---
alias: user-guide-automation-task-filedrivers-readfile
tags:
- automation tasks
description: "This task reads a file and outputs its content, handling errors and retries automatically"
---

# Read File

![Screenshot showing a file reading interface.](images/readfile-lg.svg)

When activated, the `read file` task reads a given file and outputs its content. The file `path` can be provided either by the input port or in the task settings.

![Screenshot showing a file selection dialog with the filename "image26" displayed.](./images/image26.png)

## Inputs

| Name                 |           | Description                                                        |
|----------------------|-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| path                 | `String`  | File path                                                          |
| encoding             | `String`  | File content encoding                                              |
| 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  |
| ------  | --------- | --------- |
| content | Buffer \| String | Triggered when the task is executed. To output the file content |
|  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 path | `String` |  |  | File path |
| Encoding | `Enum` | `utf8`<br>`ucs2`<br/>`utf16le`<br/>`latin1`<br/>`binary`<br/>`base64`<br/>`ascii`<br/>`hex` | `utf8` | File content encoding |
| Content Type | `Enum` | `Buffer`<br>`String` | `String` | Type of the content to be emitted |
| 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 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\newFile.txt
  ${temp}\files\${id}\Recipe\File.csv
  c:\source\Result\OK.bin
```

![Screenshot showing settings options.](./images/image27.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 `ReadFile` command to the driver where it will try to read the contents of the file in the `path` location. If it fails, will retry `attempts` times, waiting `sleepBetweenAttempts` milliseconds each time.

When the operation is executed with success, both `Success` and  `content` 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.