is executed with success |
|  Error           |        `Error`                | Triggered when the task failed for some reason |

## Settings

On the `General` tab, you have the usual settings and the following settings:

| Name    | Data Type | Values | Default | Description  |
| ------  | --------- | --------- | --------- | --------- |
| File/Directory path    | `String`  |        |         | Path of the file                              |
| Number of attempts     | `Integer` |        | 1       | Number of attempts to perform this operation. |
| Sleep Between Attempts | `Integer` |        | 1000    | Interval of time between the attempts.        |

For the `File/Directory path` you can use tokens as represented below:

```bash
Available tokens:
  ${path} - Watched path
  ${archive} - Archive path
  ${temp} - Temporary directory of the user
  ${id} - DriverId ("\" chars replaced with "_")

Examples:
  ${path}\subdir
  ${path}\subdir\file.txt
  ${temp}\files\${id}\Error
  c:\source\Processedexists.csv
```

![Screenshot showing settings options.](./images/image3.png)

## Behavior

In this task you choose a driver when dropping it into the workflow (if you have more than one driver associated with the controller).

Upon activation, will send a `Exists` command to the driver where it will check the `path` location exists. If it doesn't, will retry `attempts` times, waiting `sleepBetweenAttempts` milliseconds each time.

When the operation is executed with success, both `Success` and  `result` outputs emit their respective values. In case of the task , for some reason, is not able perform the operation, an `Error` is emitted.

## Remarks

There is no particular remark to be made.